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June 08, 2022 10:16 AM UTC

BREAKING: Boebert's Mileage Scandal Gets New Investigation

  • 16 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

On December 4, 2020, Colorado Pols was the first to note that Congressperson Lauren “Q*Bert” Boebert had filed a campaign finance report that included a completely implausible amount of money returned back to her pockets for “mileage reimbursements.” As we wrote at the time, Boebert’s campaign reimbursed the candidate $22,259 for mileage, which would mean that Boebert claimed to have driven far enough in 8 months to have circumnavigated the globe 1.5 times.

It took a few months, but The Denver Post eventually reported on the story in February 2021, and the details subsequently made national headlines. Despite official complaints being made, Boebert’s mileage scandal (and her continued use of her campaign account as her own personal ATM) kind of petered out…

Until now.

As The New York Times reports:

Colorado officials are examining allegations that Representative Lauren Boebert, a Republican representing the state’s western half, inflated the mileage she logged on the campaign trail in 2020 and then used more than $20,000 in reimbursements from donors to pay off years of tax liens on her restaurant.

The allegations have bounced around liberal circles since The Denver Post first reported in February 2021 that Ms. Boebert had cashed two checks from her campaign totaling $22,259 for mileage reimbursement, a figure that equated to 38,712 miles — well more than 24,901-mile circumference of the planet. [Pols Note: The Denver Post did in fact credit Colorado Pols for first catching this story] 

But the same group that unleashed a torrent of unflattering information about Representative Madison Cawthorn that helped defeat his bid for a second term in North Carolina last month has brought the matter to the Colorado attorney general’s office, which has referred it for an interagency examination. [Pols emphasis]

Janet Drake, the deputy Colorado attorney general for criminal justice, told David B. Wheeler, one of the founders of the American Muckrakers PAC, on Tuesday that her department would work with the state’s Department of Revenue and Department of Labor and Employment “to investigate the issue.”

Rep. Lauren Boebert, State Sen. Don Coram.

Boebert’s campaign has since amended that original campaign finance report to claim that reimbursements were also for hotel and lodging expenses, which is nevertheless still against FEC rules for documenting reimbursements. As the Times reports, a spokesperson for Boebert’s campaign claims that Boebert had already paid off $20,000 in tax liens for her Shooter’s Grill restaurant before she received the $22,259 reimbursement check from the campaign. Boebert’s camp would have you believe that it was just a weird coincidence that she was reimbursed from her campaign an amount of money that would cover her outstanding tax debts.

The group called American Muckrakers PAC helped take down Boebert’s buddy Madison Cawthorn in a Republican Primary in North Carolina in May. That group said afterward that it was focusing its efforts on ousting Boebert in Colorado’s June 28th Republican Primary. As the Times reports, American Muckrakers recently pushed for Boebert’s mileage scandal to get a new look from investigators:

“As you are both fully aware, utilizing an illegal source of funds or ill-gotten funds to pay off a tax lien is illegal in Colorado and under federal law,” the Muckrakers complaint to the attorney general stated, adding, “That is the very definition of ill-gotten funds.”

David Wheeler, one of founders of American Muckrakers PAC, had the final word in the Times story:

“This is not an attack on Lauren Boebert,” Mr. Wheeler insisted. “Had Representative Boebert paid her restaurant staff properly and also paid the unemployment premiums to the State of Colorado, an investigation never would have been necessary.”

Will this be enough to help Republican challenger Don Coram defeat Boebert on June 28th? Probably not by itself, but an escalation of this scandal certainly won’t help Q*Bert’s re-election hopes.

And remember, once again: You heard it here first.

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16 thoughts on “BREAKING: Boebert’s Mileage Scandal Gets New Investigation”

    1. First, quick correction, Alva: The lede states “On December 4, 2000, Colorado Pols was the first to note…” It ought to read “2020”.                                        
      Second, coloradosane, you didn’t read the diary, did you?                                  

      “On December 4, 2000, Colorado Pols was the first to note that Congressperson Lauren “Q*Bert” Boebert had filed a campaign finance report that included a completely implausible amount of money returned back to her pockets for “mileage reimbursements.” As we wrote at the time, Boebert’s campaign reimbursed the candidate $22,259 for mileage…”

  4. Weiser has, in substance, proven to be basically no different of an AG than Coffman was.

    He shows little interest in rocking the boat. 

    Just recently, in fact, he signed on to a petition for certiorari to get the 9th Circuit's decision assuring the Navajo Nation a voice in water management overturned.

    Weiser's statement on Boebert's antics that he's punting to CDLE and the state revenue department, which are likely to do nothing and which aren't generally empowered to enforce the law in any case,  is yet another example.

    Weiser is just another ambitious politician who, like Polis, will hew to the ultra-cautious, do-nothing middle.

    1. One big difference between Weiser and Taller Coffman ….

      Moderatus doesn't get all hot and excited over Weiser like he did over Cynthia Coffman.

    2. Nothing says the AG's office is "punting" the issue.  What the article said was

      Janet Drake, the state’s deputy attorney general for criminal justice, told David B. Wheeler, one of the founders of the American Muckrakers PAC, on Tuesday that her department would work with the Colorado Department of Revenue and Department of Labor and Employment “to investigate the issue.”

      let's see — who would know something about payment of tax liens?  Should the AG work with Dept of Revenue, or is there some other way to investigate that wouldn't involve working with them?

      And who would know about an owner paying wages and unemployment insurance? 

  5. Why did it take pokes from American Muckrakers and not just reporting from Pols and the Denver Post for an official investigation to start? 

    1. Right.

      Weiser is happy to go along and get along. He wants to please the big law firms and the corporate big shots. He's got no evident interest in actually doing anything significant to improve environmental quality in the state, for example. He signed on in sort of a pro-forma kind of way to some lawsuits against the Trump wrecking crew and even launched a few lawsuits against Trump initiatives. They weren't much to begin with and, once Biden took over, Weiser decided he no longer has to even do that.

      And when it comes to climate, he, like Polis, basically doesn't care.

      Same with wage theft. Same with police misconduct. Same with Republican law-breaking, as has apparently occurred with not only Boebert, but Peters and a few others around the state.

      Weiser is out for his own political future. That's it. I wouldn't mind that if he also actually did something beyond the bare minimum to help Colorado, but he figures the usual Democratic timidity is the way to go. 

      Sad.

        1. Polis has utterly failed to address the rot at the Air Quality Control Commission and punted every hard decision about climate change down the road. He just vetoed a bill that would have expanded access to electric vehicle chargers, for example. The guy talks but does nothing. He's a joke on climate.

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