A CBS News Colorado investigation revealed this week that Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser and other AGs attended lavish events sponsored by companies they were investigating or suing.
Weiser chairs the Attorney General Alliance that held a conference in Maui last year at a luxurious resort that costs $1,000 a night, paid for by taxpayers and sponsors that include Google, Facebook, Juul, and Pfizer – “all of which AGs were suing at the time. The events have been happening quietly for years,” CBS News Colorado reports.
Shocking, right?
Peak thought so too, when we first reported on the conference nearly a year ago, the conflict of interest in attending these lavish events by corporations the AGs were suing or investigating, and the ethics complaint filed against Weiser.
In particular, Defend Colorado filed the ethics complaint because Weiser also used the conference and resort for as a fundraising opportunity for his campaign reelection.
Weiser is being challenged by Republican candidate John Kellner in the Nov. 8th election.
From Peak Politics:
Weiser’s campaign told Colorado Politics he paid his own way to attend the conference out of his campaign funds. It’s not reassuring that Weiser is spending campaign funds for Hawaiian trips to be lobbied by the likes of Facebook, Pfizer, Google, or anyone.
The complaint filed by the conservative group Defend Colorado contends the extraordinarily low cost of the fundraiser is a solid indication that it was an unreported campaign gift contribution, which is illegal.
The state ethics commission is being asked to investigate the Hawaiian fundraiser and levy a fine if the venue constitutes as an unlawful contribution.
CBS New Colorado does bring a lot of interesting new information to the table with their exclusive interview with Chris Toth, the former executive director of the National Association of Attorneys General.
It’s basic Ethics 101 for an attorney general to avoid taking advantage of events funded by organizations being sued or investigated, Toth said.
And the AG Alliance that Weiser heads, exists primarily to give corporate executives and lobbyists access to attorneys general, Toth said.
“Any person would look at this and say, ‘you know that’s not right, any more than if the attorney I hired was hanging out with and taking things from the person I’m suing,'” Toth said.
“Phil Weiser was aware of my views. He had different views,” says Toth.
CBS News Colorado does an interesting deep dive on attorneys general who schmooze with their targets and how it might affect cases, with interviews by former AG Cynthia Coffman, who has endorsed Weiser and defends his behavior. Cringe.
Bill Leone, former chair of the state’s Independent Ethics Commission, also tells CBS News there doesn’t seem to be an actual ethical rule or law against such behavior, but calls it distasteful.