From left to right: Secretary of State Scott Gessler; Deputy Secretary of
State Suzanne Staiert; and Democratic attorney Mark Grueskin.
Posted on 07/03/2013 12:59:15 PM PDT by Red Steel
DENVER — In a surprise move Wednesday morning, the attorney for two Democratic lawmakers facing recall elections asked the Secretary of State’s office to recuse itself from ruling on protests.
Mark Grueskin asked Deputy Secretary of State Suzanne Staiert, a former judge who is presiding over protest hearings in both recalls, to recuse herself because her boss, Secretary of State Scott Gessler, actually advised Republicans in Pueblo on how to wage a successful recall against Sen. Angela Giron.
“A recall election is brutal so you need to get all your ducks in a row,” Gessler advised a group of 100 Pueblo Republicans back in March, according to an article in the Pueblo Chieftain that’s the basis for Grueskin’s motion.
“You don’t want to wait until the clock’s started to get organized.”
Giron and Senate President John Morse, both Democrats, are facing recalls for their support of gun control legislation this year; Gessler’s office has already ruled that enough petitions have been turned in to force a special election in both senate districts.
Gessler, who walked out of his office and encountered reporters following the hearing, declined to comment on the suggestion that he was biased in favor of the recall organizers and that his own bias was shared by his deputy.
Staiert, who didn’t expect attorneys to even show up for Wednesday’s scheduled protest hearing in the Giron case — because Grueskin’s argument to disqualify Giron recall petitions is the same as what he laid out last week in the Morse hearing, both sides had agreed to forgo a formal hearing and submit briefs by email — said that she and Gessler have never discussed either recall case.
“The Secretary and I have had no conversations about this recall,” she said. “He is not involved in the decision-making process on any hearing that I conduct.
“But, I understand that this is based on an appearance, not any allegation that there is a true conflict.”
Grueskin, after the hearing, acknowledged as much.
“It looks bad for the Secretary to have gone down to Pueblo and, in essence, have coached the proponents and the Republican Party on how to do this and then have his designee sit in judgment,” Grueskin told reporters. “It looks bad.”
Richard Westfall, the attorney representing the groups trying to recall Morse and Giron, told reporters that there’s no proof that Gessler’s bias extends to Staiert.
“She is the one who’s the hearing officer, she is the one making the decision,” he said. “I don’t think any allegations regarding the Secretary — there’s no indication that there’s any bias by the deputy secretary who’s hearing the protest.”
But Grueskin pointed to the recent Independent Ethics Commission on Gessler’s use of his office’s discretionary funds to cover the cost of a flight home from the Republican National Convention last year and how, during those hearings, Staiert was defending her boss.
“There was just a process at the Independent Ethics Commission where they were very much acting one for the other,” Grueskin said. “People perceive based on that kind of track record that they are linked.”
On Twitter, Staiert fired away from her newly created account, calling the proceeding “a kangaroo court” and, after the IEC denied her the chance to testify, that there was a “#waronwomen”.
“Mock trial high school observers know more about the rules of evidence than the #IEC,” she tweeted.
At least 12 tweets from Staiert during the ethics hearing were deleted from her account prior to the first recall protest hearing last week.
Staiert is expected to issue her ruling on the protest in Morse’s case, which Grueskin argued before her last week, before the end of the day Wednesday.
The latest poop thrown.
Just more desperation. By law the SOS’s office has to rule on this and there is no provision to allow any other office to rule. They have a right to appeal and that’s their remedy if the SOS screws up.
We should get word by 5 pm today if Gessler’s office is moving forward with the recall then onto the courts for the Dems.
Thanks for the heads up, Red steel.
9 News just had a typical lib MSM 20 second update: The recall petition will stand as is.
It was just announced Gessler’s office ruled the recall petition was constitutional and the recall for Morse would continue.
Colorado: New Restrictive Gun Laws Effective Yesterday
Yesterday, July 1, the restrictive and misguided legislation that was passed by Colorado’s 69th General Assembly and signed into law by Governor John Hickenlooper (D) took effect.
Please be aware of the following new laws:
•Unless possessed before July 1, 2013, all magazines with a capacity of greater than 15 rounds are now illegal. If you possessed a magazine greater than 15 rounds before July 1, the sale or transfer of that magazine is not permitted.
•All firearm purchases are now subject to an additional fee (gun tax) to fund the duplicative and failing Colorado Bureau of Investigation InstaCheck system.
•The private transfer of a firearm, even between certain family members and friends and while afield, is now criminalized. A prospective firearm transferor must request a background check from a licensed gun dealer in order to transfer or lend a firearm. The transferee may not accept possession of a firearm unless the firearm transferor has obtained approval of the transfer from a licensed gun dealer.
These misguided and discriminatory laws severely punish responsible gun owners and sportsmen in the Centennial State. The fight in Colorado to protect and restore your Right to Keep and Bear Arms is not over. Efforts are currently underway to recall state Senate President John Morse (D-11) and the National Rifle Association is supporting a lawsuit filed by 54 Colorado county sheriffs, the firearms industry trade association, several firearms retailers, individuals with disabilities and other parties, that challenges these recently enacted gun control laws. Your NRA is preparing for the 2014 elections to ensure that the state legislators who ignored the rights of responsible gun owners are not reelected, but we need your support to succeed. It is critical that every Second Amendment supporter in Colorado is registered to vote so you can hold those accountable who voted against your constitutional rights and inherent right to self-defense.
Thanks very much, Red Steel!
They try to use every dirty trick they can. They have tenacity and gall I’ll say that for them.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.