Will Brad Schimel Fire Himself?

MADISON, Wis. — Attorney General Brad Schimel said in comments to the media that he fired Ed Wall, the author of a tell all book critical of his performance in office, because he said Wall sought to subvert the state open records law. One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross asked how Schimel intends to sanction himself for his attempts to evade disclosure about his attending a conference hosted by an anti-LGBTQ organization classified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

“According to Brad Schimel, trying to avoid the state open records law gets you fired,” said One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross. “So is Schimel going to fire himself for trying to keep secret his attendance at a conference put on by an anti-LGTBQ hate group?”

One Wisconsin Now noted in May that the Alliance Defending Freedom, designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, paid over $3,800 in expenses and a $300 appearance fee for Schimel to travel to a luxury resort in California, to attend their conference and to participate in a panel discussion on “states’ rights.”

Subsequent investigation revealed that Schimel intended to keep his junket secret and evade the state open records law, telling an aide in an email in the week leading up the the conference that, “… I do not plan to have any portion of it become public information.”

Schimel’s Department of Justice has also recently refused to fulfill One Wisconsin Now’s request under the state open records law for updated information on purchases of promotional swag, claiming that reviewing the records would be too burdensome.