"We'll go through our file. We'll demonstrate we got this information legally."
---Beauprez, October 14
"File'? "Legally"? I"m sure the FBI will want to know more about exactly when Beauprez knew what Voorhis was doing;
"Several months ago we were approached by a source in federal law enforcement "
--- Beauprez, October 20
To review; a Federal agent gave the campaign detailed information which the campaign has admitted they knew came from the NCIC database:
When 9NEWS asked Beauprez campaign manager John Marshall why he believed they are the same man he said, "In federal criminal databases, the guy's information matches up."
Marshall also told 9NEWS the FBI numbers are the same.
-- months ago. Yet today;
"Beauprez and his campaign staff said they didn't ask their source where he got his information...."
Appears that Voorhis spent a great deal of effort over many months helping the Beauprez campaign create attack ads.
It's OK for an ICE agent to work on campaigns this way??
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), is responsible for eliminating vulnerabilities in the nation's border, and with economic, transportation and infrastructure security.
Beauprez had lots of choices once it was clear that the Federal agent who'd illegally broken into a federal database to leak confidential information to the campaign was going to be discovered.
As conservative pundits have pointed out (opinionjournal, behind WSJ' paid sub firewall), Beauprez could have considered his long-term reputation and immediately distanced himself from the felony ... particularly a crime committed by a federal agent.
Trailing far behind in the polls, Colorado Republican Bob Beauprez was almost certainly not going to win the governor's mansion on Nov. 7. Now, after launching an attack ad earlier this week against his opponent, Democrat Bill Ritter, Mr. Beauprez may have no political future at all.
He could have followed the more typical political route and blamed his campaign manager, who abruptly cut off his clandestine meetings with the law-breaker once word was out....
Incredibly, this sitting United States Representative has decided instead to advocate felonious activity by Federal agents for political gain.
(Think about it -- what felonies would Beauprez advocate as Governor? Against whom? For what purpose?)
Rumour has it that a House ethics investigation of Beauprez is now underway.
Sad to see him throw his reputation away like this.
Then again, any U.S. Representative sitting in office since 2001 who claims 'he'd never heard of the NCIC' before BeauprezGate ... doesn't deserve much sympathy...
Come to think of it, any Congressman who would allow his campaign to ruin the life of a Federal agent by encouring that individual to find confidential information to attack a political opponent...
...is just despicable.
Reminder;
Using such information for purposes other than law enforcement is a violation of federal and state law.
Or, as one commentator on the RMN web site put it:
"I'm a Republican, but Beauprez is a crook. Lauding a criminal is insane."
SquareStateNet has a good take;
The biggest irony of all is that it's actually Mr. Voorhis and ICE that are the weakest link in the chain of our immigration policy. It's also Beauprez's Republican controlled-Congress and Republican President that have failed to bring about a single piece of meaningful reform to deal with Immigration. Strike Three.
What's even more disturbing about all of this is what it shows about Beauprez's character. He has completely disregarded the rule of law. He isn't concerned with right or wrong, or being held accountable for his actions. He has shown he is only interested in power, and is now championing "political vigilantism" (no wonder he supports mercenaries in Iraq).
It's obvious now that Bob Beauprez thinks he's owed the Governor's mansion by the citizens of Colorado, and like a spoiled only child will stop at nothing to make it happen.
"I want an Oompa-loompa right now!", a young Beauprez was heard screaming.
Bet Mitt Romney's rethinking his Presidential campaign 'whiste'-stop fundraiser for Beauprez October 25th...
