Weeks after Colorado Republican gubernatorial nominee Dan Maes told a Denver Post reporter that parts of his tale of working undercover as a police officer in Kansas in 1985 may have been “incorrect” — a story that hastened the crumbling of his gubernatorial campaign — Maes has released documents related to his dismissal that he says validate his story. But do they?
The documents do show that he was in contact with the Kansas Bureau of Investigation over a gambling ring run by members of his future wife’s family, but they reinforce the fact that his original claim of working “undercover” with the bureau — the claim that sparked the entire scandal — was exaggerated at best. They also show a young officer being chastised and then fired by his superiors. Not exactly stuff to frame and hang on the wall.
“You were specifically cautioned not to reveal the contents of your conversations with your superiors and K.B.I. agents to Dee Andrade,” then-Chief of Police Richard Kistner wrote in a letter dated July 10, 1985, informing Maes that he was being fired. “You have violated the very basic canons of police ethics…”
Among the letters is a heartfelt appeal of the chief’s decision written by Maes and sent to the City Manager’s Office. “After about six months of inactivity in this investigation, which I initiated, I asked Ms. Andrade if she had any idea of the danger the suspects had placed themselves in,” Maes wrote. “I revealed it to the most important and beloved person in my life. It was done as a gesture of love in an attempt to clear my conscience of the lies I had told her.”
“The accusation that I somehow fabricated the story of working with KBI has now been completely debunked, and I would hope that my critics will now apologize with the same zeal they formerly used to attack,” Maes said in a statement to the Post last week. “I would also encourage any Republicans who withdrew their support based on the inaccurate initial reports to reconsider their decision and once again support the Republican nominee for governor.”
Much was made of the fact that the KBI reported no record of working with Maes, but the fact remains that the documents do not support his undercover story, or his claim that he was fired for getting “too close to some significant people in the community.” And regardless of Maes’ arguments about the documents, the damage has been done. Former Sen. Hank Brown withdrew his endorsement shortly after the original story broke, and many others followed Brown’s lead. The TPM Poll Average shows Maes (16.8%) trailing badly, both to Democrat John Hickenlooper (45.9%) and third-party candidate Tom Tancredo (32.0%).
You can see the documents here.
