DA probing caucus on records law
2:06 PM 6/03/01
Phil Brinkman State government reporter
Dane County District Attorney Brian Blanchard confirmed Saturday that his office is investigating possible violations of the state's Open Records Law by staffers at the Assembly Republican Caucus.
As with any ongoing investigation, Blanchard would not reveal the nature or scope of the inquiry or say whether he expected any charges to be filed. The investigation is in response to a Wisconsin State Journal story that ran last Sunday, he said.
That story quoted former ARC executive assistant Lyndee Wall as saying she and other employees deleted computer files and removed boxes of campaign records from the caucus's state offices to keep the files from falling under an open records request by the State Journal.
The newspaper had asked for copies of all photos and graphics produced by the caucus after interviewing several former staffers who said they routinely campaigned on state time and out of their state offices. Under the state Ethics Board's interpretation of the state's ethics laws, such conduct would be prohibited.
Wall said ARC director Jason Kratochwill and two other staffers combed through records to exclude campaign-related items before documents were turned over to the newspaper. She said Kratochwill also ordered files destroyed or removed to staffers' homes.
Wall said the records that were destroyed or removed consisted of the very sort of documents the State Journal was seeking: campaign mailings, brochures, press releases and other information she said was produced at the caucus on state time.
The alleged actions would be serious violations of the state's Open Records Law, carrying possible fines of up to $1,000. Intentionally destroying state records also could constitute misconduct in public office, punishable by up to two years in prison, or tampering with public records, a five year felony.
In a statement to the newspaper last month, Kratochwill said, "I fully complied with (State Journal reporter) Dee Hall's open records request. Any suggestion to the contrary is false."
Besides the ARC, the newspaper made similar records requests of the Assembly Democratic Caucus, the Senate Republican Caucus and the Senate Democratic Caucus. The documents those caucuses turned over contained nothing campaign related, despite claims by former staff members of each caucus that they regularly engaged in campaign activity at their state offices.
The newspaper has no evidence that anyone at those caucuses violated the Open Records law, and Blanchard said his inquiry is so far only focused on the Assembly Republican Caucus.
Also Saturday, Gov. Scott McCallum said the caucuses "may have outlived their usefulness." As a state senator two decades ago, McCallum argued for eliminating the four partisan offices, which this year are estimated to cost taxpayers $3.9 million.
"That's $4 million that, as we go through this dance (assembling the budget), is on the table and perhaps ought to be discussed," McCallum said.
Two proposals are currently circulating among legislators to cut back or eliminate the caucuses. Lawmakers said they expected others to surface in the coming weeks.