Rocky Mountain Voice

Tag: Government transparency

Bongino’s Departure From the FBI Sparks Public Debate, Take the Poll
Just The News, Approved, National

Bongino’s Departure From the FBI Sparks Public Debate, Take the Poll

By Just the News staff | Just the News The announcement followed months of speculation over his future at the agency and came amid longstanding rumors of a rift with Attorney General Pam Bondi over her handling of the Epstein files. FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino on Wednesday announced his plans to leave the FBI at the end of the year. "I will be leaving my position with the FBI in January. I want to thank President Trump, AG Bondi, and Director Patel for the opportunity to serve with purpose," he posted on X. " Most importantly, I want to thank you, my fellow Americans, for the privilege to serve you. God bless America, and all those who defend Her." READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT JUST THE NEWS
Liberty Vote’s Big Buy: What It Means for Colorado Voters and Why Questions Remain
Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, National, Top Stories

Liberty Vote’s Big Buy: What It Means for Colorado Voters and Why Questions Remain

By Colorado Institute for Fair Elections | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Imagine this: You're heading to your local polling place in Colorado, ready to cast your vote on a crisp November morning. You scan your ID at a digital check-in station, mark your paper ballot, and feed it into a machine that tallies it up. Sounds straightforward, right? But behind the scenes, the company running much of that tech—Dominion Voting Systems—just got bought out and rebranded as Liberty Vote. For everyday folks like you and me, this could affect how secure and trustworthy our elections feel.  Announced on October 9, 2025, the deal promises a fresh, all-American start. But as we unpack it, some red flags pop up that make you wonder: Is this real change, or just a shiny ne...
Legislative transparency takes a hit as video livestream decision stalls
Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Commentary, State

Legislative transparency takes a hit as video livestream decision stalls

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Update-a-palooza on legislative livestreams and campaign finance complaints I wanted to update some stories I’ve been following before they get too stale (as you can see in today’s third post, I’ll be taking the rest of the week off). First, and simplest, is an update to whether or not the state legislature will continue what was a pilot program to livestream legislative committee hearings (video and audio instead of just audio). The Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition story linked first below offers more details, but the upshot is that the legislature is a decided “maybe” on whether or not to continue it. The livestreams, at least according to the article, are pretty popular but it seems the sticking point ...
The numbers didn’t match: El Paso’s canvass exposes a statewide reporting failure the state never explained
Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

The numbers didn’t match: El Paso’s canvass exposes a statewide reporting failure the state never explained

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado voters expected a routine post–Election Day canvass after the November 4 coordinated election. Instead, El Paso County became ground zero for the latest crisis involving Secretary of State Jena Griswold’s office after a canvass board member noticed that the numbers on the state’s website didn’t match the county’s certified reports. The mismatch surfaced publicly after businessman and election analyst Peter Bernegger posted screenshots of the Election Night Reporting (ENR) CSV file on Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/PeterBernegger/status/1991610012989329540?s=20 What began as one discrepancy quickly revealed a statewide reporting failure. The ENR CSV file published by the Secretary of State contained contest-level totals that ...
The Press Has Become the Enemy of Truth and The Epstein Pattern Proves It
Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, National, Top Stories

The Press Has Become the Enemy of Truth and The Epstein Pattern Proves It

By C.J. Garbo | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice There was a time in this country when journalism meant something. It meant moral courage. It meant truth telling. It meant pulling corruption into the light even if it scorched the powerful. That era is gone. The modern press no longer defends truth. It orchestrates narratives. It does not expose the darkness. It manages it. If you want the clearest proof, look no further than the Jeffrey Epstein case. No story in modern American history has better revealed the press’s rotting soul. Epstein ran a global trafficking operation involving the rich, the powerful, and the politically connected. Children were abused. Women were exploited. A network of elites participated or enabled. And yet the media’s coverage has been sporadic, ...
Colorado Ethics Watch Alleges Misconduct by Democratic Legislators at Vail Retreat
Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado Ethics Watch Alleges Misconduct by Democratic Legislators at Vail Retreat

By: Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics Colorado Common Cause filed complaints Wednesday with the state ethics commission against 12 Democratic state lawmakers, alleging they accepted funding from the “dark money” group One Main Street Colorado for a three-day retreat at a luxury hotel in Vail last October. The complaints said the lawmakers accepted illegal gifts from One Main Street that violate Amendment 41, the state’s ethics amendment, also known as Article 29 of the state Constitution. Under that amendment, lawmakers are not allowed to accept gifts exceeding $75 per person per year. But the cost of the rooms at the Sonnenalp Vail came in at about $25,000 for the lawmakers. The complaint claimed the hotel charges $316 to $500 per night. Common Cause also said th...
FBI and DOJ Coordinated with White House on Secretive ‘Arctic Frost’ Surveillance of Trump Associates
Just The News, Approved, National

FBI and DOJ Coordinated with White House on Secretive ‘Arctic Frost’ Surveillance of Trump Associates

By Jerry Dunleavy | Just the News Evidence continues to emerge showing the top levels of the Biden Administration involved in the investigations into once-and-future rival Donald Trump. Members of the Biden White House and leaders at the Biden-era Justice Department and FBI were all involved in efforts linked to the launch of the Arctic Frost investigation which targeted then-former President Donald Trump and MAGA World over the events surrounding January 6, 2021. Recently-declassified revelations related to the FBI’s “Arctic Frost” investigation chronicle the 2022 lawfare assault against then-former President Donald Trump and MAGA world, as criminal inquiries — which would soon lead to criminal charges — spun into high gear as Trump leaned toward running for p...
Colorado Supreme Court Expands Who Can Sue Over Secret Government Meetings
Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado Supreme Court Expands Who Can Sue Over Secret Government Meetings

By Michael Karlik | Colorado Politics The Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that organizations are entitled to the same recovery of their costs as individuals when they successfully pursue a public entity’s violation of the state’s open meetings law. The Colorado Open Meetings Law permits “any person” to challenge a violation of the law. At the same time, it grants “the citizen” who proves a violation the right to relief and to recover the cost of litigation for holding the government accountable. The question for the Supreme Court was whether an organization, such as a newspaper, is a citizen entitled to the benefits of the law. By 6-1, the court answered yes. “It would be absurd to allow corporations — who are recognized as persons in one part of the statutory scheme an...
Governor’s mansion doubles as free soapbox for First Gentleman’s animal agenda
Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Governor’s mansion doubles as free soapbox for First Gentleman’s animal agenda

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project The First Gentleman's lecture series -- who's footing the bill? A couple weeks back, I noticed an article about a talk at the governor's mansion about wolf reintroduction involving the First Gentleman and his guests for the evening. The article is linked first below if you'd like to give it a read.If you know anything about the First Gentleman, you know he is a dedicated animal rights activist. Has been for a while. It should therefore not shock anyone that the guests at this talk were also animal rights/wildlife advocates.I won't go into the details of the talk. I'll leave it to you to read up if you'd like.The First Gentleman has the same First Amendment rights as anyone else. He's welcome to have an opinion and expre...