(COLORADO SPRINGS) — A criminal complaint filed by Representative Dave Williams against his opponent for U.S. Congressional District 5, Doug Lamborn, will result in no charges being filed after an investigation revealed no evidence to support the complaint.
According to a Letter of Review sent to Rep. Williams by District Attorney (DA) Michael Allen, an investigator with the 4th Judicial District was assigned to investigate the claims and the investigation has been completed. “There is insufficient factual support for [Williams’] allegations and no criminal charges will be filed,” the letter reads.
The letter details two areas of concern that were pinpointed in Rep. Williams’ complaint, which supported claims that the Lamborn campaign made “fallacious claims.”
Firstly, two bills that Williams sponsored, HB22-1080 and HB21-1175, allowed for persons charged with certain offenses to pay assessed fines to charitable organizations. Williams’ complaint stated that the Lamborn campaign made false statements claiming that fines could be paid to Black Lives Matter and Planned Parenthood, which Williams argued is false because those organizations are not on a list of authorized organizations.
However, the investigator with the 4th Judicial District determined that, within the wording of both bills, allowances were made for fines to be paid to either of those organizations under certain circumstances. “Accordingly, this claim is without merit and no criminal charges will be filed,” Allen’s letter states.
The second item of Williams’ complaint argued that he was appointed to serve as the Director of the El Paso County Republican Trump campaign, and that Lamborn ran a 30-second ad stating he had been fired from that role. DA Allen said no records were ever found showing Williams received payment for those services, and even without record of payment, Williams’ service in the role was likely on a volunteer basis.
As no determination could be made in support or refute of Williams’ claim concerning the Trump campaign, DA Allen said no charges would be filed on this complaint either.
“Finally, it should be noted that the statements made by your opponent’s campaign must also be analyzed according to the US Constitution and subsequent case law governing Freedom of Speech,” DA Allen said in the letter to Rep. Williams. “The statements at the heart of your allegations, while distasteful to you, would likely be classified as protected speech and that alone would prove fatal to any prosecution effort.”