The case centers on a report produced by Sage River Consulting, which was paid nearly $25,000 to conduct "leadership development" work and provide "findings, conclusions, and recommendations" for the Secretary of State's office. According to court records, the state paid the firm for the work, but the document is now missing.

Griswold's team has said the documents no longer exist. However, the judge emphasized that her office should have kept the report, noting that the court had previously found the report existed and that the secretary had an obligation to preserve it.

"The court sort of emphasized that in the first round they found that the report existed, and the secretary had an obligation to preserve that report and did not," said Suzanne Taheri, a former deputy secretary of state who helped spearhead the legal action brought by the Public Trust Institute.

Former Secretary of State's Office employees told CBS Colorado that Griswold refused to take custody of the documents because they were highly critical of her and she did not want the information subject to open records requests.

"This may end up being a case where the secretary, having destroyed that document, we're never going to be able to see it," Taheri said. "That's unfortunate that there is no consequence for an elected official who received a document that we have every reason to believe was a very negative portrayal of her leadership skills."

The court has now ordered Griswold's team to negotiate with Sage River Consulting, which is no longer operating, to obtain documents they claim have been deleted but might be recoverable at a cost. Taheri described previous negotiations with the vendor as "a very slow process and still somewhat hostile."

Griswold was not in court on Tuesday. A spokesperson for her office provided a statement defending the department's record-keeping practices.

"The records requested are from over five years ago, from a vendor that the Department of State no longer has an active contract with," the spokesperson said. "The Department complies with all record retention obligations, and any suggestion otherwise is incorrect. Ms. Taheri's complaints at this point are directed at the vendor and not at the Department of State. We will continue to work on a solution that works for all parties – as we had been doing before Ms. Taheri brought this before the Court. The Department of State has previously provided Ms. Taheri with all records responsive to her request in our possession."

The case raises questions about transparency and accountability for elected officials, particularly as Griswold prepares to assume the role of Attorney General. The missing report, paid for with taxpayer dollars, was intended to evaluate leadership within the Secretary of State's office. Its disappearance—and the possibility that it may never be recovered—highlights gaps in enforcement when public records are not preserved.

The Public Trust Institute, a conservative-leaning government watchdog group, has been pursuing the records through the courts. Taheri said she now feels the case may have reached a dead end, given the vendor's defunct status and the slow pace of negotiations.

For now, the judge's order keeps the matter alive, requiring Griswold's attorneys to make continued efforts to retrieve the document. Whether those efforts will succeed remains uncertain, but the ruling ensures the dispute over the missing report will continue into the next chapter of Griswold's political career.