May 2, 2005 11:58 AM

Young Republicans brouhaha

The Denver Metro Young Republicans put out a press release making false allegations against a Rocky Mountain News reporter. Read the truth.

Here's the press release the Young Republicans put out last Wednesday, April 27.
-----Original Message-----
From: Dan Kopelman [mailto:dkopelman@technologist.com]On Behalf Of press@dmyr.org
Sent: Wednesday, April 27, 2005 4:18 PM
To: dkopelman@technologist.com
Subject: FOR IMMEDIATE Release - Denver Metro Young Republicans

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
"Denver Three" Member Harasses Young Republican Chair

Karen Bauer, one of three people removed from President Bush's Social Security meeting posed as a Rocky Mountain News journalist while grilling Jay Bob Klinkerman at a regular meeting of the Denver Metro Young Republicans. Klinkerman is chair of the Colorado Young Republicans, a group unaffiliated with the Denver Metro Young Republicans.

Ann Imse, staff writer for the Rocky Mountain News and photographer Evan Semon, escorted Bauer into the meeting.

"They were waiting in the restaurant area until our meeting began. They then joined our meeting in progress in a private room. They declined signing our guest form or to introduce themselves which is standard at our meetings," said Jude Sandvall, President of the Denver Metro Young Republicans.

It was only discovered after the harsh questioning of Klinkerman that Bauer was not a reporter and that she had shown up with Imse to intentionally confront the Young Republican chair.

"The sad thing is that we have enjoyed a great relationship with the press media in the past. Ann Imse's behavior is beyond our worst expectations in her attempt at deception. I'm truly disappointed with the Rocky Mountain News," concluded Sandvall.

The Denver Metro Young Republicans have been meeting at On the Border Cantina for more than 7 years on the 4th Tuesday every month at 6:30pm. They are independent from any State or National Young Republican organization and have been in continuous existence for more than 40 years in the Denver Metropolitan region.

Please direct all inquiries to press@dmyr.org

Now here's what really happened.

There was no harassment and there was no harsh questioning. Unless you consider "Can I ask you some questions?" and "What's the name of your lawyer?" a grilling. Imse and Bauer went to the meeting to talk to Klinkerman. They both introduced themselves to him immediately. Imse was not deceptive. To Imse's knowledge, Bauer was not deceptive. The entire encounter with Klinkerman was polite.

The Denver Metro Young Republicans are attacking the messenger instead of answering important questions. This is regrettable. The public deserves to know who was acting deceptively as a Secret Service agent to throw people out of a public meeting with the president of the United States. It would be one thing if the meeting had been a private, campaign event paid for by the GOP. But this meeting was paid for by the public, which flew the president to Denver for the meeting. The White House has said that if it thinks a person is going to be disruptive, it will kick that person out of a meeting with the president. A worthy question is how that policy is being administered. That's why the Rocky is asking questions. Can you imagine if it were the other way around, and a young Republican had been thrown out of a Clinton speech without having done anything?

Here's what happened in great detail:
Ever since the Secret Service said it was not one of their agents who removed Alex Young, Karen Bauer and Leslie Weise from the president's speech in Denver, the Rocky Mountain News has been trying to find out the identity of the man who did. As part of that effort, our reporter Ann Imse tried to figure out the identity of the other people involved, who might know the name of the man who appeared to be Secret Service but was not.

Bauer and Weise described being stopped at the gate by a man who checked their names against a piece of paper. He told them to stand to the side with a man wearing a smiley-face tie. They say that man told them that they were waiting for the Secret Service. Then the apparent agent appeared and threatened them with arrest. He allowed them in, then forced them out about 20-30 minutes later, though they had done nothing.

Imse first heard that Jay Bob Klinkerman might be the person in the smiley-face tie some weeks ago, thanks to a tip from another News reporter. She called him several times, knocked on his door, and called again. He called back and was very polite but refused to talk at all. He referred Imse to the Colorado Republican Party spokeswoman, Rachael Sunbarger, who also refused to talk about the incident.

We didn't publish anything because we didn't have any proof that Klinkerman was involved.

Later, Imse discovered that Klinkerman, rather than being the "flunky who volunteers for every Republican event" as he'd been described to her, was actually the chairman of the Colorado Young Republicans.

We decided we had only one way to prove whether Klinkerman was involved: One of the three had to identify him. So Imse called the three to see if they could go to this event, because there was a possibility the man who'd worn the smiley-face tie might attend.

Karen Bauer met News photographer Evan Semon and Imse at the On the Border Restaurant at 5:20 p.m. for the Young Republicans meeting. It was scheduled to start with a social hour at 5:30 p.m. and proceed to a meeting at 6:30 p.m. They sat outside so Bauer could try to pick out the man from the people entering.

Bauer didn't see anyone she recognized. However Klinkerman's pick-up was in the parking lot, so Imse decided to go interview him. Bauer decided she would go in separately and see if she could spot the man. Imse had not told Bauer Klinkerman's name.

Just as Imse walked into the room, Jude Sandvall, head of the local Young Republicans group, opened the meeting. Imse could not ask Klinkerman to go outside because she didn't know what he looked like. So she politely waited through the hour-long meeting.

The meeting had been publicly announced on the Internet, and visitors invited. Sandvall opened the meeting by welcoming guests. It was obviously a public meeting. Imse did not identify herself at the meeting, just as she wouldn't at any other public event. If they had asked everyone to stand up and introduce themselves, she would have done so.

Meanwhile, Bauer came in, sat down next to Imse and picked out the man from the group, which was about 25-30 people. She left before Imse.

After the meeting, several people came up and introduced themselves and asked Imse her name. She gave them her name only and said she was waiting to speak with Jay Bob Klinkerman. Klinkerman came up, she introduced herself by name and he appeared to know immediately who she was. They had previously talked on the phone. They went outside of the meeting room and did a brief interview, which the Rocky reported in the newspaper the next day. He admitted to being the man in the smiley-face tie.

Imse left and met Bauer and the Rocky photographer outside. Bauer more fully described the man she'd identified and Imse knew then that she had identified Klinkerman.

Our photographer still needed a photograph, so he waited for Klinkerman to leave. Bauer decided she wanted to confront him when he left. Imse waited to cover that encounter.

At about 8:30 p.m., a number of Young Republicans left the restaurant and noticed our photographer with his camera in the parking lot. Then Sandvall came out, asked if they were press and Imse introduced herself and the photographer. Sandvall invited them in and offered to let them interview and photograph anyone. He asked if they'd like to interview the speaker, and Bauer said no. (Imse now thinks he didn't hear her.)

Imse, Semon and Bauer went in. Bauer walked straight to Klinkerman and identified herself as one of the people he'd stopped at the president's speech. She said she'd like to ask him a few questions. He said he would not answer without his lawyer. She asked for the lawyer's name and he declined. Our photographer took pictures. Bauer and Klinkerman were very polite to each other.

Then, several of the Young Republicans, who clearly had no idea what was going on, became upset that Imse and Bauer had attended their meeting without identifying themselves to the group. Imse explained that she was not covering the meeting, had not taken notes, and had come only to meet with Klinkerman. She also explained that she had entered just as the meeting began and didn't have a chance to pull him out, so had waited politely through the meeting.

Meanwhile, Bauer had her own conversation with other upset Young Republicans. She told Imse later that one man said he was Klinkerman's PR person and asked for her card. She said she didn't have one. He assumed she was media, and she told him she was one of the people involved in the incident at the president's speech, and he said he would not talk to her.

Bauer never identified herself as media. She and Imse both went there to talk to Klinkerman only, not the rest of the group. Each identified herself to Klinkerman before speaking to him. Imse was not deceptive. Klinkerman understood who they were and was equally polite.

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