COMMITTEES
Chair of:
Committee on Legal Services
Vice Chair of:
Judiciary
Transportation
Agriculture, Natural Resources,
and Energy

John Cooke
State Senator
Majority Whip
State Capitol
200 E. Colfax Avenue
Denver, Colorado 80203
john.cooke.senate@state.co.us

November 14, 2018
The Honorable Cynthia Coffman
Attorney General, State of Colorado
Ralph L. Carr Judicial Building
1300 Broadway, 10th Floor
Denver, CO 80203

Re: Review of Potential Undue Influence in Violation of State Law

Attorney General Coffman:
On October 12, 2018, a Complaint was filed with the Colorado Ethics Commission
alleging Governor Hickenlooper’s travel activities violated Amendment 41. The Commission is
clearly the correct body to review the ethics matters, but the Complaint includes one claim that is
far more serious and extends beyond the Commission’s purview. That claim relates to whether
Governor Hickenlooper accepted benefits from a corporation days before taking an official state
action that provided direct financial benefit to the same corporation.
The Complaint filed with the Commission alleges that Governor Hickenlooper routinely
accepted benefits from for-profit corporations in violation of state law. One provision in the
Complaint references a specific matter that extends beyond the Commission’s jurisdiction. The
Complaint appears to demonstrate that Governor Hickenlooper flew on private corporate jets
owned by Tesla, Inc. or its majority owner Elon Musk. The Complaint also references the fact
that Governor Hickenlooper appeared to travel by private aircraft to tour a Tesla, Inc. facility in
Nevada. In fact, Governor Hickenlooper has actually communicated to multiple individuals that
he traveled to a Tesla facility on a private jet after his visit. Governor Hickenlooper flying on
corporate jets owned by Tesla, Inc. and not reporting it would be a violation of state law.
Here is the much bigger problem: On June 19, 2018, just two months after Governor
Hickenlooper appeared to have accepted illegal benefits from Tesla, Inc., Governor
Hickenlooper signed Executive Order B 2018 006 that unilaterally directed his appointees at the
state’s Air Quality Control Commission to undertake rulemaking to establish a Colorado Low
Emissions Vehicle program (LEV) that provides direct and substantial financial benefits to
Tesla, Inc. In fact, Tesla, Inc. is the only company that initially receives financial benefits from
the new program launched by the Governor’s June Executive Order.

 This is a serious issue that needs to be reviewed without regard to policy or politics. If
any government official receives an illegal benefit days before unilaterally changing the law to
financially benefit that same corporation, the matter warrants immediate review. Not only does
this conduct have a terrible appearance of impropriety, but it could actually violate state laws
(i.e. C.R.S. § 18-8-303) and may implicate federal statutes and/or SEC review. To maintain
public trust in government, matters such as this that have such a strong appearance of
impropriety must be properly assessed.
Given the serious nature of these facts that extend beyond the Ethics Commission’s
purview, I urge your office to conduct a review to determine whether Governor Hickenlooper
accepted benefits from Tesla, Inc. days before signing Executive Order B 2018 006. Governor
Hickenlooper could provide that information very quickly and allow your office to define
whether further review is appropriate or necessary.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter.
Sincerely,

Senator John Cooke
Senate District 13