U.S. District Judge John L. Kane this morning declined to dismiss misdemeanor charges against an immigration agent charged with accessing a federal database for political purposes.
After a day and a half of testimony Kane ruled that the government had presented enough evidence to proceed to trial on charges that ICE agent Cory Voorhis had used the National Crime Information Center computer to help Bob Beauprez’s campaign for governor.
“The defendant did not obtain the information in the normal course or for authorized purposes,” Kane ruled in denying Voorhis motion to dismiss.
The case is now set for trial on March 31.
Voorhis’s attorneys attempted to show that others accessed the same information, about a heroin dealer who received an unusual plea deal from former Denver DA, now-Gov. Bill Ritter. After avoiding a long prison term or deportation in Denver as a result of the plea deal, the man, Carlos Estrada-Medina, went on to be charged with a sex offense against a child in San Francisco.
Armed with information the government charges was provided by Voorhis, Beauprez ran a television ad about Estrada-Medina during the late stages of the 2006 campaign for governor.
Voorhis’ attorneys presented testimony that that others, including employees of the Denver DA’s office, had accessed the same information and may have used it to help Ritter’s campaign defend itself against the ad.
Denver DA’s employees have said they can’t recall whether they told anyone what they learned from the NCIC about Estrada-Medina, but insist that no one from the Ritter campaign asked them to access the database, which contains information on all arrests made in the U.S.
