|
Records confirm Ethics Board didn't investigate
11:24 AM
8/08/02
Phil Brinkman and Scott Milfred State government reporters
indentThe state Ethics Board never investigated allegations of illegal campaign activity last year before absolving legislators and their staffs of any wrongdoing, records released Thursday confirm.
indentThe Wisconsin State Journal and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel sued to obtain the documents under the state's open records law last November. They were released under a settlement in which the Ethics Board agreed to pay part of the newspapers' legal fees.
indentCritics say the records raise questions about the effectiveness of the agency, whose mission is to enforce the state's ethics code and promote public confidence in state government.
indent"The Ethics Board is supposed to play a policing role," said Mike McCabe, executive director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign. "It's as if they refused to collect the evidence from the crime scene. They left the district attorneys in the position of having to do all the leg work themselves."
indentMcCabe urged the board to investigate after the State Journal reported in May 2001 on widespread abuses of state ethics and campaign finance laws by staffers of the legislative caucuses.
indentIn an agreement with top lawmakers last October, the state Ethics and Elections boards agreed to drop their investigations in exchange for abolishing the caucus offices. As part of the settlement, regulators agreed not to seek penalties against any legislator or staffer for using state resources for campaign purposes through July 2001.
indentEthics Board members stressed at the time that the settlement was necessary to achieve long-lasting reform and said the investigation of past wrongdoing was best left to the district attorneys looking into the matter.
indentAt the same time, the board refused to release records of its inquiry, citing a state law that protects disclosure of documents "obtained or prepared by the board in connection with an investigation."
indentThe newspapers argued the records weren't covered under that provision because the board didn't conduct an investigation. In January, Dane County Circuit Judge John Albert agreed after reviewing the documents, pulling out one handwritten note that he said appeared to constitute the only evidence of any investigation.
indentAlbert ordered the records released but then delayed his decision after an objection from the board's lawyer, Stephen Hurley.
indentThe foot-high pile of documents released Thursday, containing mostly drafts of the settlement, copies of news clippings and campaign documents volunteered by former Assembly Republican Caucus executive assistant Lyndee Wall, confirmed no investigation took place:
indentWhile the board authorized hiring an investigative "dream team" and identified 17 potential subjects to investigate, there is no record any witnesses were interviewed.
indentThe board issued no subpoeanas for documents.
indentConfidential meeting minutes show the board began discussing a settlement with lawmakers as early as Aug. 3, 2001.
indentBoard members did struggle with whether to dive into an investigation or quickly reach a resolution, according to the records.
indentA Sept. 24, 2001, memo from board attorney Jonathan Becker to executive director Roth Judd weighed the pros and cons of settling. Among the latter, Becker noted, "Because it has not conducted an investigation and has not gone all the way in getting rid of caucus staffs, the board could appear to be a do-nothing agency."
indentAnother memo detailed the difficulty staff members had last fall in trying to negotiate a settlement with four top lawmakers, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Chvala, D-Madison.
indentAccording to the memo, Chvala "berated for 15 minutes" Judd, Becker and an unidentified third person who met with the Democratic leader to try to finalize a deal. Chvala accused the board of being "partisan" and "naive" and failing to levy steep enough fines on Assembly Republicans.
indentChvala also was upset that Assembly Speaker Scott Jensen, R-Waukesha, didn't intend to hire additional staff for his party after the caucus offices were abolished.
indent"According to Sen. Chvala, this would give the Democrats poor press," the memo states. "Thus he declined to approve our proposal."
indentThe settlement that abolished the caucuses didn't address legislative staffing levels.
indentMembers of the Ethics Board continued to maintain Thursday that the records were covered by the confidentiality law, designed to protect innocent reputations and confidential sources in an investigation.
indent"The Ethics Board finds it more important in this case to side with openness than to mount a legal defense of a principle that does not have important consequences in the specific circumstances," chairman James Morgan said.
indentThrough June, Hurley had billed the board more than $27,000 in legal fees. More recent billing figures were not available Thursday. The board also agreed to pay $5,000 toward the $28,000 in legal bills incurred by the State Journal and Journal Sentinel.
indentState Journal Editor Frank Denton said he was "pleased that the Ethics Board finally saw the light and agreed to release the records to the public.
indent"We don't enjoy suing the state, but when there is secrecy in government and public matters being kept from them, we felt that we had no choice," Denton said.
|
