Due to Conflicts of Interest, DA in Three Counties Refer Election Charging Recommendations to Other Counties

Tuesday, March 26th, 2024 -- 10:14 AM

(Anya van Wagtendonk, Wisconsin Public Radio) Citing conflicts of interest, district attorneys in three counties that received charging recommendations from the state’s top ethics watchdog will not pursue prosecution, according to materials filed with the bipartisan Wisconsin Ethics Commission.

According to Anya van Wagtendonk with Wisconsin Public Radio, commissioners met Friday afternoon to refer the charging recommendations to neighboring jurisdictions, which they determined by drawing names of adjacent counties from a bowl.

Prosecutors in Chippewa, Florence and Langlade Counties told the commission they will not pursue the case “due to a conflict of interest.” The Chippewa County charges will be referred to Taylor County; the Florence County charges will be referred to Forest County; and the Langlade County charges will be referred to the Menominee-Shawano counties.

Wade C. Newell, the Chippewa County district attorney, previously told WPR he had referred the matter back to the commission because of his ongoing membership in the county Republican party. “It would be a conflict for me to take any action regarding these allegations,” he said.

In late February, the commission recommended felony prosecution of a committee related to former President Donald Trump and several elected Wisconsin officials. The commission alleged the officials and the committee violated campaign finance law.

According to the commission, Trump’s Save America committee, Rep. Janel Brandtjen, R-Menomonee Falls, and three county GOP offices conspired to illegally bypass campaign finance rules to funnel money to a Republican candidate challenging Assembly Speaker Robin Vos in 2022.

Vos’ opponent in that race, Adam Steen, narrowly lost his Trump-backed bid in the partisan primary and later mounted a write-in challenge in the general election.

Party arms are allowed to give candidates unlimited funds, but the complaints allege that individual donors earmarked donations to the party for Steen to get around the cap on individual donations. The ethics commission described this as “collusion” and “intentional.”

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