NEW: A statement from Colorado Secretary of State @JenaGriswold (D) moves closer to taking responsibility for her office's leak of voting machine passwords. "I am regretful for this error," Griswold said in the statement. #copolitics @JenaGriswold Griswold told 9NEWS last week that only her office was investigating her office's security breach. @GovOfCo Polis (D) called for an outside investigation. Griswold's office now says it has retained "a well-regarded law firm to conduct an outside investigation."

NEW: @GovofCO Polis (D) announces Colorado will deploy “human capital, air and ground assets, and other logistical support” to help SOS @JenaGriswold (D) change leaked voting system passwords statewide. #copolitics The password changes and review of logs/video for potential tampering is a process that must occur on-site in impacted county clerk offices. SOS has declined to say how many. Goal is to complete work tonight

NEW: Spokesperson for Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold (D) confirms that "partial passwords" for Colorado voting systems were inadvertently posted online. The @ColoGOP first flagged the issue. #copolitics The @ColoGOP says SOS @JenaGriswold (D) must comply with a list of election integrity demands or the GOP will call on county clerks to decertify the impacted voting machines.

Aurora Fire tells me capacity for the Trump rally is about 10,300. The guy with the clicker at the door says 1,500 entered in the first hour. Two hours until Trump speaks. Imagine it will be packed. I’ll thread updates from the rally here. #copolitics “Come here! I’m gonna give you a hug. I don’t watch your show. You’re so full of shit.” - Katrena from Kittridge, CO

NEW: Tina Peters’ sentencing in her election system tampering case has started. I’ll thread details here. Or watch live: #copolitics 9news.com/mobile/article… Peters’ attorney asks for a sentence of probation instead of prison. Calls the prosecution highly politicized. Not sure how well that will go over with the judge, who wasn’t interested in political speeches during the trial. A pastor is now speaking on Peters’ behalf.

NEW: Colorado has a new welcome sign, of sorts. The billboard at the CO-WY state line warning "Venezuela Ahead, Be Prepared!" bears the name of Donald Trump's biggest billionaire megadonor. #copolitics 9news.com/article/news/p… The billboard says “Paid for by Clipper Properties, LLC, Tim Mellon, Member.” Mellon gave $125M to a pro-Trump super PAC. The NYT describes Mellon as a "reclusive billionaire" whose autobiography said Blacks became "even more belligerent" after the expansion of social programs.

KOA's @MandyConnell repeated a claim that a Venezuelan gang is extorting truckers in Aurora, CO. It's from a TikTok video that appears to satirize anti-migrant hysteria. The TikTok creator said 18 Venezuelans got out of an SUV with "Venezuelan gang member" tattooed on their arms.

https://twitter.com/KOAColorado/status/1836134384618856874

"18 Venezuelan got out of the SUV," the TikTok creator said in the video. "He pulled up his shirt and showed me his pew-pew and he had "Venezuelan gang member" tattooed on his forearm so I knew he was a Venezuelan gang member."

NEW: @AuroraMayorMike and Councilwoman @DaniJurinsky release a joint statement on Venezuelan gang activity, saying, "overstated claims fueled by social media and through select news organizations are simply not true." Statement says "a select few properties" affected. #copolitics @AuroraMayorMike @DaniJurinsky Jurinsky was the chief driver of claims repeated uncritically by some local news media and promoted heavily by Fox News, InfoWars, and other conservative media. Coffman had pushed back on her claims, but he offered conflicting statements in interviews, sometimes within hours.

NEW: Republican activist takes credit for racist signs in Denver #copolitics 9news.com/article/news/l… Sabo, a self-described street artist, who publicly mused about shooting Latinos this week is claiming responsibility for racist signs that appeared overnight in Denver on Thursday.

Much is being said about when/where Kamala Harris and Tim Walz will do in-depth interviews. LOCAL JOURNALISTS: Prepare now, not after your outlet suddenly lands an interview with a national newsmaker. What issues of local importance/national significance will you discuss? (1/8) National newsmakers sometimes turn to local journalists for interviews perceived as less challenging, with interviewers unprepared to discuss issues with depth and context. But local journalists can and should do thoughtful, meaningful interviews with national newsmakers. (2/8)

NEW: Rep. Lauren Boebert claims credit for projects in Colorado even when she votes against the bills funding them. Boebert said in our #CO4 debate that she would still have voted no if she was the deciding vote, killing those projects she claims credit for now. #copolitics #CO4 candidate Deborah Flora has called for parents to pull their kids from public elementary/middle schools. @cologop recently told parents to pull kids from all public schools. I asked Flora what America would be like without public education. She wouldn't directly answer.

NEW: Former Trump attorney @JennaEllisEsq agrees to a three-year suspension of her Colorado law license for a felony guilty plea in Georgia for attempting to overturn the 2020 election results. #copolitics @JennaEllisEsq "Attorneys are often disbarred after being convicted of a felony, particularly where the conviction flows from criminal acts committed while acting as an attorney," the stipulation reads. "However, disbarment is not automatic, even for felony convictions."

NEW: @msudenver says its own police force ziptied doors when protesters were in Tivoli Hall, not protesters. MSU Denver President Janine Davidson made the false claim in a public message to the community. #copolitics @msudenver MSU Denver's false claim that protesters had locked doors with zipties came in a note from the President titled: "Protesters escalate tactics." This comes after @DenverPolice said that they would not sweep the pro-Palestinian encampment on the quad unless the situation escalated.

NEW: #CO4 candidate State Rep @richard_holtorf unleashed a misogynist attack on GOP primary rival @laurenboebert today, saying Boebert dresses like a prostitute. "High heels, short skirt, low-cut blouse," Holtorf said on KNUS. "She needs to learn how to dress." #copolitics Holtorf compared Boebert's outfits to prostitutes walking Colfax in Denver. "My five daughters, if they stood in front of me... dressed like Boebert, I would be disgusted," Holtorf said.

NEW: Election interference indictments in Arizona include Colorado attorney and convicted felon Jenna Ellis, and former CU visiting professor John Eastman, attorney for the @cologop, per WaPo. #copolitics @cologop Here is the section of the indictment that appears to refer to John Eastman:

Guys, the bananas are gone. You know what that means in Colorado. This snowstorm is for real. @nexton9news viewers noticed this storm prep gauge years ago and we can't unsee it. Doug G documented the bananapocalypse at the King Soopers in Southlands

NEW: Rep Lauren Boebert (R-CO) will not seek the special election nomination to replace Rep Ken Buck (R) for the remainder of 2024, instead focusing on the GOP primary to replace him for a full two-year term. The primary and special election are both June 25. #copolitics Boebert was unlikely to win the special election nod from GOP insiders in CO-4 after switching her district from CO-3 and if she had received the special election nomination and won the special election in June, she would have been forced to resign her current seat early.

The failure to cover and contextualize extremism and unprecedented political behavior is even more pronounced at the local news level, especially on local TV news. Why?

https://twitter.com/normornstein/status/1756723110836080944

Perhaps it’s the fear of alienating any of the audience, despite the stakes. Perhaps it’s fear of the violent threats that journalists and their families receive after covering extremism. Maybe it’s disinterest, apathy, or the idea that such weighty topics should be left others.

NEW: Congressional candidate and GOP House Minority Leader @COrepLynch says he didn't think there was any reason to tell voters he was arrested in 2022 for drunk driving and a weapons charge because it's a "personal matter." #copolitics #coleg @COrepLynch Lynch's BAC was more than double the legal limit when he was stopped going 90mph on I-25 by a state trooper who thought Lynch was trying to race him. The trooper said he feared for his safety as Lynch reached for a gun during the traffic stop.

Colorado Democrats are backing off a false claim made by @GovofCO Polis to promote Prop HH. Following a 9News fact-check, the @YesOnHH website no longer inaccurately says Prop HH is the *only* way to mitigate property tax hikes. #copolitics

Polis’ false claim was featured in pro-HH mailers and an ad that we fact-checked this week.

NEW: 2022 Colorado gubernatorial candidate @heidiganahl (R) says Christians "have the power to singlehandedly return our state to the beautiful place it was." The Truth & Liberty Conference mixed anti-LGBTQ rhetoric with calls for Christian dominance of government. #copolitics Ganahl spoke Friday at the Truth & Liberty Conference in Woodland Park, led by evangelist and faith healer Andrew Wommack who opened the event likening LGBTQ people to murderers and saying Christians should assume control because "they don’t even know which bathroom to go into."