Lambert: If not Kolomitz, then who?

Rep. Kent Lambert, R-Colorado Springs, is not letting Gov. Bill Ritter off the hook for allegedly misspending more than $200,000 from his gubernatorial inaugural committee.

Lambert filed initial arguments with the Colorado Court of Appeals Tuesday, accusing Ritter's inaugural committee of using funds, raised mostly from corporate donations, to pay off Ritter's campaign debt and staff salaries. Lambert is also alleging Ritter received campaign donations over the legal limits set by Colorado law, accepted illegal contributions from corporations, and failed to report campaign contributions.

In August, an administrative law judged dismissed charges filed against Ritter. At the time, Ritter blamed his former campaign manager, Greg Kolomitz, for the alleged violations and took out a mortgage to help repay the debt. However, no criminal charges were ever filed against Kolomitz after a special prosecutor ruled there was insufficient evidence to do so.

"If Kolomitz was not to blame, who was?" asked Lambert in a news release. "The people of Colorado need to know that the Ritter Campaign committed several major violations of the Colorado Constitution and campaign finance laws. We deserve the right to fairly argue this case in court."

Lambert raises a great question: who the hell is responsible? Lots of fingers have been pointed, but no one has actually taken the fall.

Ritter's office did not return requests for comment.