"I Need a F*ck Buddy": The Case Against Representative Steve Lebsock

On the evening of February 27, around the same time that Denver Mayor Michael Hancock issued a video apology for inappropriate text messages sent to a Denver police officer, representatives for KC Becker, the Colorado House of Representative's majority leader, publicly issued documents about alleged impropriety by Representative Steve Lebsock, a Thornton Democrat accused of sexually harassing at least eleven women, including fellow rep Faith Winter and lobbyist Holly Tarry. One passage maintains that Lebsock said to one complainant, "Don't you need a fuck buddy? I need a fuck buddy."

The so-called "KC Becker Investigation Memo," accessible below along with investigation attachments supporting her resolution to expel Lebsock from the Statehouse, claims to demonstrate "a pattern of offensive and objectionable conduct in violation of the Workplace Harassment Policy of The General Assembly, as well as Rep. Lebsock's antagonistic and retaliatory behavior toward parties involved in the investigation preceding and during the investigative process."

Prior to the release of the documents, Lebsock, who recently claimed in a self-released video that Winter accused him after he'd rejected an invitation to join her in a hot tub, told Denver7 he had no plans to resign. He added, "I don't think I'll be expelled. The members of this body will see what's going on and I will not be expelled. ... Over the coming weeks and months, the people of Colorado will have a greater picture about how the two-party system has failed us and how, literally, I'm being thrown underneath the bus."

If that's the case, there are plenty of potential drivers. On January 10, attendees of a rally on the State Capitol steps called for Lebsock's resignation — a demand echoed in a petition that had 32,000 signatures at the time. Today the petition has been signed by more than 50,000 people, but Lebsock remains defiant. Here's the aforementioned video.


As for Becker's case against Lebsock, it began on November 10, 2017, when, according to the memo, an individual dubbed Complainant A "publicly alleged that, in May 2016, Rep. Lebsock sexually harassed her at the annual Sine Die party at Stoney's Bar in Denver. That same day, Rep. Lebsock issued a statement apologizing for his conduct and encouraged Complainant A, as well as 'any anonymous accusers,' to file formal complaints through the harassment complaint process established by the Workplace Harassment Policy of The Colorado General Assembly."

Lebsock claimed not to remember statements attributed to him during the Stoney's incident, the memo goes on, even as "two additional complainants — Complainant D and Complainant E — made public allegations of sexual harassment against Rep. Lebsock."

Formal complaints from complainants A and E followed, as did Lebsock allegations about blackmail.

During the investigative process, the document notes, "the investigator reached findings using the preponderance of evidence standard. This is the standard of proof applied in most civil court cases addressing equal employment opportunity matters. A preponderance of evidence means that a version of facts or causes is deemed more likely than not the correct version. Due to the nature of the complaints, the investigator identified a need to determine credibility of the complainants and the accused in order to reach a finding based on a preponderance of evidence. The findings employ the language 'more likely than not' or its counterpart, 'less likely than so.'"

Shortly thereafter, the "more likely than not" phrase is deployed eleven times. Some examples:

"The investigator finds it more likely than not that on July 1, 2017, as the two were getting into their cars after a meeting, Rep. Lebsock said to Complainant B, 'Don't you need a fuck buddy? I need a fuck buddy.'"

"The investigator finds it more likely than not that, while meeting with Complainant C in his office during the 2015 Session, Rep. Lebsock said to her, 'Would you fuck me?' and she confirmed to the investigator that he was asking her to have sex with him."

"The investigator finds it more likely than not that Rep. Lebsock approached Complainant D during an event hosted by the Colorado Young Democrats on March 24, 2015, and unbuttoned the top button of her shirt and said, 'That's better,' before Complainant D slapped his hand away and then turned away while Rep. Lebsock laughed in response."

At the conclusion of the document, Becker writes, "Given the persuasive weight of evidence against Rep. Lebsock, I determine that Rep. Lebsock is untruthful in his blanket denial of the various claims made against him. I find that his actions reflect a disturbing pattern of behavior regarding his interactions with women, that these actions are an abuse of his elected office, and that they merit the removal of Rep. Lebsock from his office by expulsion from the House of Representatives."

Click to read the KC Becker investigation memo related to Representative Steve Lebsock, as well as accompanying investigation attachments.