February 01, 2011 08:29 PM UTC

Suthers has delivered his moonlighting opinion to Gessler

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• by: Jason Salzman

( – promoted by Colorado Pols)

POLS UPDATE: It’s all over, folks, as the Denver Business Journal’s Ed Sealover reports:

Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler has abandoned his plans to do side work for his former law firm, he announced Tuesday afternoon.

In fact, Gessler will not do any side work with any law firm in order to focus on his duties in his new elected position, he said in a letter sent to constituents and the media…

The disclosure was followed by a week and a half of public discussion that included condemnations of his decision and questioning by some lawmakers.

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Colorado Attorney General John Suthers announced on KHOW’s Caplis and Silverman show Monday that his office has given Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler an opinion regarding his plan to moonlight for his former law firm, but Suthers did not offer further details.

Gessler hasn’t raced to the news media with Suthers’ decision, which means it likely was not a green light, though we obviously don’t know.

The radio show has been breaking newsbits on the Gessler moonlighting story, since it first broke in the Denver Business Journal.

On Thursday, for example, Gessler told Caplis and Siverman that his former law partners were “very uncomfortable” with his idea of making the names of his moonlighting clients public.

Yesterday, with Suthers on the program during the 3 p.m. hour to discuss recent court decisions about the federal health-care bill, Suthers answered the following question from Silverman about Gessler:

Craig: Scott Gessler has asked you for an opinion about whether his moonlighting is ok. You probably can’t tell us your decision, but can you give us some timing on when you might make the call?

John Suthers: We’ve already indicated to Scott what we think the issues are in regard to that decision. And I’m not free to comment what we’ve advised Mr. Gessler.