Taxpayers paying legal bills for 5 legislators, 59 others
0:13 AM 5/11/02
Phil Brinkman State government reporter
indent Taxpayers are paying the legal fees for five lawmakers and 59 others involved in the ongoing criminal probe into improper campaign activity at the Capitol, according to state records released Friday.
indentThe records confirmed what many have said privately: that the investigation by the Dane and Milwaukee county district attorneys appears to be focused squarely on the activities of Assembly Speaker Scott Jensen, R-Waukesha, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Chvala, D-Madison.
indentDozens of current and former state employees associated with both leaders have retained lawyers, and several aides have been ordered to testify before a secret John Doe investigation.
indentThe release of the previously confidential records also was cited as one reason for the announcement late Friday by state Sen. Brian Burke, D-Milwaukee, that he would no longer seek the Democratic nomination for state attorney general.
indent"This indicates the investigation is much wider in scope than any of us had anticipated it was going to be, and it's ended the political career of a state senator," said Jay Heck, executive director of Common Cause in Wisconsin, which has sued to halt the payments.
indentThe chief clerks of the Assembly and the Senate released complete copies of the bills - which total more than $500,000 - after the Wisconsin State Journal, The Capital Times and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel sued to obtain them.
indentPreviously, the clerks had only released edited copies of the records, with the names and many other details blacked out, making it difficult to get an accurate picture of who or how many people had sought the legal help.
indent"It always seemed to me a very strange proposition that somehow the taxpayers were not allowed to know for whom the money was paid," said Attorney General Jim Doyle, who earlier asked GOP Gov. Scott McCallum to authorize him to bring a lawsuit to stop the Legislature from making the payments. McCallum declined.
indentDoyle, a Democratic candidate for governor, argued the Legislature was breaking the law by using taxpayer money to pay legal fees for lawmakers and current or former staff members under investigation for possible criminal conduct.
indent"It's not done for any other state employee," Doyle said.
indentReporters first sought copies of the billing statements in October, after committees for both houses of the Legislature authorized them. When then-Assembly Chief Clerk John Scocos and Senate Chief Clerk Don Schneider refused to release complete copies, the newspapers sued.
indentDane County Circuit Judge Sarah O'Brien ruled in the newspapers' favor last week, and the clerks opted not to appeal amid mounting criticism against keeping the names secret.
indentAmong those who have sought subsidized legal help: Jensen, whose legal bills were $73,927; Assembly Majority Leader Steven Foti, R-Oconomowoc, $14,142; Chvala, who initially received $10,000 in legal help but later reimbursed the state; Burke, a co-chairman of the Legislature's powerful budget committee, $9,497; and former Assembly Minority Leader Shirley Krug, D-Milwaukee, $8,181.
indentFormer leaders of all four legislative caucus offices - which provided secret campaign assistance until the Legislature disbanded them in January - also have retained lawyers. Topping the list was former Assembly Republican Caucus director Jason Kratochwill, whose legal tab ran to $51,489.
indentAll have previously declined to discuss the investigation. Most of those whose names were released Friday are under court order not to even acknowledge their involvement.
indentJensen and Chvala released brief statements.
indent"It is my hope that this matter could be resolved soon so both state taxpayers and the taxpayers of Dane and Milwaukee counties can be spared further expense," Jensen said.
indentChvala noted that he has paid his own legal expenses and expressed confidence that "hard-working legislative staff are fully cooperating in this matter."
indentDane County District Attorney Brian Blanchard and Milwaukee County District Attorney E. Michael McCann began an investigation nearly one year ago after a State Journal series exposed how legislative leaders used caucus staff to run campaigns on state time and with state resources.
indentThe records released Friday show prosecutors have brought in for questioning many of those who would have been at the heart of such operations: campaign fund-raisers, graphic artists who produced campaign literature and computer experts who compiled indispensable lists of likely sympathetic voters for last-minute get-out-the-vote calls and letters.
indentIn all, both houses have spent about $500,000 on legal fees. The exact amount was difficult to make out, however, as some of the individual billing statements didn't appear to match summaries provided by the clerks.
indentIn addition, private lawyers for Jensen charged the state $87,000 to settle an investigation with the state Ethics and Elections boards. Attorneys for Schneider and Scocos' successor, Patrick Fuller, also billed the state $64,900 in their five-month bid to keep the newspapers from getting the records.
indentAs part of a settlement, the clerks have agreed to reimburse the newspapers for their legal bills.
indent- State Journal reporter Dee J. Hall contributed to this story.