Judge Orders Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold to Release Public Records Amid Contempt Threat
A Denver District Court judge has mandated that Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold comply with an open records request by Thursday or face potential contempt charges. The request pertains to consulting work funded by public money. Griswold's office claims it does not possess the documents and has refused to request them from the consultant, citing an undue burden. The consulting firm, Sage River Consulting, was hired for leadership development and strategic planning, with invoices showing payments of nearly $25,000. Despite this, the office has not produced any documents, leading to skepticism from former employees and attorney Suzanne Taheri, who initiated the request. Taheri argues that the public deserves access to the report, which was funded by taxpayer money. The judge has deemed the office's claim of non-existence of documents as implausible and has ordered Griswold's office to request the records from Sage River Consulting. 
