Colorado Citizens for Ethics in Government called on the Attorney General and the Jefferson County District Attorney to launch an immediate investigation of Rick O’Donnell, Republican candidate for Colorado’s 7th congressional district, for making false statements about his opponent Ed Perlmutter.

On September 6, 2006, Mr. O’Donnell’s campaign issued a press release inaccurately stating that “Ed [Perlmutter] profited from the collapse of scandal-ridden Executive Life Insurance Company” and that “he chose to profit from one of the worst corporate interests in America at the expense of elderly and disabled policyholders and Adams county taxpayers.”

Those statements have been proven to be false. Mr. Perlmutter actually helped recover money in 1991 for the policyholders of Executive Life Insurance Company and preserved assets once the firm was placed into conservatorship.

Colorado law makes it is a crime punishable by up to 18 months in jail and fines up to $5,000 to knowingly make, publish, broadcast, or circulate or cause to be made, published, or broadcast any false statement relating to any candidate for election to public office. Doing so recklessly, or in conscious disregard of the truth or falsity of the statement made, published, broadcasted, or circulated is punishable by up to 12 months in jail and fines of up to $1,000.