January 22, 2024 10:52 AM UTC

Mike Lynch Arrest Video as Bad as It Gets, Yet Republicans Fail to Oust Him as Leader

• 8 Comments
• by: Colorado Pols

UPDATE #3: Via Ernest Luning of the Colorado Springs Gazette, Minority Leader Mike Lynch’s statement after barely surviving a no-confidence vote today remains apology-free and, on balance, pretty arrogant for a leader one vote on maternity leave away from losing his post:

After the vote, Lynch said in a statement “Like all families, our caucus has disagreements, but not on the big issues. We remain unified and focused on the issues that matter most to the hardworking families of Colorado…As House Minority Leader, I am proud to lead a caucus that prioritizes the needs and aspirations of the people we represent,” he said.

“I have fully accepted, and I own the mistake I made in 2022, that’s what leaders do,” Lynch said.” I look forward to earning the trust of the members that didn’t vote for me and I appreciate the continued support of those who did.”

We’re pretty confident this will not be the last word. Stay tuned.

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UPDATE #2: Minority Leader Mike Lynch keeps his position by the narrowest 9-9 margin with Rep. Stephanie Luck not voting (she’s on maternity leave). Rep. Luck would have been a likely decisive vote to boot Lynch had she not given birth last week, thus ensuring the battle over Lynch’s fate is far from over. Lynch still has not addressed the House as a whole to apologize for this incident, another bare-minimum act of contrition Lynch has chosen to ignore.

The standards have fallen we guess.

The ballot is split, 9-9. So Lynch survives, but narrowly. There are 19 members of the caucus, but Rep. Stephanie Luck just had a baby and is not participating. https://t.co/ORewFWahh1

— Seth Klamann (@SethKlamann) January 22, 2024

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UPDATE: House Republican minority is reportedly considering a no-confidence motion against Minority Leader Mike Lynch. The Denver Post’s Seth Klamann:

Rep. Scott Bottoms, a Colorado Springs Republican, told Lynch during a contentious Monday morning meeting that he would call for another meeting later in the day to force a vote on Lynch’s future as minority leader. Bottoms and other right-wing members of the caucus told Lynch that they were being inundated with criticism of the arrest, which was broadly a secret even to Republican lawmakers until The Denver Post reported its details last week.

The Republican caucus reconvened for that meeting about 10:30 a.m.

During the earlier gathering Monday, some members called for Lynch to step down as minority leader. The third-term Republican legislator is also running to represent the 4th Congressional District in this year’s election and is part of a crowded primary field that includes U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, who’s seeking to switch from her district.

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The story of GOP House Minority Leader and congressional candidate Mike Lynch’s 2022 arrest on DUI and gun charges, which Lynch appears to have successfully concealed until its disclosure by enemies as-yet unknown last week, got worse on Friday with the release of video of Lynch’s arrest and further conversations with the arresting Colorado State Patrol officer. The Colorado Sun’s Jesse Paul reports:

The top Republican in the Colorado House of Representatives, as he was sitting in the back of a police vehicle two years ago, asked a state trooper not to disclose his arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol to the media.

“If there’s anything we can do to kind of keep the press out of this, that would be great,” House Minority Leader Mike Lynch said, [Pols emphasis] according to footage from inside of a Colorado State Patrol vehicle during the arrest in September 2022.

The State Patrol released the footage Friday to The Colorado Sun in response to an open records request. The agency initially said the video wouldn’t be available for many months…

The released video also provides a verbatim recording of Lynch’s conversation with the State Patrol officer before his arrest, when Lynch mentioned the name of Mike Honn, the State Patrol’s registered lobbyist in a way that certainly suggests Lynch was asking for a political lifeline. 9NEWS’ Marshall Zelinger:

“Can you call Mike Honn?” Lynch asks on video. “Who’s Mike Honn?” the trooper asks Lynch.

“Uh, never mind. No. No. Yes, sir. I’ll do whatever you want me to do,” Lynch says to the trooper. “Who’s Mike?” the trooper asks again.

“Mike is the captain of the state patrol that…” Lynch says. “OK,” the trooper says. “Why do you want me to call Mike?” he asks Lynch in the video.

“Nope. I don’t want you to call anybody. Nope, I did not say that,” Lynch says. “Well, you did,” the trooper says in the video. [Pols emphasis]

“I take it you’re friends with Mike?” the trooper asks Lynch. “Yes, and I’m a state representative,” Lynch says…

With the release of this video, it’s now damningly obvious that Lynch had every intention of trying to invoke his status as a Republican lawmaker to avoid arrest, and only relented when it became clear that the officer involved wasn’t interested in showing Lynch any favoritism. We knew from the police report last week that Lynch had asked for a phone call to the CSP’s lobbyist, but the video leaves Lynch with no excuses about his clear intention. But even that experience wasn’t enough for Lynch, who we now know asked the officer to “keep the press out of this”–aware even with a blood alcohol content of .165 that he was in big trouble.

While irresponsible, in our general experience a DUI itself doesn’t necessarily end political careers. It’s the cover-up, in Lynch’s case over a year after an embarrassingly obvious plea for special treatment, that turns a regrettable mistake into a campaign-ending disaster.

We don’t see a path for Lynch to continue as Minority Leader, but nothing surprises us anymore.