U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman says an ethics group waged a two-year “partisan attack” against him while he served as Colorado’s secretary of state.
Coffman, an Aurora Republican, testified today before the Independent Ethics Commission at its downtown Denver offices in a day-long hearing, answering questions relating to complaints filed against him by Colorado Ethics Watch.
Coffman said the group regularly issued press releases attacking him.
“It was essentially a two-year jihad so they could go back to their donors and say they were doing a good job,” he said.
Coffman and other Republicans claim Colorado Ethics Watch is a Democratic group.
Colorado Ethics Watch has been tied to the Colorado Democracy Alliance, a group of liberal power-donors supporting Democratic candidates and causes through a network of nonprofit and political groups.
Ethics Watch has declined to reveal how it is funded, but its executive director has pointed out that the group has taken action against Democrats as well as Republicans.
Its complaints against Coffman allege that he knowingly let a state elections worker who was a political ally run a partisan side business and improperly recertified voting machines from a company represented by the same political-consulting firm that he hired to run his congressional campaign.
Coffman has denied both allegations.
The hearing before the three-member commission created by Amendment 41 is expected to conclude this afternoon.
A decision is likely later this month or in early April.
