A Joint Ethics Committee of the Colorado House and Senate held a hearing today regarding allegations that lobbyist Erik Groves violated ethics rules by attempting to influence Representative-elect Cindy Acree to vote for Rep. David Balmer in the election for House Minority Leader.  Luis Toro, senior counsel for Colorado Ethics Watch, released the following statement in response:

“Today’s hearing presented important evidence in the investigation regarding a lobbyist’s attempt to influence the house minority leadership election. While Groves claimed he did not violate any rules, he also claimed he did not know the applicable rule itself – demonstrating that he is not holding himself accountable for potentially illegal actions.  Ethics Watch hopes that this investigation is an eye opener for legislators and lobbyists across the state, that lobbyists should not get involved in leadership elections, through vote-buying or otherwise, and that ignorance of the law is no excuse.”