Federal investigation - Rocky Mountain Voice

‘Congressional inquiry’ triggers $250K legal tab for Denver’s sanctuary city stance

Denverite, Approved, Local / May 21, 2025 / Denver Immigration Congressional Hearing, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, Federal investigation, Immigration Policy, Legal Fees, Public Accountability, Sanctuary cities, Taxpayer Spending

The legal bill is coming due for Denver’s response to a congressional inquiry.

The city recently received an invoice for $250,000 from Covington & Burling, the high-powered Washington law firm the city hired as it faced federal scrutiny over its immigration policies.

The city has been represented by Dana Remus, who previously was the White House counsel for former president Joe Biden. The contract began Feb. 1 as Mayor Mike Johnston was preparing to testify before the Republican-led U.S. House Oversight Committee.

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Mayor testifies in hate crime ‘hoax’ trial tied to 2023 election incident

denvergazette.com, Approved, Local / May 20, 2025 / 2023 Mayoral Race, Colorado Springs Trial, Cross Burning Case, Federal investigation, hate crime hoax, Mayor Yemi Mobolade

Right after the defense alleged the hate crime “hoax” that made headlines during the 2023 Colorado Springs mayoral runoff election was an act of “political theater,” Yemi Mobolade, now the city’s mayor, got emotional during his testimony Monday.

With only an hour left in the day’s proceedings, the prosecution called Mobolade to the stand. During his testimony, Mobolade teared up at times when identifying Derrick Bernard Jr., in the courtroom and seeing his defaced campaign sign again.

In November, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Colorado announced that three individuals were indicted by a federal grand jury for “maliciously conveying false information about a threat made by means of fire” to draw support for the eventual mayoral race winner, Mobolade, who is Colorado Springs’ first elected Black mayor.

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Gimelshteyn: CPAN files federal complaint over D70’s deceptive TRAILS program violating rights

Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Commentary, Local, Top Stories / May 9, 2025 / Civil Rights Complaint, Colorado Parent Advocacy Network (CPAN), Federal investigation, Ideological grooming, Parental Rights, Pueblo County School District 70, Social Emotional Learning, Student Data Collection, Student privacy, TRAILS

On April 25th, the Colorado Parent Advocacy Network (CPAN) filed a formal civil rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR), urging an investigation into Pueblo County School District 70 (D70) and its use of the “Transforming Research into Action to Improve the Lives of Students Social Emotional Learning” (TRAILS) program.

Our complaint is a direct response to the district’s reckless decision to embed this program into classrooms without parental consent, without transparency, and in direct violation of federal law.

TRAILS, which was deceptively marketed as a “gift” to the district, is directly connected to the Tides Foundation, a radical political nonprofit. Under TRAILS, students are subjected to mental health screenings, data collection on their emotions and coping skills, and exposure to controversial content, including advertisements promoting organizations like Trans Lifeline.

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