Attack ads that make dark accusations about rival candidates are all too common in Colorado this year. With their stark graphics, menacing voiceovers and questionable accuracy, these commercials cast a pall on the body politic.
The disclosure that El Paso County District Attorney John R. Newsome is investigating the head of the Trailhead Group, Alan Philp, for a truth-in-campaigning violation is a startling sign of the times.
We believe political speech should be carefully protected, but under Colorado law there is a line you can’t cross.
The state’s 20-year-old law prohibits false statements in campaigns. It was amended in 2005 to provide for prosecution if the creator of political material was “reckless” in disseminating an untruth. The previous standard was that the author “knowingly” lied. No one reportedly has been convicted under the law, demonstrating that prosecutors have always, rightly, given plenty of latitude to political speech.
It’s essential that prosecutors are judicious – and not political – in enforcing the law. Political hard-ball must not be criminalized so long as it is played within the law. It would be a bitter irony indeed if the very measure intended to clean up campaigns squelched legitimate political speech, or worse yet, became a partisan weapon.
In the Philp case, Trailhead aired an ad that criticized Democratic state Senate candidate John Morse, former Fountain police chief. Trailhead is an independent group that supports Republicans, and its ad said that in 2003 a man was charged with 15 felonies but ended up pleading guilty to a single misdemeanor. The ad said police – on Morse’s watch – mishandled the case.
In fact, the case was pleaded down to a felony, not a misdemeanor. It involved a man who barricaded himself inside his house and was initially charged with attempted murder and menacing. The attempted murder charges were dropped, Morse said, because an officer later was unsure whether the suspect was actually aiming at police.
The DA’s investigation comes at a dramatic time, weeks before the election. If the ad made an innocent mistake, he won’t find criminal conduct. If charges are filed, it will test the constitutionality of untested law.
Whatever the facts bear out, we hope that a fresh awareness of Colorado law will make political operatives think twice about launching an inaccurate attack ad.
