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Tancredo campaign changes Web site after Winter criticizes it

Associated Press

DENVER – Rep. Tom Tancredo’s re-election campaign quickly removed a link from its Web site to the Colorado Republican’s official House Web site Wednesday after an opposing campaign pointed out a possible ethical violation.The campaign of Bill Winter, who is seeking the Democratic Party’s nomination to the seat Tancredo has held since 1998, criticized Tancredo for the link.About an hour later, the link was removed from Tancredo’s campaign site. Campaign treasurer Jon Ponder said he didn’t know whether the link was a violation but said it seemed “prudent” to eliminate it.Ponder said he wasn’t certain why the link was included in the first place. He said it might have stemmed from a misunderstanding as Tancredo’s House and campaign staffs directed people to his official sites at a time when his highly publicized hard-line views on illegal immigration have spawned numerous other sites that prominently mention him.In its statement, Winter’s campaign said the link violated voters’ trust by essentially using Tancredo’s government-funded House site as an extension of his campaign site.A campaign booklet written by the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct forbids such links.Before the change, the front page of Tancredo’s campaign Web site, http://www.tancredo.org, which is maintained by the Tancredo for Congress Committee Inc., told viewers: “If you have questions or comments regarding ‘official’ business, such as problems or issues with various federal agencies, Academy questions or other ‘official’ business, please go to the ‘official’ web site at http://www.house.gov/tancredo.” Vail, Colorado


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