The conservative Common Sense Institute (CSI) says its rigorous research provides Coloradans with facts and data-driven analysis to help make informed decisions. Yet three days after the Jan. 6 riot, CSI’s founder shared a debunked election fraud conspiracy video with insurrectionist attorney John Eastman and set a meeting to discuss it further.
On Jan. 9, 2021, banking magnate Earl Wright forwarded the conspiracy video to insurrectionist attorney John Eastman, whom, despite helping President Trump incite a mob of supporters to storm the U.S. Capitol, was still employed as CU Boulder’s Benson Center Visiting Professor of Conservative Thought.
The deadly riot prompted Benson Center Director Daniel Jacobson, who had previously defended Eastman’s conspiracist claims, to send an email to Eastman telling him he’d “done irreparable harm to the Center.”
Wright, however, apparently still valued Eastman’s opinion, even after Jan 6.
Upon receiving Wright’s email asking “Are you aware of any relevance in this?”, Eastman replied that the wild conspiracy theory had “huge relevance” and suggested they discuss it further.
Eastman’s response to Wright, which perpetuated the conspiracy, was first reported by the Salt Lake Tribune’s Bryan Schott.
“Guys,
I have met with Patrick. There is huge relevance to this, and I have actually had very high-level meetings about it. We should talk more about it when I’m in Boulder next week, and also about how to respond to Dan Jacobson’s scurrilous letter just sent on behalf of the Benson Center, falsely accusing me of making allegations for which I had no evidence when I had already advised him that I had documented evidence for every statement I have made through this whole intense process.
John”
Former CU Regent Steve Bosley was also copied on Wright’s email. Eastman proposed the trio meet over Zoom immediately. Wright then agreed to a virtual meeting with Eastman and Bosley to discuss- a meeting Wright and Bosley confirmed took place, but claim they can’t recall anything about what was discussed.
The video was titled “Hillary, Bribes and election steeling [sic] – Patrick M Byrne.” The video has since been removed, but tech-CEO-turned-election-conspiracist Patrick Byrne has repeatedly claimed, including in several video interviews, that the 2020 election was stolen by the “Deep State” that he first interacted with while bribing Hillary Clinton with $18 million on behalf of the FBI.
Bosley and Wright are both longtime supporters of the Benson Center, both having served on the Search Committee which advises the board on selecting the visiting professors, such as Eastman.
In addition to his role at the Benson Center, Wright co-founded the Common Sense Institute, which calls itself “a non-partisan research organization dedicated to the protection and promotion of Colorado’s economy.”
“CSI’s founders were a concerned group of business and community leaders who observed that divisive partisanship was overwhelming policymaking and believed that sound economic analysis could help Coloradans make fact-based and common sense decisions,” states the Common Sense Institute’s website.
The conservative-leaning organization prides itself on “rigorous research” techniques:
“CSI employs rigorous research techniques and dynamic modeling to evaluate the potential impact of issues on the Colorado economy and individual opportunity. CSI provides elected officials, policy makers and Coloradans with facts and data-driven analysis to help make informed decisions about the biggest issues facing the state,” the website states.
Asked via email whether the Common Sense Institute has any concerns about its founder sharing debunked conspiracy theories with a Trump attorney who had publicly attempted to overturn the election, Executive Director Kelly Caufield declined to answer, but offered the following statement in support of Wright:
“Earl Wright is a man of integrity and character who is respected by leaders on both sides of the aisle for his work in public policy and in the community,” said Caufield. “For example, Earl was invited to Governor Jared Polis’ office a few short months ago to celebrate an agreement to strengthen the state’s pension system he helped broker. He has donated time, talent and treasure to dozens of Colorado non-profits including Rotary Club of Denver, University of Colorado Foundation, University of Nebraska Foundation, Boy Scouts of America and many more.”
A previous email exchange between Wright and Eastman showed the CSI founder supportive of Eastman’s publicly undermining the 2020 election results. On Nov. 17, 2020, CU Boulder faculty, students, and alumni sent an open letter to the university’s leaders, calling out Eastman for his Tweets about election fraud.
“By bolstering conspiracy theories about the election, Dr. Eastman has not merely expressed an opinion. Rather, as a self-proclaimed ‘expert in voting rights and election cases’” he has given a stamp of legitimacy to falsehoods that reduce our national security.”
Eastman forwarded this letter to Wright and Bosley, dismissing it with a single line, “oh brother. These people are indefatigable.” Wright replied by supporting Eastman and suggested using the university’s academic credibility as an institute of higher education as leverage to defend his.
“Fine. We will use their interest to our advantage,” said Wright. “Show how higher education can use this moment for enlightenment and thoughtful discussion/debate. Teaching moment for what the Benson Center stands for- thoughtful understanding and exchange of ideas.”
Later that day, the Benson Center did exactly that, publishing a defensive response that focused on academic freedom and attacked the called the letter’s authors as “invidiously partisan,” and characterized Eastman’s statements as opinions raised for discussion purposes.
One sentence in particular did not age well: “Its claims about the effects of these tweets on national security…seem highly exaggerated.”
Reached via phone, Wright declined to be interviewed but offered to answer questions submitted in writing. He and Bosley subsequently provided the following joint responses:
CTR: What did Eastman tell you during that meeting?
Wright/Bosley: We cannot remember the specifics of the call and do not remember ever discussing the video with Eastman.
CTR: Did he provide evidence of his claims?
W/B: We are not sure which “claims’ of Eastman this question refers to, as Eastman has made many claims that have later been found to have not been supported by credible evidence.
CTR: Were you aware that Byrne’s own claims had already been debunked?
Wright: No. There was much misinformation at the time. I, Earl Wright, would not have shared a video had I known that it was false.
CTR: Do you currently have any concerns that the 2020 election was not legitimate? If so, what are they?
W/B: We have no concerns over the legitimacy of the election or its results. It is our opinion that our country did an amazing job of carrying out the 2020 election at local, state, and national levels under extraordinary difficult pandemic conditions.
Replying to a follow-up email clarifying that the Colorado Times Recorder meant did Eastman provide evidence for his claims about the conspiracy video having “huge relevance” or any evidence of the election being stolen at all, Wright and Bosley reiterated that they could not remember “the conversation, nor any evidence he may be speaking about.”
Wright isn’t the only board member of the Common Sense Institute to be linked with Eastman or election fraud conspiracies. CU Regent Heidi Ganahl, who sat on CSI’s board until last year, refused to say the 2020 election was not fraudulent for most of her failed gubernatorial campaign. She also praised Eastman publicly even after he claimed that Kamala Harris was not eligible to run for vice president, and told him in emails that she’d “heard wonderful things” about him.
