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Group formed to recall Polis gave $11,000 in contributions to committee members

Some donations made to recall effort were given as gifts to board members and staff.

DENVER — Some contributions made to a committee dedicated to recalling Colorado's governor have been gifted to members of that committee.

An expenditure report, filed with the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office on Wednesday, shows a total of $11,000 was given to three people from “The Official Recall Colorado Governor Jared Polis" committee.

Each gift included the same explanation: “Board gift. Thank you for caring about Colorado.”

The gifts were first reported by Colorado Politics, which also reported that campaign finance documents also did not include any purchases related to printing recall petitions.

A separate recall committee, Dismiss Polis, attempted and failed to gather the necessary signatures to force a recall.

Shane Donnelley, the organizer of “The Official Recall Colorado Governor Jared Polis" committee, received $5,000, according to the report. Lisa Pascoe, the committee’s secretary, and Renee McGill, the committee’s lead in Weld County, both received $3,000.

Juli-Andra Fuentes, chair of the committee, did not immediately respond to Next with Kyle Clark's requests for comment. Fuentes has previously defended a decision to transfer about $29,000 in recall committee funds to a new committee, also under her control.

That new committee "Colorado For Trump," run by Fuentes, is not associated with President Trump's re-election campaign. The Trump campaign said it would take "appropriate action" over the misleading use of its name. Fuentes told Next she wanted the president to call her personally to ask her to stop.

RELATED: Donations to Recall Polis effort shifted to 'Colorado for Trump' group that has no affiliation with the president 

RELATED: 1 of 2 Polis recall committees spending money on something other than recalling governor

A spokesperson for Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold could not definitively say whether the gifts were legal or illegal at this point. A formal complaint would need to be filed before an investigation began.

RELATED: Republican lawmaker wants to update the rules for recalls in Colorado

RELATED: Effort to recall Jared Polis falls short of 631,266 signatures needed to make the ballot

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