A December 4 Denver Post article about an ongoing investigation into use of a government crime database reported that, before the 2006 election, “information obtained by immigration agent Cory Voorhis was eventually used by [Republican] Bob Beauprez's gubernatorial campaign in a series of ads questioning plea agreements [Democrat] Bill Ritter's office made with illegal immigrants when he was Denver's DA.” However, as Colorado Media Matters has noted repeatedly (here, here, here, and here), Beauprez's attack ads cited cases in which Ritter's office allowed legal as well as illegal immigrants to plead to the charge of agricultural trespass, a Class 5 felony. Indeed, as the Rocky Mountain News (accessed through the Nexis database) reported on September 30, 2006, “Four of the five cases highlighted by the Beauprez campaign involved legal immigrants from Latin America.”

The Post article, by Karen E. Crummy, reported that "[t]he Denver district attorney's office is under increased scrutiny as federal and state investigators continue their probe into unauthorized accesses of a government crime database." The article continued:

After the U.S. attorney's office brought charges last month against a federal special agent [Voorhis] for obtaining information from the National Crime Information Center, state and federal agents interviewed employees at the DA's office to find out why they accessed the same information.

And the agents aren't finished yet.

“You will see more interviews and more people contacted,” said FBI special agent Renee Vonder Haar, who said she could not release specific details because the FBI is involved in a “continuing investigation.”

The information obtained by immigration agent Cory Voorhis was eventually used by Bob Beauprez's gubernatorial campaign in a series of ads questioning plea agreements Bill Ritter's office made with illegal immigrants when he was Denver's DA.

However, after the release of Beauprez's September 29, 2006, ad accusing Ritter of helping immigrants avoid deportation, an October 1, 2006, Post article -- also by Crummy -- specifically noted that "[t]he Denver district attorney's office under gubernatorial candidate Bill Ritter approved plea bargains that prevented the deportation of illegal and legal immigrants charged with drug, assault and other crimes." (emphasis added) Contrary to the Post's and the News' reporting that agricultural trespass plea bargains helped illegal immigrants avoid deportation, Colorado Media Matters has noted that while plea deals Ritter's office approved might have helped legal immigrants avoid deportation, illegal immigrants are subject to deportation by federal officials regardless of any pleas to which they agree, according to U.S. law.

The News' September 30, 2006, article reported that “Bob Beauprez unleashed a new attack on Bill Ritter's record as Denver district attorney late Friday, accusing him of giving five Hispanic immigrants who committed felonies plea bargains that helped them avoid deportation,” and also noted, “Four of the five felons were here legally.” The News quoted Ritter as saying that Beauprez was “being terribly irresponsible in lumping legal immigrants with illegal immigrants” in his attack ads. According to the News article:

Four of the five cases highlighted by the Beauprez campaign involved legal immigrants from Latin America. Previously, Beauprez has chosen to focus on illegal immigration as an issue, and this marks the first time he has singled out legal immigrants as “alien felons.”