In its October 23 morning newscasts, KMGH 7News neglected to report that the District Attorney for Arapahoe County, Carol Chambers, whose three-day trial before the Colorado Presiding Disciplinary Judge on charges of violating Colorado attorney ethics rules was scheduled to begin that day, is an elected Republican official. In contrast, in their 5 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. newscasts for October 23, KUSA's 9News and KCNC's CBS4 News both reported Chambers's Republican affiliation. Judicial authorities are investigating Chambers for an incident involving both another Republican who holds elected office in Arapahoe County and Chambers's husband, who is chairman of the Arapahoe County Republican Party.

As the Rocky Mountain News reported, on October 23 Chambers was scheduled to begin a three-day trial before Judge William Lucero, presiding disciplinary judge of the Colorado Supreme Court. Co-anchor Katie Trexler of 7News explained during the 6 a.m. broadcast that a “Denver lawyer says that Carol Chambers intimidated him with threats of a grand jury investigation. This is after he tried to collect money from an Englewood city councilwoman who also happened to be a member of Arapahoe County's Republican Party.” However, 7News failed to point out in any of its October 23 morning newscasts -- at 5:00 a.m., 5:30 a.m., and 6:00 a.m. -- that Chambers is herself an elected Republican official.

As Colorado Media Matters has noted, Chambers was elected to a four-year term as district attorney for Colorado's 18th Judicial District -- covering Arapahoe, Douglas, Elbert and Lincoln counties -- in November 2004. Chambers allegedly left a message on the voicemail of Jonathan Steiner, an attorney for Central Credit Corporation, in which she claimed to have received numerous complaints about his collection practices and threatened to launch an investigation. As the News reported, according to Steiner's complaint, Chambers received only one complaint about Steiner, from Englewood city councilwoman Laurett Barrentine. Barrentine, whom The Denver Post identified on October 6 as “an Arapahoe Republican Party official,” reportedly claimed that Steiner and Central Credit Corporation persisted in seeking payment for two bad checks that she said had been written on an account fraudulently established in her name. The Post reported Chambers's explanation regarding her statement to Steiner about the number of complaints against him:

“I said to him, 'I'm getting a lot of complaints about you,' ” Chambers told The Denver Post on Thursday. “What I was thinking when I was talking about this was that I was hearing complaints about collection companies doing this. I wasn't doing this specifically at him. It was about collection practices.”

According to the Post, Chambers allegedly referred Barrentine to her husband, Nathan Chambers, for free representation in the collection matter. The Post reported that although “Chambers said her husband was just giving Barrentine guidance,” according to the complaint against Carol Chambers, “Nathan Chambers made a call to Steiner to talk about a potential civil trial over the checks and questioned him about jury instructions that he had submitted.”

In contrast to 7 News, both 9News and CBS4 News reported Chambers's Republican affiliation. 9News Daybreak (5 a.m.) co-anchor Gary Shapiro noted that “Chambers is a Republican prosecutor” and that “she's accused of violating four rules of attorney conduct by threatening to prosecute a civil attorney who was suing a Republican leader, and also by lying to that attorney.” CBS4 News at 5:30 a.m. co-anchor Jennifer Cabala noted that Steiner “was working for a company that was trying to collect money from a Republican Party official. Chambers is a Republican.”

From the October 23 broadcast of KMGH's 7News at 5 a.m.:

BERTHA LYNN (co-anchor): And new for you this morning, the Arapahoe County district attorney is going to be in court today to defend herself. D.A. Carol Chambers is accused of using her position to intimidate a Denver lawyer. The collections attorney says Chambers threatened to investigate him for trying to collect money from Englewood city councilwoman Laurett Barrentine. The Colorado Supreme Court's office of attorney regulation counsel could decide to reprimand or disbar her. Chambers says her goal was not to intimidate that lawyer. She has been the 18th judicial district attorney since January of 2005.

From the October 23 broadcast of KMGH's 7News at 5:30 a.m.:

TREXLER (co-anchor): New this morning, Arapahoe County's district attorney will be in court today, but this time, she is the accused. D.A. Carol Chambers is being investigated for allegedly using her position to intimidate a Denver lawyer. The collections attorney says that Chambers threatened to investigate him for trying to collect money from an Englewood city councilwoman. The Colorado Supreme Court's office of attorney regulation counsel is conducting this investigation. It could decide to reprimand or possibly disbar Chambers. She says her goal was not to intimidate the lawyer. She has been the 18th judicial district D.A. since January of 2005.

From the October 23 broadcast of KMGH's 7News at 6:00 a.m.:

TREXLER (co-anchor): New this morning, the Arapahoe County district attorney will be appearing in court today to defend herself against claims of misconduct. A Denver lawyer says that Carol Chambers intimidated him with threats of a grand jury investigation. This is after he tried to collect money from an Englewood city councilwoman who also happened to be a member of Arapahoe County's Republican Party. The judge in charge of discipline for the state Supreme Court could decide to reprimand or even disbar Chambers. He cannot remove her from office. Chambers says that she was not trying to intimidate the lawyer. She was simply upset with those who tried to collect debt from victims of identity theft.

[...]

BERTHA LYNN (co-anchor): The woman who prosecutes cases in the 18th Judicial District will defend herself today. District Attorney Carol Chambers is accused of threatening a Denver attorney with a grand jury investigation. He was trying to get money from an Englewood councilwoman who also is a member of the Republican Party. Chambers could receive a public reprimand or be disbarred. The judge does not have power to remove her from office. Chambers says her threats of investigation were not directed at the attorney but those who go after people for checks that they didn't write. The hearing into Chambers' conduct is expected to last three days.

From the October 23 broadcast of KUSA's 9News Daybreak (5 a.m.):

SHAPIRO (co-anchor): District Attorney Carol Chambers is going to be in court today, but not to prosecute a criminal case, but to defend herself. She is accused of using her office to help a political friend. Chambers is a Republican prosecutor in Arapahoe, Douglas, Elbert, and Lincoln Counties. She is under investigation by the regulatory arm of the state Supreme Court. Now she is accused of violating four rules of attorney conduct by threatening to prosecute a civil attorney who was suing a Republican leader, and also by lying to that attorney. Chambers says the accusations are false.

From the October 23 broadcast of KCNC's CBS4 News at 5:30 a.m.:

CABALA (co-anchor): Arapahoe County District Attorney Carol Chambers faces a three-day trial starting today. She's accused of using her position to intimidate a lawyer. Chambers allegedly left a voice mail for the attorney saying she would convene a grand jury to investigate him. That attorney was working for a company that was trying to collect money from a Republican Party official. Chambers is a Republican. If found guilty, she faces anything from a reprimand to disbarment. Chambers says the message wasn't directed at that attorney, rather to other lawyers and collection agencies.