Jace Ratzlaff declines to comment on the Boebert ethics complaint
Jace RatzlaffClarice Navarro Ratzlaff's ex-husband, responding to American Muckrakers and to a reporter by phone
In a statement included in American Muckrakers' release of an ethics complaint against Rep. Lauren Boebert, Jace Ratzlaff, the ex-husband of former Boebert district director Clarice Navarro, said he assumed the matter would eventually surface and would have no further comment. Reached by phone by Colorado Times Recorder, he said divorce is painful, that he has children and is three years post-divorce, and that it is not his issue, and declined to elaborate.
“I assumed this would eventually surface. I'll have no further comment on this topic.”
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Did Lauren Boebert have prohibited relationships with staff or misuse official or campaign funds?
David B. Wheeler publicly released a complaint dated September 17, 2026 alleging that Rep. Lauren Boebert had prohibited relationships with supervised employees and misused official or campaign funds. Former district director Clarice Navarro Ratzlaff denied the allegations involving her. Boebert denied inappropriate or sexual relationships with staff, and an unnamed representative rejected the complaint's allegations more broadly. The House Ethics Committee has not publicly confirmed accepting or investigating the submission, which falls within its 60-day preelection complaint window.
Source and context
Reporting
About this source
Colorado Times Recorder reports two statements from Clarice Navarro Ratzlaff's ex-husband, Jace Ratzlaff: one included in American Muckrakers' release of the complaint, and a second obtained when the reporter reached him directly by phone, in which he declined to elaborate further.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
American Muckrakers' release of the complaint included a brief statement it had obtained from Ratzlaff; the reporter then reached him separately by phone for further comment.
After the quotation
Ratzlaff did not confirm or deny the allegations involving Navarro and did not respond to further questions on the topic.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The case concerns alleged prohibited staff relationships and misuse of official or campaign funds. Ratzlaff is asked, as Navarro's ex-husband, about the allegations involving her and directly declines to comment or elaborate both times he is asked, closing off discussion of the matter rather than affirming or denying it.
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Corrections to this statement
These notices document reporting corrections, classification changes, and topic-label updates.
Reporting correction
Correction to: Statement by Jace Ratzlaff
- Previous language
- Reached by Colorado Times Recorder, Jace Ratzlaff, the ex-husband of Clarice Navarro Ratzlaff, said he assumed the matter would eventually surface but declined to comment further. Reached again by phone, he said divorce is painful, that he has children and is three years post-divorce, and that this is not his issue to address, declining to elaborate.
- Corrected language
- In a statement included in American Muckrakers' release of an ethics complaint against Rep. Lauren Boebert, Jace Ratzlaff, the ex-husband of former Boebert district director Clarice Navarro, said he assumed the matter would eventually surface and would have no further comment. Reached by phone by Colorado Times Recorder, he said divorce is painful, that he has children and is three years post-divorce, and that it is not his issue, and declined to elaborate.
We said Colorado Times Recorder reached Ratzlaff when he said he assumed the matter would eventually surface. The Colorado Times Recorder reports that this statement was included in American Muckrakers' release of the complaint, and that its reporter reached him by phone afterward. The summary now attributes each remark to the exchange in which he made it.
This corrects our account of what happened.
Colorado Times Recorder reports two statements from Clarice Navarro Ratzlaff's ex-husband, Jace Ratzlaff: one included in American Muckrakers' release of the complaint, and a second obtained when the reporter reached him directly by phone, in which he declined to elaborate further.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)More from this case
Read the full caseWheeler asks for inquiry into the basis of Higgs's pay
“If that pay is tied to a family relationship rather than to the duties, it violates the House rule”Read statement
David B. Wheeler says he committed no crime and calls Boebert's perjury accusation a threat dressed up as a press release
“Boebert didn't answer the records. She answered by accusing me of a crime. Her official House press release was published on a taxpayer-funded government website says I "likely committed perjury and broke a federal law." Read that again: a sitting member of Congress used her official office to accuse a private citizen of a federal crime, in writing, on a .gov domain paid for by the public. I committed no crime. My complaint is sworn under 28 U.S.C. § 1746, the standard federal perjury exposure for a false statement, and it asks the Ethics Committee to do its job and investigate. That's not a rebuttal. That's a threat dressed up as a press release.”Read statement
David B. Wheeler says his Boebert complaint is built on House disbursement records, FEC filings, text messages and named sources who gave written statements
“On September 17, I filed a sworn ethics complaint against Rep. Lauren Boebert with the House Ethics Committee. It isn't built on rumor. It's built on House disbursement records, FEC filings, text messages, and named sources who gave written statements.”Read statement
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- The Dispute Index
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- Jace Ratzlaff declines to comment on the Boebert ethics complaint
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- https://disputeindex.com/events/1366-in-a-statement-included-in-american-muckrakers-release
Last updated marks the most recent saved version of this published statement.
The Dispute Index. "Jace Ratzlaff declines to comment on the Boebert ethics complaint". First published: 2026-09-21. Last updated: 2026-09-30. https://disputeindex.com/events/1366-in-a-statement-included-in-american-muckrakers-release