What to know about Wisconsin felony charges recommended against Trump's PAC, GOP lawmaker

Molly Beck, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Updated ·4 min read
6

The bipartisan Wisconsin Ethics Commission is recommending felony charges against a slate of Republicans, including former President Donald Trump's fundraising committee and a state lawmaker, for their roles in an alleged scheme to evade campaign finance limits in donations to the 2022 primary opponent of Assembly Speaker Robin Vos.

The commission this week issued the referrals to district attorneys across the state. If the prosecutors decide not to pursue the charges, the commission may ask another district attorney or Attorney General Josh Kaul to pursue prosecutions.

Here's what to know:

What is the Ethics Commission alleging took place?

In the aftermath of the 2020 election, Trump and his supporters pressured Vos and other legislative leaders to take the illegal and impossible step of decertifying the election results as part of a nationwide campaign to undo, or at least sow distrust, in the election outcome that was confirmed by judges, audits, studies and recounts.

Because Vos is the most powerful Republican leader in Wisconsin, Trump made the speaker a target — building a campaign against him through personal phone calls to Vos and public statements criticizing Vos blasted to his millions of followers. As a result, the state GOP turned against Vos — including Brandtjen and county party officials.

In 2022, a Racine County candidate named Adam Steen launched a primary challenge against Vos primarily on a platform of Vos' decision to not entertain Trump's requests to overturn a legitimate election result.

The Ethics Commission is alleging Steen and his campaign, Brandtjen, the Trump super PAC and party leaders in Langlade, Chippewa and Florence counties conspired to funnel donations to Steen through county parties because state law does not limit how much parties can donate to candidates. Individuals, however, are limited to $1,000 donations.

State law prohibits donors to county party committees from specifying their contribution be directed to a specific candidate, according to the commission.

Who is involved in the alleged scheme?

Rep. Janel Brandtjen speaks as former President Donald Trump held a campaign rally for Republican candidate for governor Tim Michels at the Waukesha County Fairgrounds in Waukesha on Friday, Aug. 5, 2022.
Rep. Janel Brandtjen speaks as former President Donald Trump held a campaign rally for Republican candidate for governor Tim Michels at the Waukesha County Fairgrounds in Waukesha on Friday, Aug. 5, 2022.

The commission is recommending charges against:

  • Brandtjen, a state lawmaker representing the 22nd Assembly District in the northwest suburbs of Milwaukee.

  • Officials with the Save America political action committee, which raises money for Trump's political campaigns.

  • The campaign committee of Steen, who lost to Vos by fewer than 300 votes in the 2022 GOP primary.

  • The Chippewa County Republican Party.

  • The Langlade County Republican Party.

  • The Florence County Republican Party.

  • Brian Jennings, chairman of the Florence County GOP, who during an August 2022 county party meeting said the party would receive $5,000 from Brandtjen to forward to the Langlade County GOP. Jennings told investigators the plan was "to help get rid of Vos," according to the commission.

  • Terry Brand, chairman of the Langlade County GOP.

  • Leonard Boltz, vice-chairman of the Langlade County GOP.

  • Amanda Radle, the Chippewa County GOP treasurer who allegedly accepted a check in August 2022 with "63" in the memo line, indicating the money was for the Steen campaign in the 63rd Assembly District. The donor told commission investigators that Steen directed the donor to contribute to his campaign by sending money to the Chippewa County GOP.

  • Kevin Steen, Adam Steen's father, who donated $3,000 to the Langlade County GOP.

  • Julie and Bryan Knudtson of New Richmond, who said they donated $3,000 to the Chippewa County GOP after Steen told them to as a way to send contributions to his campaign.

  • Alan Blair of Vienna, Virginia, who the commission alleges donated $8,000 to the Langlade County GOP with the intention of funding the Steen campaign against Vos.

What's next?

Prosecutors in Racine, Waukesha, Chippewa, Florence and Langlade counties have 60 days to decide whether to pursue the charges recommended by the commission. If the prosecutors choose not to, the commission could recommend the same charges to another district attorney or the Wisconsin Department of Justice.

What are Wisconsin's campaign finance laws at hand?

Individuals are barred from contributing more than $1,000 to candidates' campaigns. County parties have no limits in the amounts they may receive or donate to candidates. However, state law bars committees or individuals to donate to parties with the intention of funneling the money to an individual candidate.

Molly Beck can be reached at molly.beck@jrn.com.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: What to know about Wisconsin charges sought against Trump funding PAC