GOP Congresswoman Lauren Boebert plans to take action against a Democratic-aligned PAC she says made “false and derogatory” claims against her.
Boebert attorney Jonathan Anderson wrote to David Wheeler of American Muckrakers PAC on June 15, informing him of her intention to file a civil defamation suit against Wheeler and Muckrakers.
“This group’s vile conduct demonstrates why people are fed up with politics. I am not going to stand by and pretend this is normal behavior,” Boebert said in a statement. “This political committee, funded by far-left Democrat donors and run by two left-wing political operatives, published pages of false statements knowing they were completely fabricated. The law on this type of defamation is clear and this conduct will be subject to civil and criminal penalties.”
American Muckrakers has claimed that Boebert worked as a paid escort and had two abortions. The allegations were made by an anonymous person in a series of redacted text messages to the PAC.
The group has also alleged Boebert was involved in an off-roading accident that severely hurt a passenger, and questioned her husband’s work as a consultant in the oil and gas industry.
“We have irrefutable evidence that each one of these statements is patently false,” her attorney wrote.
He added that Wheeler could also be criminally liable, noting that Colorado law prohibits the circulation of “knowingly or recklessly” false information.
Anderson also accused Wheeler of making “multiple knowingly false statements” in letters to officials in Utah and Colorado that urged them to investigate the off-road accident and questions around Boebert’s large mileage reimbursement last year and a tax lien she paid off. That effort could create “substantial criminal liability” for the PAC, Anderson alleged.
Anderson did not respond to questions about when the suit would be filed or if he has made a complaint to the Attorney General’s office or Secretary of State’s office; Colorado law makes it a criminal offense to spread false information with the goal of influencing an election.
The Colorado Attorney General’s Office said it could not confirm whether it has received an official complaint.
While admitting some errors in Muckraker’s claims, such as originally giving the wrong year for the off-road accident and posting a photo of a woman that may not be Boebert, Wheeler is standing by the information he said he’s received.
“I've had messages with the source during the writing of this and she stands 100% by the information she sent us,” he said in a Tweet. He added the PAC won’t stop posting additional information about the controversial first-term congresswoman, but he will give it to her attorney for review prior to publication “to tell us why we shouldn’t post it. If they can prove it’s bogus, we won’t post it.”
The PAC came to national attention after it released a damaging video of another firebrand freshman congress member, Madison Cawthorn, which helped sink his reelection campaign. However, Cawthorne already had a number of troubling incidents on his record, including driving with a revoked license, announcing a run in another district before switching back to his current one, and making outrageous (and turns out false) claims that some of GOP colleagues in Washington were doing drugs and going to orgies.
The PAC announced shortly after Cawthorn’s primary defeat that they would look into Boebert.
In her run for reelection, Boebert is facing a primary challenge from state Sen. Don Coram, who is touting his rural and bipartisan credentials. The primary will be held on June 28.
