Tipsheet

After Denying Lease Agreement to Key Lime Air, Denver Lands in Hot Water With the FAA

Amy Curtis
Amy Curtis  |  June 29, 2026 9:30 AM

The anti-ICE mentality of the Denver City Council has landed the city and Denver International Airport in hot water. Last December, the Council voted against a lease for Key Lime Air, an air charter service. Key Lime Air wanted to lease 1,200 square feet of office and storage space at the airport, something Denver International routinely does.

But the City Council learned Key Lime Air contracted with federal immigration authorities to transport detainees, and blocked the lease. The problem is that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) rules prohibit such unequal treatment, and the vote put $90 million in federal grant funding at risk.

Instead of approving the lease, City Attorney Miko Brown allegedly urged the airport to investigate Key Lime Air's safety record. This wasn't rooted in any legitimate safety concerns, but encouraged the fabrication of an investigation to justify the City Council's vote.

Here's more:

According to multiple sources with direct knowledge of the matter, City Attorney Brown attended a meeting on January 6 with the airport and Mayor's Office officials to address the fallout from the council vote. Attendees included airport Chief Executive Phil Washington, airport attorney Everett Martinez, the mayor's interim chief of staff Emily Garnett, and other senior airport and mayoral staff.

What happened in that meeting might never have become public, except that Martinez was later placed on administrative leave and filed a federal lawsuit against the city in March. According to the suit, Brown suggested at the January meeting that Denver International Airport investigate Key Lime Air's safety record -- not because of legitimate concerns, but to retroactively justify the council's vote. Martinez said Brown was effectively asking the airport to fabricate an investigation, calling the proposal likely illegal and unethical.

When CBS Colorado asked Mayor Mike Johnston's office about the lawsuit in March, a spokesperson answered it as coming from "a disgruntled employee" and said, "The city attorney did not say the things listed here. No one called for a fake investigation on Key Lime."

The following day, Brown sent a memo to her own staff stating "The alleged claims are untrue."

CBS News obtained an internal memo from Denver International Airport written by Martinez on January 13. That memo was sent to the airport's vice president of airline affairs, who signed off on it. According to that memo, Brown told airport officials, "You all should investigate Key Lime yourselves. If the FAA comes knocking, I want to be able to have in my back pocket that council was also voting because of safety issues but ran out of time to get to talking about that before voting."

The memo stated that Brown met with Denver International Airport lawyer David Steinberger on January 9, and she once again urged him to raise the safety investigation.

Yes, they do.

We need accountability.

This is also a very good point. Without Weiss at the helm, this story doesn't see the light of day.

Back in January, Senator Ted Cruz called out Denver for the vote.

That was before we learned that Denver's City Attorney pushed to fabricate a safety investigation into Key Lime, too.

On May 13, the FAA notified Denver of an official investigation and requested the city provide the agency with 'specific reasons and arguments for the denial.' On June 17, Denver asked the FAA for additional time to gather information for the agency's investigation into the denial of Key Lime Air's lease. Denver now has until July to provide that information.