June 19, 2007 03:41 PM UTC

Denver DA Awaits Coffman Audit Results

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• by: Colorado Pols

As the Rocky Mountain News reports:

The Denver County District Attorney’s Office will wait for a state auditor’s report before deciding whether to investigate two complaints that allege an employee and political ally of Secretary of State Mike Coffman sold election data for personal gain…

“It seemed like we might well be duplicating efforts if he were to begin a formal review before the audit was complete,” Kimbrough said. On Friday, a nonprofit called Colorado Citizens for Ethics in Government asked Morrissey to investigate whether Coffman and his onetime technology manager Dan Kopelman, who has since been moved to another job in the secretary of state’s office, violated any laws.

The request is similar to one made earlier this year by the political blog progressnow.org. But CCEG also included e-mails it had obtained through an Open Records Act request.

CCEG Director Chantell Taylor said she had hoped the DA would not wait because the auditor’s report won’t look at the same issues as a criminal investigation and because Kopelman continues to work for the secretary of state…

Coffman spokesman Jonathan Tee said Coffman was unaware of the business and ordered it shut down as soon as he learned of it.

Taylor said Coffman’s claim that he was unaware of Kopelman’s side business is “disingenuous.”

As they reported in a press release Friday, CCEG has obtained emails in an Open Records request which appear to directly contradict Coffman’s assertion that he knew nothing about assistant Dan Kopelman’s partisan political activities while he was employed in the Elections Division, in violation of state law. It’s looking worse for Coffman every day.

CCEG’s noise-making will ensure the auditor’s report contains those incriminating emails. However much they might want the DA to jump in right now, there’s a process to follow; either way, it can’t be too comfortable in Coffman’s office.