Sen. Shilling: Senate GOP calls for investigation into organization they dismantled two years ago

Contact: Sen. Jennifer Shilling, 608-266-5490

Sen. Janet Bewley, 608-266-3510

MADISON – Today, Senate GOP Leaders formally asked Attorney General Brad Schimel to investigate the Government Accountability Board, the now defunct agency republicans disbanded in 2015. The vote passed in the Committee on Senate Organization, 3-2, with Senators Fitzgerald, Roth, and Vukmir voting for the request and Senators Shilling and Bewley voting against.

“Republicans should be less concerned about rewriting the history of their own political scandals and more focused on helping hardworking Wisconsin families,” said Senate Democratic Leader Jennifer Shilling (D-La Crosse). “Now they’re enlisting the help of the Attorney General, a political ally, and giving him free reign to cherry-pick information in whatever way is most helpful to their republican candidates of choice.”

“The Attorney General already has the authority to investigate any crime that is statewide in nature, importance or influence,” said Assistant Senate Democratic Leader Janet Bewley (D-Ashland). “Instead of this phony vote ‘authorizing’ the Attorney General to waste even more time and money looking into the already investigated John Doe proceedings, the Senate should direct him to stop dragging his feet and sue the pharmaceutical companies responsible for the opioid epidemic, or ask him to challenge the FCC’s decision repealing Net Neutrality.”

Senator Shilling added, “This request of the Attorney General is an egregious abuse of power, as an open-ended investigation with no clear direction could result in an incredible cost to the taxpayers of Wisconsin. A request of this nature should be debated in an open forum.”