Blanchard seeks caucus-case ruling in possible conflicts
11:27 AM 9/11/02
Dee J. Hall Wisconsin State Journal
indentDane County District Attorney Brian Blanchard announced Wednesday he's asked for a ruling on whether he should be disqualified from leading the secret "John Doe" investigation because of contacts between his campaign and two taxpayer-funded caucuses during the 2000 election.
indentOn Tuesday, Dane County Circuit Judge Sarah O'Brien will hold a hearing open to the public to evaluate evidence regarding potential conflicts of interest by Blanchard and to determine what should happen if conflicts exist.
indentPresenting evidence will be Milwaukee County District Attorney E. Michael McCann, who has been working with O'Brien and Blanchard on the 16-month-old investigation into illegal campaigning and fund-raising at the Legislature.
indentBlanchard said he was prompted to seek the ruling after receiving new information about the activities of his campaign in 2000. Among the information is an e-mail sent to Blanchard in late August from a campaign volunteer and former co-worker who said he used lists generated by the taxpayer-funded caucuses to distribute Blanchard campaign literature.
indentIn addition, the volunteer, Ed Picchi, told Blanchard he remembered visiting the taxpayer-funded Assembly Democratic Caucus at 17 S. Fairchild St. one or two times to pick up lists for the campaign at the request of Scott McCormick, one of Blanchard's top campaign workers.
indent"It seems to me that either there were things going on in your previous campaign that you didn't know about or you know about them and are not acknowledging them," Picchi said in an e-mail attached to Blanchard's request for a hearing.
indentIn a statement, Blanchard, a Democrat, said he wasn't aware his campaign was using any lists generated by the caucuses, which the Wisconsin State Journal revealed in a series last year were campaign organizations operating secretly and in possible violation of state law. Blanchard released copies of bills showing he paid a private vendor $960 to provide telephone, walk lists and mailing lists for the campaign.
indent"In my mind, these were the lists that my campaign used for all of our mailings and literature drops," Blanchard said in a sworn statement.
indentBlanchard also cited a June 30, 2000, memo recently sent to him indicating that his wife, Mary, asked for campaign help from then-Senate Democratic Caucus director Andrew Gussert. The memo, which is not written on letterhead, appears to be from Gussert to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Chvala, who headed the SDC until it was disbanded along with the other legislative caucuses on Jan. 1.
indentBlanchard said his wife recalls discussing at least one of the issues listed in the memo: how to get a computer program to keep track of campaign donations.
indentIn another undated memo apparently written by Gussert to Chvala, Gussert asks the Senate leader to call Blanchard, who at the time was in private practice at the Quarles & Brady law firm. "Will likely be the next DA and prosecute political violations. We have not really helped him on his campaign so far. Ask him if there is anything we can do to help."
indentBlanchard said in his affidavit that "to the best of my memory, Senator Chvala did not follow up on this memo, assuming the memo is authentic, by calling me." The district attorney said he recalls visiting Chvala in June 2000 at Chvala's law office as he made the rounds of Democratic officials to announce his candidacy and to generate ideas for the district attorney's race.
indentLast June, when the John Doe probe began, Blanchard revealed that he'd contacted the SDC for help formatting his nomination petition and had talked once or twice with Gussert on the telephone. As a result of those contacts, Blanchard assigned McCann to handle the probe into the SDC.
indentThen, as now, Blanchard said he was unaware at the time that the SDC, at 1 S. Pickney St., was a state agency.
indent"Nothing about what Mr. Gussert or Ms. Marecek did suggested in any way that they were state employees," Blanchard said in an interview Wednesday.
indentBoth Marecek and McCormick have received immunity from prosecution in the probe. Marecek and Gussert have hired attorneys at taxpayer expense to represent them in the investigation. After the State Journal series broke in May 2001, Blanchard said in his sworn statement that he asked McCormick and another campaign aide whether any caucus aided his campaign, and both said no.
indentMcCormick also operated a so-called independent expenditure group, Independent Citizens for Democracy, that spent an estimated $540,000 to benefit Democratic Senate candidates during 2000. Blanchard said he was not aware of the group nor McCormick's work for it when he hired McCormick to work on his campaign.
indentSaid Blanchard: "During 16 months of investigation to date, I have steadily pursued the truth. I do not believe that what I understand to have been brief and minimal contacts in 2000 between my campaign and persons who I later learned were state employees has compomised my ability fairly to pursue the facts where they lead."