January 28, 2009 11:46 PM UTC

Jeffco Republican Party Subpoened In Congrove Case

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• by: Colorado Pols

As AJ Vicens of The Canyon Courier reports:

The Jefferson County GOP was hit with a subpoena last week in connection with its one-time website administrator, who is a defendant in a federal wiretapping civil lawsuit.

Robert Cook, who owns the Jeffco GOP’s website and was hired to do computer work for the party, is one of four defendants in a civil lawsuit brought by longtime county critic Mike Zinna.

Zinna has accused Cook, former county commissioner Jim Congrove, former assistant county attorney Duncan Bradley and former county private investigator Daril Cinquanta of conspiring to defame him by illegally accessing his e-mails through wiretapping and posting them on the Internet.

Renee Nelson, chair of the Jeffco GOP, confirmed that the subpoena was served and said the party cooperated.

“We turned over everything we had in regard to Robert Cook,” Nelson said. Cook came to several meetings and offered to work on the county party’s computers, Nelson said. He eventually set up a website for the party – which is still registered in his name – and built a computer server…

…The subpoena lists several things that the Jeffco GOP had to turn over. Among them: Cook, Congrove, Cinquanta and Bradley’s access to the GOP office; the registration documents for Jeffcogop.com and any other Internet domain names associated with the Jeffco GOP; and any e-mail messages that discuss the website used to defame Zinna, Zinna himself, or the phrase “Sovereign American,” which Cook reportedly used to refer to himself.

Zinna said the subpoena and its results further bolster his case.

“The evidence indicates that it’s more than just a mere coincidence that the person directly responsible for the wiretapping website was also the webmaster for the Jefferson County Republican Party,” Zinna said. “Mr. Cook had more than just a casual relationship with the Jeffco GOP. He was paid several thousand dollars over an extended period of time and, most notably, during the period the wiretap occurred.”