Last Thursday's fundraiser just the latest in a mounting list of O'Donnell ethical missteps

(Denver, CO) ­ Last Thursday's fundraiser with EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson was not the first time Rick O'Donnell has abused the public trust for partisan purposes. O'Donnell has had a history of playing politics with public office. O'Donnell is not even a Member of Congress yet and already he is in training to join the ranks of the Republican culture of corruption. A look at some of Rubberstamp Rick's prior ethical violations:

-In 2002, O'Donnell was caught using state office resources for campaign purposes when his state office phone number was listed on a fax thanking Colorado's GOP congressional delegation for hosting a $1,000-a-person fundraiser featuring White House communications director Dan Bartlett. Much like last Thursday, when he was caught, he handed off the blame to someone else. O'Donnell blamed the Governor's secretary, who he said he asked to prepare the letter on her own time. [Associated Press, 6/23/03; Rocky Mountain News, 6/27/03; Roll Call, 6/30/03]

-In 2003, when O'Donnell was head of the state Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA), the department's website included links to six policy organizations, all conservative. They included such prominent right-wing think tanks as the Heritage Foundation and the Cato Institute, as well as Newt Gingrich's brainchild and O'Donnell's former employer, the Progress & Freedom Foundation. [Rocky Mountain News, 12/3/03]

-In 2002, during his unsuccessful bid for Congress, O'Donnell took a leave of absence from the Governor's office to campaign. When he left the Governor's payroll, however, he began drawing a salary as the director of the Fund for Colorado's Future, a job that he had already been doing in the Governor's office. As director, O'Donnell oversaw a $1.8 million grant from the Colorado Department of Education. O'Donnell was drawing $75,000 a year in government funds while campaigning for Congress. [Denver Post, 5/26/02; Denver Post, 10/21/01]