A few weeks ago, the Democratic candidate for Colorado’s Third Congressional District was accused of being blackmailed into changing his position on a matter of city policy while he was a city councilman in Aspen. He’s running against conservative firebrand Lauren Boebert, a person the liberal Aspen elite undisguisedly hate and would love to see beaten by Frisch.
The Aspen newspapers – part of that Aspen liberal elite – have mostly dismissed or buried the blackmail story, to the extent they’ve covered it at all. The Aspen Daily News finally published something over a week after the story broke elsewhere:
“The story — which Frisch, his family and his campaign deny — goes something like this: in May 2017, Frisch rode his bike to the storage unit owned by the local taxi company, which was caught on security footage. A staff member of the company subsequently found Frisch engaging in an extramarital activity in one of those units; a year later, when the city council was considering a “mobility lab” that Gardner found threatening to his business, the taxi company owner blackmailed Frisch into changing his vote, swinging the city council away from moving forward with a contract that would have brought rideshare companies such as Lyft more meaningfully to Aspen.”
The blackmail allegation glossed over by the newspaper is that the taxi owner has a video showing everything in the story except the sex in the storage unit; it’s undisputed that he sent that video to Frisch in an email; and the taxi owner himself says “it absolutely was blackmail.” It should be noted, but the newspaper article does not, that the blackmailer is no Boebert supporter — he calls her “clueless.”
Here are some questions that a real newspaper reporter might ask Frisch after his blanket denial:
- You say you deny the story, but what part?
- Do you deny that it was you in the video?
- Do you deny that you waited for the woman in the video and then went into the storage building with her, as the video seems to show?
- Do you deny having sex with her in the storage unit, as the taxi assistant says she witnessed?
- Do you deny having received the taxi owner’s email attaching the video in the time frame during which city council was considering the mobility lab?
- Do you deny that you failed to respond to the video with something like, “Huh? What’s this video?”
- Do you deny that you failed to contact authorities to report what appeared to be an attempted blackmailing of you, as the taxi owner himself contends?
- Do you deny that the blackmailing was successful – that the video changed your vote, as the taxi owner contends?
A fair reading is that Frisch implicitly admits the entire story, except the last point: He denies that the attempted blackmailing was successful. Rather, he apparently asserts that he was in the process of changing his mind anyway.
What Frisch is obviously eager to change now is the subject. But a real newspaper with real and unbiased reporters would not be so eager to oblige. A real newspaper with real and unbiased reporters would ask Frisch these questions. If he refuses to answer them, then a real newspaper with real and unbiased reporters would report his refusal.
Alas, apparently no such newspaper and no such reporters exist in Aspen.
“Democracy dies in darkness” – Washington Post
the Aspen beat 
Would be interesting to ask Frisch the questions mentioned in the article if for no other reason than to hear his answers. From the description of his “extramarital” activities he wasn’t exactly discreet.
What a class act. Must have a Murphy bed stored in there and was a climate controlled unit.
Well, this story does have all the classic earmarks of a Russian disinformation operation, so . . . .
Another great essay on our modern “reality.” Adam is a slimeball and the Aspen papers are the perfect companion to him.
When Glenn wrote his first column on this the story was new and I was willing to give the understaffed local papers time to respond to this rather bizarre accusation in thoughtful and thorough ways. They’ve had that and more. I’m not surprised because, because none of the local papers practice much journalism anymore on any subject; that is, they don’t ask anyone hard questions about anything. But that doesn’t excuse their negligence in this case. It only makes it worse.
I find it interesting, Glenn, that you have now posted three articles on this subject but for some reason, you made a conscious decision to omit the news source this time. I use the term “news” source loosely as Brietbart, which originally published this story, has published a number of conspiracy theories and intentionally misleading stories. It has also published content described as misogynistic, xenophobic, and racist. My choice for FACTUAL news events is the WSJ.
Maury, this story is all over the internet, EXCEPT in the town most relevant, Aspen. Last I looked a couple of weeks ago, the story had published in:
The Federalist
PJMedia
Montrose Press
TheBlaze
Free Republic
The Gateway Pundit
Conservative Institute
Jonathan Turley (respected and well known blogger and prof at GW Law school)
Redstate
CompleteColorado
iHeart (radio)
Breitbart
Meanwhile, Frisch refuses to address any of the particular facts — he doesn’t even deny any of the particular facts. He just stonewalls with his vague, blanket denial that “it” never happened, without telling us what “it” is. He’s hiding, and the Aspen newspapers are helping him hide.
Understand, Glenn. Hope you are doing well.
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Great questions Glenn, or as Dragnet’s Sgt. Joe Friday would say …
Of course Friday didn’t say “man.” He would have said “sir.” Actually, he didn’t even say the phrase attributed to him, “Just the facts, MA’AM,” although he generally did address a woman this way, as did just about everybody. Today nobody says “Ma’am,” without incurring the wrath of Barbara Boxer and her ilk. Add in a general fear of mis-“gendering” someone, and only God knows what Friday would say now. May he, and our culture, Rest In Peace.
I agree with you Bitter Klinger.
But … I picked that particular meme as a foil to Dementia Joe’s lazy retort when he’s confronted with facts and/or hard questions.
Imaginatively, I could see a Sgt. Friday asking Joe Biden a hard question, like “Where did you get your millions of dollars of net wealth while living on a government salary for forty years?” Biden retorts “C’mon man!” Friday then replies “Just the facts, man.”
We need a Sgt. Joe Friday to press similar questions to this compromised Aspen Democrat running for Congress. It sounds like Glenn’s local press are all asleep on watch.
Anyways … it’s a fun pop culture reference, as politics is downstream of culture.
But I do agree … I remember Sgt. Joe Friday frequently saying “Just the facts, ma’am.”
Jack Webb’s Sgt. Joe Friday was the epitome of sound, impartial, and justice based Western Civilization morals and sensibilities. America desperately needs more Sgt. Joe Fridays.
Hopefully, and with Godspeed, this Election Day we will see lots more Joe Friday types elevated to elected office from where they can develop and implement policies and pursue justice and accountability based on objective truth.
Yep. I hadn’t thought of how Joe Friday has morphed into Joe Biden. Gad. I wonder if there are any Sgt. Fridays remaining in the FBI (Federal Brandon Institute) —?