Wisconsin district attorney investigates Republican Caucus over open records
By The Associated Press
06.04.01
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MADISON, Wis. — The Dane County district attorney has confirmed his office is investigating possible open records law violations allegedly committed by the Assembly Republican Caucus.
The investigation centers on whether caucus members deleted computer files and removed boxes of campaign records from their state offices to keep them from the Wisconsin State Journal, which had requested the information under the open-records law.
District Attorney Brian Blanchard would not say whether his office was investigating possible felony or misdemeanor offenses. But Blanchard said destroying material that had been requested under the open-records law "would be an extreme violation" that merits charges.
Blanchard said he had spoken to the Attorney General's Office on the matter and he met with a Justice Department investigator on June 1. Criminal charges in the case could be brought by either his office or the Justice Department, Blanchard said.
A message the Associated Press left at the caucus' offices on June 2 was not returned in time for this story.
Allegations that the Assembly Republican Caucus dumped records to avoid public scrutiny came from former caucus employee Lyndee Wall, who told the State Journal that caucus director Jason Kratochwill screened records before they were turned over to the newspaper.
Wall reportedly said that Kratochwill ordered a purge of office records, sending boxes of documents home with staffers. Other files were destroyed in a bonfire, Wall said.
The Attorney General's Office has said if those allegations are true, felony charges of tampering with public records with intent to defraud could be brought, carrying up to five years in prison.
The underlying portion of the case involves assertions by several people that employees of the Capitol's four caucuses have been routinely doing campaign work while on state time, which is illegal.
State law provides that the investigation into those allegations be done by the Ethics Board, which determines whether violations have occurred and refers the matter to the Dane County District Attorney's Office for prosecution.
All 16 members of Legislature's Joint Finance Committee voted on May 31 to leave in the budget new leases for certain legislative offices, including the caucuses. Reform advocates had hoped the committee would consider proposals to reform or abolish the caucuses, which cost an estimated $3.9 million a year.
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