Oct 13 - Beauprez Campaign Sneaks Look into Federal Database

Information in attack ad only available to law enforcement

Gubernatorial candidate Bill Ritter today asked the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to examine whether Congressman Beauprez broke the law by using a criminal justice database in a television attack ad.

Ritter accused the Congressman of gaining access to a secure national database in violation of state and federal law.

"Your campaign broke the law," Ritter said during a debate taped at Fox 31 News in Denver this afternoon. "It's illegal to have access to that database."

The Congressman said his campaign used an "informant" to gather the information in the ad and would publicly disclose how and from where he obtained the information.

"The Congressman needs to be held accountable for this," Ritter said after the debate. "Breaking the rules for political gain and trying to cover it up might be OK in Washington, but that's not how we do things in Colorado."

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Read additional articles and commentary about the Beauprez campaign's access of a restricted Federal database: (Sorted by date, source)

• Denver Post: Oct 15 - CBI speeds campaign probe
• ColoradoLib.com: Oct 14 - Smackdown #4: "Both Ways Bob headed to the pokey" edition
• ColoradoPols.com: Oct 14 - Beauprez Staffer(s) to Frog-March?
• Denver Post: Oct 14 - Ritter: Beauprez broke law
• Rocky Mountain News: Oct 14 - State probes sources of ad
• Channel 7 News: Oct 13 - Ritter Asks CBI To Investigate Beauprez Campaign
• Channel 9 News: Oct 13 - Ritter campaign accuses Beauprez of breaking federal law
• SquareState.net: Oct 13 - Did the Beauprez campaign break the law?
• Channel 4 News: Oct 12 - Reality Check: Beauprez Continues Attacks On Ritter's Record