Stephanie Villafuerte (handout via Denver Post)

Following the withdrawal Monday of the nominee for U.S. Attorney in Colorado, Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) and Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) will be resubmitting names of two former finalists for the job, The Colorado Springs Independent reports. Additional people also might be recommended, according to the newspaper.

On Monday, Stephanie Villafuerte, a longtime aide to Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter (D), withdrew from consideration. Villafuerte sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, Villafuerte expressed “deep regretâ€� about dropping out. Her decision follows a controversy about whether she accessed a law enforcement database in connection with Ritter’s 2006 gubernatorial campaign. Villafuerte has denied the allegations, which were raised by Republicans.

Udall and then-Sen. Ken Salazar (D-Colo.) had submitted three names for consideration: Villafuerte; Bill Thiebaut, a district attorney for Pueblo, Colo., who previously served as the Colorado Senate majority leader; and John Walsh, a white-collar criminal and civil attorney from Hill & Robbins in Denver who previously worked for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.

Stephanie Villafuerte has withdrawn from consideration as U.S. Attorney for Colorado amid a barrage of questions from Republicans about her integrity.

In a letter today to Attorney General Eric Holder, Villafuerte, a longtime aide to Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter (D), expressed “deep regret” about dropping out. “At every stage of the process and consistent with Department of Justice protocols for U.S. Attorney nominees, I have honestly and thoroughly answered all questions posed to me,” she wrote. The Denver Post first reported the story Monday on its Web site.

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) last week called Stephanie Villafuerte's record "incomplete." (Getty Images)

Read Villafuerte’s letter here.

Her withdrawal came just days after Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, urged panel Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) to delay a vote on the Villafuerte nomination. Sessions said in a letter to Leahy that Villafuerte’s record before the panel was “incomplete.â€� 

Republicans have alleged that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Cory Voorhis was treated more harshly than the U.S. Attorney nominee in a controversy surrounding the use of a restricted federal database.

Voorhis lost his job for allegedly using a restricted government database to assist the 2006 campaign of Republican Bob Bob Beauprez, who ran an ad about an undocumented immigrant whose information was in the law enforcement database. Voorhis was later acquitted of charges stemming from the alleged misuse of the database.

Republicans have questioned whether Villafuerte asked people in the Denver District Attorney’s office to access the same database for political purposes, which could be a crime. Villafuerte’s boss, Ritter, was Beauprez’s opponent in 2006 as is a former Denver DA. Ritter has defended Villafuerte in the matter.

“Unfortunately, a needless and extraneous political fight has emerged in Colorado and that fight, in my judgment, has completely overshadowed the deliberative and independent assessment of my qualifications for this important office,” Villafuerte wrote in a letter to President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder, obtained by the Denver newspaper. “I continue to stand by my statements and maintain that my involvement was appropriate at all times.”

Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) said Villafuerte made the right decision. Udall spoke with Sessions over the weekend about the Republican’s concerns.

“Despite these assurances from Senator Sessions and despite Stephanie’s willingness to answer questions by the Judiciary Committee, it’s clear to me that a further delay in the confirmation is not good for Colorado or the office of U.S. Attorney,” Udall said in a statement. “Stephanie has made a decision in the best interests of the office she hoped to serve, and I respect her for it.”

Pueblo District Attorney Bill Thiebaut Jr. and Denver attorney John Walsh III are still on a list of possible candidates for Colorado U.S. Attorney, according to The Post.

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) asked the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee not to hold a vote on the Colorado U.S. Attorney nominee until Sessions receives more information about the candidate, The Denver Post reported today.

Jeff Sessions (Getty Images)

Sessions, the panel’s top Republican, wrote in a letter to Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) yesterday that the record for Stephanie Villafuerte is “incomplete.” Read her questionnaire submitted to the panel here.

The Alabama senator told Leahy he had concerns about the firing of a federal agent connected to a controversy swirling around Villafeurte. President Barack Obama nominated Villafeurte on Sept. 30 to be Colorado’s top federal prosecutor.

Sessions also asked Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano at a hearing Wednesday why Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Cory Voorhis lost his job for using a restricted government database. Voorhis had assisted the 2006 campaign of Republican Bob Bob Beauprez, who ran an ad about an undocumented immigrant whose information was in the law enforcement database.

Republicans have raised questions about whether Villafuerte asked people in the Denver District Attorney’s office to access the same database for political purposes, which could be a crime. Villafuerte is a long-time aide to Gov. Bill Ritter (D), who was Beauprez’s opponent in 2006. Ritter has defended Villafuerte in the matter.

Republicans say it appears Voorhis was treated differently from the U.S. Attorney nominee. Rep. Mike Coffman (R-Colo.) sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder this week urging the Justice Department to probe Villafuerte over the database allegations.

Sen. Jeff Sessions questioned Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano at a hearing Wednesday about a fired federal agent connected to a controversy swirling around the U.S. Attorney nominee for Colorado, The Denver Post reported today.

Jeff Sessions (Getty Images)

The Alabama Republican asked Napolitano why Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Cory Voorhis lost his job for accessing a restricted government database when his boss, Tony Rouco, wasn’t fired, despite a finding that Ruoco hadn’t been truthful about the use of the database, according to The Post.

Republicans have raised questions about whether Colorado U.S. Attorney nominee Stephanie Villafuerte asked people in the Denver District Attorney’s office to access the same database for political purposes. Republicans say it appears Voorhis was treated differently from Villafuerte.

Villafuerte, a long-time aide to Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter (D), has denied the allegations.

Voorhis was charged in 2007 with using the National Crime Information Center database to check the background on an undocumented immigrant whose case was featured in an ad by Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Beauprez. Voorhis said he was authorized to use the database by his supervisor. He was later acquitted by a federal jury.

“I am not personally familiar with this,” Napolitano said at the Department of Homeland Security oversight hearing, according to The Post. “But I will become personally familiar with it.”

Villafuerte has said her disputed contacts with the DA’s office in October 2006 concerned an alleged threat against then-candidate Ritter, not about accessing a database for political purposes, which could be a crime. Read our previous report here.

Colorado Republicans have called on the Senate Judiciary Committee to investigate Villafuerte. Sessions is the top Republican on the Judiciary panel. Yesterday, Rep. Mike Coffman (R-Colo.) sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder urging the Justice Department to probe Villafuerte over the database allegations.

The Judiciary committee has yet to schedule a vote on her nomination. President Barack Obama tapped Villafuerte for the post on Sept. 30.

The Colorado Republican Party chairman asked the Denver police chief yesterday to shed more light on whether the state’s U.S. Attorney nominee, Stephanie Villafuerte, used a restricted federal database to help the 2006 campaign of Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter.

Stephanie Villafuerte (gov)

State GOP Chairman Dick Wadhams sent a letter to Denver police chief Gerry Whitman urging him to respond to questions raised by statements from Villafuerte, Ritter and Denver’s Assistant District Attorney Chuck Lepley last month. The statements, which were submitted to The Denver Post, dispute the database allegations and have drawn the Denver Police Department into the controversy.

The Villafuerte camp claims that her disputed contacts with the DA’s office in October 2006 concerned an alleged threat against then-candidate Ritter, not about accessing a database for political purposes, which could be a crime.

Lepley said nearly two years ago that he “probably” discussed the alleged threat with Whitman and other police department officials, according to federal court testimony obtained by The Post about the matter. Whitman declined to comment to the newspaper about whether he spoke to Lepley about the matter. The police department never generated a report or any other documents about the alleged threat, according to The Post.

In yesterday’s letter, the GOP leader Wadhams wrote: “Chief Whitman, I believe you have been put in a very uncomfortable and unfair position by Ms. Villafuerte, Governor Ritter, and the Denver District Attorney’s office by their rather creative explanations of their actions, but the public deserves a clear answer from you and your department.”

A spokesperson for the Denver Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Main Justice on Wadham’s letter.

Wadhams has been highly critical of Villafuerte for her reported conversations with staffers in the Denver District Attorney’s office about an illegal immigrant who was featured in an ad against Ritter produced by his opponent, Republican Bob Beauprez.

But Villafuerte, who is Ritter’s deputy chief of staff, told the FBI in 2007 that she had “no conversationsâ€� with the DA employees about the undocumented immigrant, Carlos Estrada-Medina, who is also an alleged heroin dealer, The Post reported in October.

Republicans charge that Villafuerte is being treated differently in the matter than U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Cory Voorhis, who lost his job after accessing the same database on behalf of the Beauprez campaign.

“Colorado deserves better than a U.S. Attorney who apparently might have used her former employer, the Denver District Attorney’s Office, for blatant partisan political purposes,” Wadhams said in an October letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Stephanie Villafuerte (gov)

The nominee to be the U.S. Attorney for Colorado has rejected allegations that she played a role in the use of a restricted government database to aid Gov. Bill Ritter (D) in his 2006 gubernatorial campaign, The Denver Post reported today.

Stephanie Villafuerte, who is Ritter’s deputy chief of staff, wrote in a letter to Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) obtained by The Post that her answer to the allegation is “emphatically no.”

Colorado Republicans have also raised questions about whether Villafuerte had discussions with staffers in the Denver District Attorney’s Office about an illegal immigrant who was featured in an ad against Ritter produced by Republican Bob Beauprez’s gubernatorial campaign.

Use of the federal criminal records database for political purposes could be a crime. She told the FBI in 2007 that she had “no conversations� with the DA employees about Carlos Estrada-Medina, who is also an alleged heroin dealer. Estrada-Medina had once obtained a plea deal under the alias of Walter Ramo when Ritter was Denver’s district attorney, according to The Post.

“Was I honest when I told the FBI that I did not have conversations with anyone at the Denver District Attorney’s Office . . . regarding the Ramo/Estrada Medina case?” Villafuerte wrote. “The answer is absolutely yes.”

Republicans charge that Villafuerte is being treated differently in the matter than U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Cory Voorhis, who lost his job after accessing the same database on behalf of the Beauprez campaign. Colorado state Sen. Ted Harvey and other state Republicans sent a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this month, asking the panel to investigate whether Villafuerte used the database.

The committee has yet to schedule a vote on her nomination. President Barack Obama tapped Villafuerte for the post on Sept. 30.

Stephanie Villafuerte (gov)

Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter (D) on Monday defended his aide, Stephanie Villafuerte, whose nomination to be the state’s next U.S. Attorney is under attack from Republicans, The Denver Post reports.

“I believe Stephanie did nothing wrong,” Ritter said during a radio interview on  The Mike Rosen Show on KOA-AM.

Republicans have questioned whether Villafuerte asked employees of the Denver district attorney’s office — which Ritter had once headed — to access a restricted government database to help his 2006 campaign for governor. Asking someone to access the National Crime Information Center database for non-law enforcement purposes can be a crime, according to The Post.

In 2007 Villafuerte told the FBI she had “no conversationsâ€� with the DA’s office about Carlos Estrada-Medina, an alleged heroin dealer who had struck a plea deal when Ritter was Denver’s top prosecutor. Ritter’s Republican opponent for governoer, Bob Beauprez, had featured Estrada-Medina in a campaign ad against Ritter.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Cory Voorhis was charged with accessing the NCIC to check the alias of Estrada-Medina – and providing information about it to Beauprez’s campaign for the 2006 ad. A federal jury acquitted Voorhis in the matter, but he was fired from his job.

Gov. Bill Ritter

“[A]s a person working for the campaign [Stephanie] did a host of things to try to independently verify this identity of Carlos Estrada-Medina and could not do it,” Ritter told the radio host. “She had people who were getting public records. We as a campaign employed individuals — interns — to go to the courthouse and get the records. We got nothing from the DA’s office.”

When asked about a voice mail Villafuerte left for the DA’s office’ spokeswoman about Estrada-Medina shortly someone in the office accessed the NCIC records on him, Ritter said: “I think it’s dangerous to just actually take it from logs. Those are one- to two-minute calls, and if you leave a message with somebody it’s logged as a one-minute call,” adding, “They may not have talked at all.”

Villafuerte is nominated to replace Troy Eid, who resigned in January as the U.S. Attorney for the  District of Colorado

Another Colorado Republican is expressing concern about whether the state’s U.S. Attorney nominee inappropriately used state resources to help her boss during his successful 2006 gubernatorial campaign, The Denver Post reported Saturday.

State GOP chairman Dick Wadhams has joined former Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.) in questioning whether Stephanie Villafuerte used a restricted government database for political purposes, which could be a crime, according to the newspaper.

Stephanie Villafuerte (gov)

Villafuerte, who is the deputy chief of staff to Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter, has declined to comment to The Post.

The issue centers on discussions she had with staffers in the Denver district attorney’s office about an illegal immigrant who was featured in an ad against Ritter produced by Republican Bob Beauprez’s gubernatorial campaign. She told the FBI in 2007 that she had “no conversations” with the DA employees about Carlos Estrada-Medina, who is also an alleged heroin dealer. Estrada-Median had once obtained a plea deal under the allias of Walter Ramo when Ritter was Denver’s district attorney, according to The Post.

Republicans charge that Villafuerte is being treated differently in the matter than a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent named Cory Voorhis, who lost his job after accessing the same database on behalf of the Beauprez campaign.

“It is time for Stephanie Villafuerte and her boss, Bill Ritter, to finally come clean on possible inappropriate behavior during their efforts to smear ICE agent Cory Voorhis,” Wadhams told The Post.

Voorhis was charged in 2007 with using the National Crime Information Center database to look into Estrada-Medina/Ramo on behalf of the Beauprez campaign for its ad, according to the newspaper. Voorhis said he was authorized to use the database by his supervisor, The Post said. He was later acquitted by a federal jury.

“As the U.S. Attorney, will Stephanie Villafuerte offer help in investigating the corruption, perjury and malfeasance rampant in the Denver regional office of ICE?,â€� Tancredo, a fierce opponent of illegal immigration, said earlier this month. “Will she be an advocate for the effective enforcement of our nation’s immigration laws after participating in the disgusting vendetta against ICE agent Cory Voorhis? The answer to those questions is probably … no se puede.”

The Post said the Obama White House continues to stand behind its nominee, who was tapped Sept. 30. Villafuerte would replace acting U.S. Attorney for Colorado David Gaouette, who has been in the position since Bush appointee Troy Eid resigned in January.

Former Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.), a 2008 Republican presidential candidate and fierce opponent of illegal immigration, is criticizing the nomination of Stephanie Villafuerte for District of Colorado U.S. Attorney.

Tom Tancredo (gov)

President Barack Obama officially nominated Villafuerte (University of Denver, University of California at Los Angeles) on Sept. 30. The deputy chief of staff to Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter (D) would be the first Latina to serve as Colorado’s top federal prosecutor.

In a column on the conservative WorldNetDaily Web site, Tancredo cites a controversy from Ritter’s 2006 gubernatorial campaign against Republican Bob Beauprez that resulted in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent losing his job.

The agent, Cory Voorhis, was acquitted of charges he improperly accessed a federal crime database for information the Beauprez campaign used to make a campaign ad that attacked Ritter for reaching plea agreement with illegal immigrants when he was the Denver District Attorney. One of those undocumented immigrants was Carlos Estrada-Medina, an accused heroin dealer.

Stephanie Villafuerte (gov)

After the ad was released, Villafuerte called a staffer at the DA’s office and apparently asked about Estrada-Medina. The DA’s office also accessed the same information as Voorhis in the National Crime Information Computer database.

The DA’s office said that the check on Estrada-Medina was done in response to media calls. But records released by the DA’s office in response to a request by The Denver Post “show no such media deluge. Instead, they indicate that the DA office’s work on Estrada-Medina also had its roots in a campaign,” the newspaper reported in 2008.

Voorhis lost his job over the matter. Tancredo thinks there’s a double standard.

“As the U.S. attorney, will Stephanie Villafuerte offer help in investigating the corruption, perjury and malfeasance rampant in the Denver regional office of ICE?,” writes Tancredo. “Will she be an advocate for the effective enforcement of our nation’s immigration laws after participating in the disgusting vendetta against ICE agent Cory Voorhis? The answer to those questions is probably … no se puede,” wrote Tancredo.

WND is home to conservative conspiracy theories on everything from Obama’s citizenship to the belief that health care reform would lead to “concentration camps for political dissidents, such as occurred in Nazi Germany.” Recent headlines include “Will your thoughts be subject to hate crime laws?” and “How to survive the coming martial law in America.”

If confirmed, Villafuerte would replace Acting U.S. Attorney for Colorado David Gaouette, who has been in the position since Jan. 10 after Bush appointee Troy A. Eid resigned. Gaouette’s current 120-day extension expires on Dec. 8, at which point the U.S. District Court for Colorado would appoint a interim U.S. Attorney until a presidential nominee is sworn in.