Public Trust Institute Welcomes Colorado Ethics Commission's Unanimous Vote to Investigate Hickenlooper Ethics Violations
DENVER, February 12, 2019 (Newswire.com) - The Public Trust Institute welcomed yesterday's Colorado Independent Ethics Commission unanimous vote to investigate ethics charges filed against former Governor John Hickenlooper, including a new claim showing Hickenlooper flew on yet another private corporate jet in direct violation of Colorado law.
This represents the third time the Colorado Ethics Commission voted that the complaint was "non-frivolous" and required a full investigation. The Commission also voted unanimously on Oct. 23, 2018, and Dec. 17, 2018, that charges raised by the Public Trust Institute were "non-frivolous" and merited a full investigation. These decisions by the Commission are significant: Only 14 percent of complaints filed with the Commission are deemed non-frivolous. (IEC website: since 2008, 221 complaints have been filed with the IEC and 31 have been deemed "Non-Frivolous.")
"For years, John Hickenlooper has violated Colorado's ethics laws by flying around the country and around the world on multimillion-dollar jets owned by corporations," said McNulty. "The evidence is clear as can be - John Hickenlooper was caught with his hand in the cookie jar. John Hickenlooper should just own up to these mistakes rather than offering one excuse after another on why he should be exempted from Colorado's ethics laws."
The latest corporate jet flight that the Ethics Commission included in the official investigation occurred on Oct. 11, 2018, and involved John Hickenlooper flying from Washington, D.C.'s Dulles Airport to Centennial Airport in Arapahoe County, Colorado, on a private jet.
The original complaint filed by the Public Trust highlighted how many times John Hickenlooper violated the law as governor by taking private flights around the world and around the country - including multiple international flights on a jet owned by Liberty Media, a corporate jet from Vail to the Silicon Valley to watch the NFL's Big Game and a flight on a DaVita corporate jet to watch an Eagles concert. While the Colorado Ethics Commission's jurisdiction is limited to actions taken place during the prior 12 months, John Hickenlooper still has not addressed or even been asked by the media about these other illegal flights since he became governor in 2011.
About The Public Trust Institute: Frank McNulty serves as the Executive Director of the Public Trust Institute. McNulty served as Speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives and served eight years in the Colorado legislature. As an elected official, McNulty gained firsthand experience of the ethical challenges facing U.S. government systems and views ethical leadership as a foundational element for effective governance. The Public Trust Institute (PTI) was founded in 2018 to help restore the public trust in American leadership. PTI monitors federal and state activities and holds public officials accountable for ethical abuses.
Source: Public Trust Institute