Jace Ratzlaff says he was not a source for the Boebert ethics complaint and that he took a polygraph test
Jace RatzlaffEx-husband of former Boebert district director Clarice Navarro Ratzlaff, speaking to CBS Colorado
CBS Colorado reported that Jace Ratzlaff, the ex-husband of a Boebert staffer, said he is not one of Wheeler's sources. Ratzlaff told CBS Colorado he took the polygraph test voluntarily so there would be no ambiguity about his lack of involvement. Examiner Stephen Daniels of Proof Positive Testing said Ratzlaff answered no when asked whether he was the source of any bank records, screenshots, text messages or recorded phone calls used to support the complaint, and concluded that Ratzlaff was truthful. Ratzlaff also told CBS Colorado that a text he sent Wheeler saying he assumed the matter would eventually surface referred to rumors he had heard, and that he has no firsthand knowledge of Boebert having sex with staff members.
“I voluntarily submitted to a polygraph examination because I wanted there to be no ambiguity about my lack of involvement”
Reporting
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
CBS Colorado reports that Boebert supplied a signed copy of a temporary protection order requiring Wheeler to avoid contact with her and stay at least 100 yards away. The same report quotes Wheeler saying that two sources have given statements and would testify, says Jace Ratzlaff, the ex-husband of one of the staffers, told CBS Colorado he is not one of Wheeler's sources, and describes a polygraph examination that Ratzlaff says he took voluntarily, administered by examiner Stephen Daniels of Proof Positive Testing. The structured page data gives September 24 at 8:02 p.m. Mountain time as the publication time; the page body shows an October 1 update.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)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' September 18 release of the complaint included a brief quote from Ratzlaff, and he declined to elaborate when Colorado Times Recorder reached him by phone.
After the quotation
CBS Colorado reported that Wheeler says Ratzlaff replied to his text about the allegations by saying he assumed this would eventually surface. Wheeler told CBS Colorado that his sources' statements are in his possession.
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 does not say whether the relationships occurred; he says he is not one of Wheeler's sources, so the label is Challenged the characterization. The closest competing label is Denied, which does not fit because he does not say the allegations are false. The polygraph result is the account of Ratzlaff and the examiner as reported by CBS Colorado.
- Recorded on
- Published here
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
- The summary said Ratzlaff "said Wheeler's claim that an ex-husband of a staff member is one of his sources is not true."
- Corrected language
- The summary now says Ratzlaff said he is not one of Wheeler's sources.
CBS Colorado reports that Ratzlaff denied being one of Wheeler's sources. It does not report that he denied that any staffer's ex-husband is a source. The title and rationale were revised to match.
This corrects our account of what happened.
CBS Colorado reports that Boebert supplied a signed copy of a temporary protection order requiring Wheeler to avoid contact with her and stay at least 100 yards away. The same report quotes Wheeler saying that two sources have given statements and would testify, says Jace Ratzlaff, the ex-husband of one of the staffers, told CBS Colorado he is not one of Wheeler's sources, and describes a polygraph examination that Ratzlaff says he took voluntarily, administered by examiner Stephen Daniels of Proof Positive Testing. The structured page data gives September 24 at 8:02 p.m. Mountain time as the publication time; the page body shows an October 1 update.
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
Cite this record
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- The Dispute Index
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- Jace Ratzlaff says he was not a source for the Boebert ethics complaint and that he took a polygraph test
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- https://disputeindex.com/events/4850-cbs-colorado-reported-that-jace-ratzlaff-the-ex
Last updated marks the most recent saved version of this published statement.
The Dispute Index. "Jace Ratzlaff says he was not a source for the Boebert ethics complaint and that he took a polygraph test". First published: 2026-10-06. Last updated: 2026-10-06. https://disputeindex.com/events/4850-cbs-colorado-reported-that-jace-ratzlaff-the-ex