Former Colorado governor’s attorney paid with public funds

DENVER (AP) - A private attorney for former Colorado governor John Hickenlooper has been paid using taxpayer money from a federal fund meant for post-9/11 economic assistance.

The Denver Post reported Denver attorney Mark Grueskin was appointed “special assistant attorney general” in October 2018 to defend Hickenlooper against an ethics complaint.

Grueskin was paid $43,390 at a rate of $525 per hour by the governor’s office.

The newspaper reported payments came from the federal Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003, a measure to reinvigorate the post-9/11 economy.

The complaint to the Colorado Independent Ethics Commission by the Public Trust Institute says private flights taken by the Democratic governor violated a government gift ban.

Hickenlooper spokeswoman Melissa Miller says the complaint was partisan and “put political attacks ahead of the facts.”