(Joe Mueller, The Center Square) Colorado’s House Judiciary Committee voted along party lines to end an impeachment hearing against Democratic Secretary of State Jena Griswold for alleged malfeasance in office.
Reps. Ryan Armagost, R-Berthoud, and Rose Pugliese, R-Colorado Springs, were the prime sponsors of House Resolution 24-1006 as they introduced six articles of impeachment against Griswold. The first article alleged Griswold violated the state constitution by “making public statements about President Trump’s guilt for engaging in an insurrection when he has not, in any court of law, been found guilty of engaging in the alleged insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021.”
The articles also said Griswold violated the state constitution by denying Coloradans the right to vote for their choice for president by preventing Trump from being listed as a candidate on Colorado’s 2024 Republican presidential primary ballot. However, Trump appeared on the ballot as the Colorado Supreme Court’s ruling allowing his removal included a stipulation to include the former president if he appealed the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.
“The rhetoric used by the secretary of state is nothing more than an attempt to further divide Coloradans and create, in the words of the U.S. Supreme Court, ‘chaos,’” Pugliese said. “What our constituents want is a secretary of state for all Coloradans, regardless of party affiliation or no affiliation.”
The hearing lasted five hours on Tuesday and concluded with an 8-3 vote to end the proceedings.
“The House Republicans’ proceeding against me has failed,” Griswold said in a statement. “I look forward to continuing the work of defending our democracy and protecting Colorado’s gold-standard elections.”
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Trump and against the Colorado Supreme Court on March 4. It found states didn’t have the authority to keep federal candidates off the ballot under the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Colorado’s presidential primary took place the following day, March 5, and Trump received 555,863 votes, or 63.46%.
Colorado Republicans, led by U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, in early March threatened to orchestrate a recall of Griswold.
“Can’t you see that we likewise feel strongly that the chief elections officer’s actions are a ‘disdain for democracy, transparency and the 1st Amendment?’” Pugliese said. “We truly believe that this is fundamentally wrong.”
Griswold characterized the impeachment as “conspiracies and political games.”
“I will not be intimidated by this baseless proceeding,” Griswold said in a statement earlier this month. “While Republican House Legislators waste taxpayer dollars to score cheap political points, I’ll be doing my job of ensuring every Colorado voter – Republican, Democratic, and unaffiliated alike – can make their voices heard in free and fair elections.”
