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Truth has been under attack by Donald Trump for years. Now Colorado has our own crisis of trust and accountability.
New reporting has exposed that Attorney General candidate Jena Griswold falsely claimed to have “argued before the U.S. Supreme Court.” Griswold has apparently repeated this untrue statement many times, in multiple venues, across speeches, media appearances, and campaign literature. In reality, Griswold isn’t even credentialed to appear before the court.
This is not a matter of “nuanced lawyer speak.” It’s not an innocent “I misspoke.” This is a strategy to mislead voters about her qualifications to be the state’s top lawyer.
Griswold is intentionally fabricating her legal experience because she needs to cover up the fact that she has never prosecuted a single case. When pressed, her campaign vaguely referenced a single case from fifteen years ago in Washington, D.C. — without providing any detail. In fact, Griswold has apparently never argued a case in Colorado.
Most years, no one pays much attention to the Attorney General race. But this year is different. State attorneys general are the last effective guardrail against this administration’s authoritarianism — and in Colorado, the Democratic primary is the whole election. If we are going to effectively stand up to Trump’s lawlessness, our next Attorney General must know what they’re doing in a court of law.
I find Griswold’s dishonesty particularly troubling. For many years, I served as a district court judge in Denver for the Second Judicial District of Colorado. I know the difference between a lawyer who has done the work and one who hasn’t. The lawyers who appeared in my court would certainly know the difference between arguing their case in front of me and sitting in the audience. Apparently, Griswold does not.
Her deceptions are doubly problematic because a lawyer’s credibility and reputation for truthfulness is her most critical quality. Opposing counsel, witnesses, juries and judges must be able to trust that you are being truthful. This isn’t just good practice — it’s a requirement under the Lawyer’s Professional Code of Conduct. Someone who wants to run Colorado’s top legal office should know this better than anyone.
Consider the stakes. The current AG, Phil Weiser, has done a superb job advancing some 56 lawsuits challenging Trump’s illegal and unconstitutional abuses of power. AG Weiser and the attorneys in his office are known for their integrity, legal acumen and effectiveness. But that hard-won reputation will wither if we elect an Attorney General who lacks the requisite legal experience and whose credibility is already besmirched.
These lawsuits concern complicated questions of federal law. Our next Attorney General must have the experience, competence and judgment to not only continue these cases, but to adapt
in real time — doubling down on what’s working while pivoting from what isn’t. These are weighty, first-of-their-kind legal questions that require deep engagement with the law over many years.
And yes, today, actual experience standing before a court is invaluable. You need to know what will persuade a judge and what is a waste of time. That kind of judgment doesn’t come from a press conference. It comes from standing alone at the podium in court and having to just figure it out on your own.
Fortunately, we have other candidates who don’t need to misstate their legal experience. Personally, I’m supporting Hetal Doshi. As a federal prosecutor in Colorado — and then as the Biden-Harris administration’s choice to be the Justice Department’s top antitrust litigator — Ms. Doshi has argued and led many cases in federal court against some of the most formidable opponents in the country. She led teams of hundreds of lawyers in historic lawsuits against Big Tech giants like Apple and Google, and won generational cases where billions of dollars were on the line.
Hetal has earned deep respect from the judges she has argued before and the attorneys she has worked with and against. Her reputation for uncompromised honesty, thorough preparation, effective leadership,and sophisticated legal analysis is well known in Colorado’s legal community. With her as Attorney General, Colorado would never have to wonder whether their top lawyer is telling the truth about her own record.
And she is not the only alternative. Michael Dougherty has litigated countless criminal cases as the District Attorney for Boulder. And as a consumer attorney, David Seligman has a sustained record of experience with civil litigation.
The Democratic primary offers voters a choice between serious lawyers with real courtroom records. There is no reason to settle for a candidate who has to invent one.
