Phil Weiser’s Department of Law investigates Jena Griswold’s campaign finance violations. Weiser runs for governor. Griswold runs for attorney general. Both face identical AI-analyzed complaints alleging disclosure violations. Weiser’s opponent Michael Bennet faces the same complaint.
Griswold heads the Secretary of State’s office. Her elections division investigates campaign finance complaints—including complaints against Bennet and Weiser. Weiser’s Department of Law took over investigating Griswold to avoid conflict of interest.
Ethan Au Green used AI to analyze TRACER campaign finance data. His complaints: Weiser had 1,988 disclosure violations, Griswold had 492 contributions totaling $61,371 with missing information, Bennet had 133 contributions over $100 without required employer data. Griswold has six total complaints filed against her since June 2022.
Videographer Rachel Grossbard charged Weiser $2,000 for campaign services but gave Bennet the same work free—a $2,000 in-kind contribution exceeding Colorado’s $1,500 limit.
The three Democrats draw combined taxpayer salaries of $485,000 annually while campaigning. Weiser earns $107,676 from the Department of Law’s $147 million budget. Griswold collects $102,000. Bennet draws a $174,000 Senate salary frozen since 2009.
Weiser filed 50+ lawsuits against the Trump administration since January 2025. Announced through official AG press releases. January 21, his office launched an online tool for Coloradans to report “federal agent misconduct.” Built and maintained with AG budget funds. His campaign: “Phil fights Trump with 50 lawsuits.”
January 28, Weiser won preliminary injunction blocking USDA’s SNAP pilot affecting 100,000+ Colorado households. His official statement: “This was punishment from the Trump administration.”
Weiser raised $4.6 million for his gubernatorial campaign. Bennet raised $3.5 million. Rocky Mountain Way—the super PAC that “cannot coordinate” with Bennet’s campaign—raised $3.6 million. Former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg gave the PAC $1.25 million. “Brighter Future for Colorado,” a dark money nonprofit refusing to disclose donors, gave $550,000.
Bennet’s campaign manager calls him the “grassroots candidate.”
Bennet announced his gubernatorial run April 11, 2025. He draws full Senate salary through November 2026 while running for governor. January 29 Senate floor speech demanded ICE overhaul: “ICE needs to take their masks off.” Same week his campaign announced the $3.5 million raised.
Griswold used Secretary of State letterhead January 13 to ask Governor Polis not to pardon Tina Peters. The letter—combined with County Clerks Association—warned “caving into the demands of a vengeful President does not make our state or country better off.”
Her campaign credential: the Trump ballot case. The Supreme Court ruled unanimously against Colorado’s attempt to remove Trump from the ballot. Griswold markets the loss as proof she “stands up to Trump.”
The system designed to enforce campaign finance law has no mechanism to enforce campaign finance law on the enforcers. Weiser’s office investigates Griswold’s violations while Weiser faces 1,988 alleged violations. Griswold’s office investigates Weiser and Bennet while facing six complaints herself.
Colorado voters fund the $147 million Department of Law budget. They fund the Secretary of State’s elections division. They fund the salaries. The Bloomberg money and the AI-analyzed complaints and the federal misconduct tool all run on different budgets. None of them stop each other.
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