Rocky Mountain Voice

Tag: Colorado Attorney General

Michael Allen Calls for Colorado First Approach to Attorney General’s Office
The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Michael Allen Calls for Colorado First Approach to Attorney General’s Office

By Thelma Grimes | The Denver Gazette Republican argues Colorado officials have been too focused fighting Trump. Michael Allen said his campaign for Colorado attorney general is rooted in a simple premise: the state’s top lawyer should focus on Colorado, regardless of who occupies the White House. The Republican candidate, a Colorado native and the elected district attorney for the 4th Judicial District, is vying for the position against Democrat Jena Griswold, the state’s current secretary of state. During the primary, Griswold has repeatedly told voters that she will focus on fighting the Trump administration as attorney general. That messaging permeates her campaign against Allen. Allen, who grew up in Thornton and Arvada and...
Phil Weiser should account for the custody evaluations no one reviewed
Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Phil Weiser should account for the custody evaluations no one reviewed

By Judi Atwood | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Phil Weiser's ability to take a powerful company to court should not settle the question of his ability to govern Colorado. Families also deserve to know whether he will confront failures within the institutions his office advises and defends. The controversy involving psychologist Dr. Mark Kilmer makes that question especially urgent. Weiser deserves credit for helping secure the multistate settlement with Meta announced Aug. 26, which included financial relief and commitments to strengthen protections for children. The announcement described the agreement as subject to court approval. Holding technology companies accountable matters. So does protecting parents' ability to guide and support their children. Familie...
Weiser Files 82nd Lawsuit Against Trump Administration Over Immigration Rule
Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Weiser Files 82nd Lawsuit Against Trump Administration Over Immigration Rule

By Thelma Grimes | Colorado Politics Colorado has filed another lawsuit against the Trump administration, this time targeting a rule that allows immigration agents to consider more factors in deciding green card applications. Joining 21 other states and the District of Columbia, Colorado’s state attorney general said the lawsuit aims to halt the Trump administration’s new public charge rule, which, he insisted, would allow immigration officials to “punish” immigrants for lawful use of public benefits.   The proposed rule change centers on “public charge,” a term dating to the Immigration Act of 1882 that allows the government to deny a green card to a person likely to become primarily dependent on the government for assistance. Immigration officers have weighed on...
Case: Why Colorado’s Next Attorney General Must Investigate the Flawed Voting System
Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Case: Why Colorado’s Next Attorney General Must Investigate the Flawed Voting System

By John Case | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado voters deserve to know the truth about our voting system. Based on the evidence cited below, this letter calls for our next Attorney General to conduct an independent investigation of the voting system and publish the results to the people. The evidence: Please watch the 21 minute video at https://vimeo.com/1220653027 in which computer expert Mark Cook demonstrates how bad actors can control Colorado election outcomes without being detected. Votes in 62 counties are counted on computers leased from Liberty Vote, Inc., formerly known as Dominion. Federal standards prohibit use of components in critical infrastructure that are supplied by America's enemies or are subject to foreign control. Supply chain expert Co...
Colorado Sues Trump Administration Over Medicaid Funding for Gender Transitions for Minors
The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Colorado Sues Trump Administration Over Medicaid Funding for Gender Transitions for Minors

By Thelma Grimes | The Denver Gazette Colorado on Wednesday filed yet another lawsuit against the Trump administration — this time to stop a new rule that prohibits Medicaid dollars from paying for transgender transition services for minors. The question of transgender services has increasingly become a core election matter in Colorado. This November, residents will vote on two measures that implicate the question. Phil Weiser, the attorney general and Democratic gubernatorial candidate, announced that Colorado joined a coalition of states challenging the Trump administration’s “attempt to prohibit states from using federal Medicaid funds for gender-affirming healthcare for low-income minors or some young adults.” Last month, the Centers for Medicare and Medicai...
Colorado AG Candidate Michael Allen Calls for Full Audit After His Confidential Voter Data Was Accessed
KOAA News, Approved, State

Colorado AG Candidate Michael Allen Calls for Full Audit After His Confidential Voter Data Was Accessed

By Alasyn Zimmerman | KOAA News Allen is running against Sec. of State Jena Griswold to become Colorado's next Attorney General this Nov. EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KOAA) — Fourth Judicial District Attorney Michael Allen, who represents El Paso and Teller counties, claimed his information was among 59 confidential voters accessed after information was wrongly made public earlier this month. The Colorado Secretary of State's office announced last week, an update to the state's "Find My Voter Registration" site made 133,000 confidential voters information public, 59 of those were accessed by someone. The voter details include the following: full name birth year voter ID registration status party affiliation residential address Allen is r...
Gun rights and Phil Weiser: an answer that stops at Heller
Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Gun rights and Phil Weiser: an answer that stops at Heller

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Does current Attorney General (and candidate for governor) Phil Weiser know there’s been more gun control decisions past Heller? After reading about a curious statement AG Weiser made during the 8/27 gubernatorial debate. That debate in full is linked below. The remarks I reference relate to gun control and begin at about the 52:40 mark in the video when candidate Weiser was asked (quoting from the transcript): “Any laws the legislature has passed you disagree with, and does the state need to go further?” Candidate Weiser goes on to equivocate for some time before pausing and allowing one of the moderators to come back with a follow up, get an actual answer to the question. “And I’ll give you 30 seconds,...
Weiser’s Blueprint: The costs the plan leaves out
Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Weiser’s Blueprint: The costs the plan leaves out

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Phil Weiser's Colorado Blueprint is full of numbers.  It reports the almost $900 million his office recovered in opioid settlements. It counts the more than $184 million in AmeriCorps funding he sued to recover, and the nearly $32 million his office won from the e-cigarette maker JUUL.  It measures the problems he wants to solve down to the dollar, from the $11.4 billion it says Coloradans lose each year to congested highways and deteriorating roads to the $36.5 billion it credits to outdoor recreation and the adjacent hospitality and travel industries. What the 109-page plan almost never does is say what Weiser's own proposals would cost. The Democrat attorney general, running for governor, proposes a ...
Colorado Joins Lawsuit Challenging New Federal Mail Ballot Safeguards Ahead of Midterms
Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado Joins Lawsuit Challenging New Federal Mail Ballot Safeguards Ahead of Midterms

By Thelma Grimes | Colorado Politics Colorado, along with 25 other states, filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Postal Service to challenge a new rule that seeks to restrict the mailing of ballots to American citizens in an eligible voters list. Colorado relies heavily on the mail-in ballot system. As do several states. The U.S. Postal Service recently laid out how it would implement the order, but time is running short to impose major changes with some states beginning to send mail ballots to voters in just a few weeks. A few days ago, the conservative majority of the Supreme Court had cleared the way for President Donald Trump’s executive order, which mandates the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to create those lists — to be give...
Colorado Gets $615 Million in Meta Child Safety Settlement, but Polis Says Parents Remain Essential
The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Colorado Gets $615 Million in Meta Child Safety Settlement, but Polis Says Parents Remain Essential

By Thelma Grimes | The Denver Gazette The parent company of Facebook and Instagram will pay hundreds of millions of dollars to Colorado, part of an $18 billion multistate deal, in which the company also agreed to adopt extensive child-safety changes to its operations. The settlement ended a trial over teen social media addiction and settled claims filed by nearly every state. It resolved a pivotal case years in the making that sought to hold the tech giant accountable for the role its platforms played in allegedly undermining children’s mental health. The effort targeted features designed to hook young people’s attention. If approved by the court, the deal will stop an avalanche of litigation by states against Meta, although the company still faces lawsuits from indivi...