Inquiry has ICE agent in 'shock'

Judge denies bid to block comments from '06 guv race

By Sara Burnett, Rocky Mountain News, January 15, 2008

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent accused of illegally supplying information to Republican Bob Beauprez's gubernatorial campaign testified Monday that he was surprised and "extremely worried" when he became the target of a criminal investigation.

"I was in complete shock about the whole thing," said Cory Voorhis, 39.

Voorhis said he gave a Beauprez staffer "a limited amount of information" about illegal immigrants, and only information that was public.

"I knew I couldn't share with them the (non-public) information," he said.

Federal prosecutors say Voorhis used the National Crime Information Center database to look up criminal histories of illegal immigrants who received plea deals from Bill Ritter when he was the Denver district attorney.

Beauprez's campaign then used the information - which is to be accessed for law enforcement purposes only - in attack ads against Ritter, the Democrat who defeated Beauprez in the 2006 race, prosecutors allege.

Voorhis is charged with three counts of exceeding authorized access to government computers, a misdemeanor. He faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison, a $300,000 fine or both if convicted.

Voorhis took the witness stand during a hearing on a motion to suppress statements he made to his supervisors.

U.S. District Judge John Kane denied the motion to suppress Voorhis' statements and any evidence collected from his computers or paperwork.

Voorhis said he contacted John Marshall, Beauprez's spokesman and campaign manager, and told him "what to look for" after reading articles in the newspaper about the governor's race.

He later received a package from Marshall with eight names, Voorhis said.

Marshall wanted him to look up whether the immigrants [illegal aliens] committed other crimes, Voorhis said. But he testified that he told Marshall he could only tell him if the immigrants were in the country legally....

Several supporters said Monday that Voorhis - a father of two who served in the Army and has worked for the border patrol and ICE for more than 15 years - was being unfairly targeted.

"It's political retaliation," said Michael Riebau, a former Department of Homeland Security agent and spokesman for Voorhis' legal defense fund.

The trial is scheduled for Feb. 4. Voorhis is on paid administrative leave.

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