1 00:00:02,503 --> 00:00:05,772 >> The following program is a PBS Wisconsin Original 2 00:00:05,839 --> 00:00:08,742 production. >> Absentee ballots have 3 00:00:08,809 --> 00:00:12,145 started to go out in Wisconsin as the Trump 4 00:00:12,212 --> 00:00:14,548 administration pushes for restrictions on who can 5 00:00:14,615 --> 00:00:17,551 vote by mail and the state attorney general's race 6 00:00:17,618 --> 00:00:21,488 picks up speed. Good evening. I'm Zac Schultz 7 00:00:21,555 --> 00:00:23,757 filling in for Frederica Freyberg tonight on here. 8 00:00:23,824 --> 00:00:26,527 And now, election officials provide guidance and advice 9 00:00:26,593 --> 00:00:29,363 for ensuring mail in ballots reach their 10 00:00:29,429 --> 00:00:31,498 destinations. Attorney general candidates Josh 11 00:00:31,565 --> 00:00:33,800 Kaul and Eric Toney make their case to be the 12 00:00:33,867 --> 00:00:36,603 state's top cop, and Tommy Thompson, former governor 13 00:00:36,670 --> 00:00:39,039 and health and human Services secretary, 14 00:00:39,106 --> 00:00:41,642 reflects on the 25th anniversary of terrorist 15 00:00:41,708 --> 00:00:45,145 attacks in the U.S. it's "Here& Now" for September 16 00:00:45,212 --> 00:00:48,115 11th. >> Funding for "Here& Now" 17 00:00:48,182 --> 00:00:51,051 is provided by the Focus Fund for journalism and 18 00:00:51,118 --> 00:00:55,589 Friends of PBS Wisconsin. >> At this hour, we are 19 00:01:02,296 --> 00:01:04,431 still waiting to hear if the United States Supreme 20 00:01:04,498 --> 00:01:07,534 Court will allow the U.S. Postal Service to move 21 00:01:07,601 --> 00:01:09,736 forward with new rules on how they will handle 22 00:01:09,803 --> 00:01:12,573 absentee ballots. The rules come from the Trump 23 00:01:12,639 --> 00:01:14,508 administration and would likely mean millions of 24 00:01:14,575 --> 00:01:17,277 mail in ballots would not be processed by the Postal 25 00:01:17,344 --> 00:01:19,546 Service and never make it to clerks offices around 26 00:01:19,613 --> 00:01:22,683 the country by Election Day. Currently, a U.S. federal 27 00:01:22,749 --> 00:01:25,252 appeals court has upheld a lower court that blocked 28 00:01:25,319 --> 00:01:27,521 the rules from moving forward. But the final word 29 00:01:27,588 --> 00:01:30,624 will come from the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, clerks in 30 00:01:30,691 --> 00:01:32,759 Wisconsin are moving forward with their election 31 00:01:32,826 --> 00:01:35,028 plans, and that includes Dunn County Clerk Andrew 32 00:01:35,095 --> 00:01:37,798 Mercil, president of the Wisconsin County Clerks 33 00:01:37,865 --> 00:01:42,536 Association. Thanks for >> Thanks for having me. 34 00:01:42,603 --> 00:01:44,671 >> So while we await this ruling from the Supreme 35 00:01:44,738 --> 00:01:47,207 Court, is this decision hanging over your head or 36 00:01:47,274 --> 00:01:49,977 do you have too much else going on to worry about it 37 00:01:50,043 --> 00:01:52,179 for right now? >> Well, there's quite a 38 00:01:52,246 --> 00:01:54,481 bit going on in Wisconsin as it relates to getting 39 00:01:54,548 --> 00:01:57,217 ready for the elections this fall, as are all the 40 00:01:57,284 --> 00:01:59,786 72 county clerks. But we are keeping a close watch 41 00:01:59,853 --> 00:02:02,422 on what the Supreme Court might decide to do as it 42 00:02:02,489 --> 00:02:05,392 relates to this ruling now, in the state of Wisconsin, 43 00:02:05,459 --> 00:02:08,595 there are already 260,000 absentee ballot requests 44 00:02:08,662 --> 00:02:12,366 that have been made. And of those, around 75,000 45 00:02:12,432 --> 00:02:14,935 ballots have already been mailed out. So they're 46 00:02:15,002 --> 00:02:17,404 already in the process in the system. And we want to 47 00:02:17,471 --> 00:02:19,373 ensure that voters feel comfortable making sure 48 00:02:19,439 --> 00:02:22,142 that their absentee ballot as of now, will still be 49 00:02:22,209 --> 00:02:23,677 processed the normal way it would through the mail 50 00:02:23,744 --> 00:02:26,213 system. >> So what advice have you 51 00:02:26,280 --> 00:02:28,649 been given by the Wisconsin Elections Commission on 52 00:02:28,715 --> 00:02:31,218 what you would do in case the Supreme Court says, no, 53 00:02:31,285 --> 00:02:36,290 these rules can go forward? >> Yeah, so we have several 54 00:02:36,990 --> 00:02:39,092 opportunities in the state of Wisconsin if that were 55 00:02:39,159 --> 00:02:42,596 to happen. So if they want to try to present a portal 56 00:02:42,663 --> 00:02:44,932 that the US Postal Service would have to make sure 57 00:02:44,998 --> 00:02:47,868 that all the ballots would be processed through that 58 00:02:47,935 --> 00:02:50,871 portal, Steil doesn't exist. So we've gotten indications 59 00:02:50,938 --> 00:02:53,173 from the United States Postal Service that even if 60 00:02:53,240 --> 00:02:55,275 they still wanted to implement this rule, 61 00:02:55,342 --> 00:02:58,512 there's not the resources or ability in which to do 62 00:02:58,579 --> 00:03:00,914 what the executive order from this past spring would 63 00:03:00,981 --> 00:03:04,651 put in place. So for now, our Postal service 64 00:03:04,718 --> 00:03:07,154 individuals in the state of Wisconsin have assured us 65 00:03:07,221 --> 00:03:10,424 that all absentee ballots will still be processed the 66 00:03:10,490 --> 00:03:13,060 normal way that they have. >> So these rules were born 67 00:03:13,126 --> 00:03:16,630 out of conspiracy theories that came from the 2020 68 00:03:16,697 --> 00:03:20,501 election. Despite the where these ideas came from, if 69 00:03:20,567 --> 00:03:23,270 there was time to implement it properly, would some of 70 00:03:23,337 --> 00:03:25,639 these rules make sense if they were done for future 71 00:03:25,706 --> 00:03:29,176 elections? >> I'm going to say no. The 72 00:03:30,177 --> 00:03:32,246 state of Wisconsin has a really strict system in 73 00:03:32,312 --> 00:03:34,381 which that we use to process absentee ballots 74 00:03:34,448 --> 00:03:38,819 for individuals. However, now there's opportunities 75 00:03:38,886 --> 00:03:41,822 because the United States Postal Service has changed 76 00:03:41,889 --> 00:03:44,658 from local processing to more centralized processing. 77 00:03:44,725 --> 00:03:47,160 Here in western Wisconsin, all of our absentee ballots 78 00:03:47,227 --> 00:03:50,664 are actually sent into Minneapolis Saint Paul for 79 00:03:50,731 --> 00:03:53,233 processing before they're processed back. So there's 80 00:03:53,300 --> 00:03:56,136 already been a little bit of a delay in making sure 81 00:03:56,203 --> 00:03:58,372 that people can get their absentee ballots returned 82 00:03:58,438 --> 00:04:01,375 in a timely manner. So we've encouraged 83 00:04:01,441 --> 00:04:03,410 individuals to make sure that they get their 84 00:04:03,477 --> 00:04:06,180 absentee ballots. They have to be mailed out by 85 00:04:06,246 --> 00:04:08,515 September 17th, right? 47 days before the election. 86 00:04:08,582 --> 00:04:10,918 And when they received them, to get them back in the 87 00:04:10,984 --> 00:04:13,654 mail as soon as possible. The other options are that 88 00:04:13,720 --> 00:04:15,756 a person could take their absentee ballot that 89 00:04:15,822 --> 00:04:17,925 they've received in the mail back to their 90 00:04:17,991 --> 00:04:20,260 municipal clerk at their town, village or city hall. 91 00:04:20,327 --> 00:04:22,663 They could also return them during what we call 92 00:04:22,729 --> 00:04:26,366 in-person absentee voting, which is starting on 93 00:04:26,433 --> 00:04:28,535 October 20th. It's a good opportunity for a person to 94 00:04:28,602 --> 00:04:31,305 bring back their absentee ballot to the clerk at that 95 00:04:31,371 --> 00:04:33,273 time, or they can always take their absentee ballot 96 00:04:33,340 --> 00:04:35,342 and return it to the polling location on 97 00:04:35,409 --> 00:04:38,612 Election Day. So there are many outlets in which 98 00:04:38,679 --> 00:04:40,647 individuals and voters can still cast their ballot and 99 00:04:40,714 --> 00:04:42,616 make sure that their voice is heard. 100 00:04:42,683 --> 00:04:46,119 >> I know since 2020, drop boxes became 101 00:04:46,186 --> 00:04:48,222 unconstitutional or now constitutional again, there 102 00:04:48,288 --> 00:04:51,558 were controversial in some areas. Would you encourage 103 00:04:51,625 --> 00:04:53,760 along the same lines of what we were just talking 104 00:04:53,827 --> 00:04:55,696 about, clerks to have more drop boxes available as 105 00:04:55,762 --> 00:04:59,700 another option? >> Absolutely. The most 106 00:04:59,766 --> 00:05:01,902 recent court ruling says it's up to the discretion 107 00:05:01,969 --> 00:05:04,638 of the municipal clerk on whether they want to use a 108 00:05:04,705 --> 00:05:06,974 drop box, but we've seen several municipal clerks 109 00:05:07,040 --> 00:05:09,543 across the state of Wisconsin. There's over 150 110 00:05:09,610 --> 00:05:11,778 of them, right, that are trying to make sure that 111 00:05:11,845 --> 00:05:14,615 there's a drop box available. Some of them had 112 00:05:14,681 --> 00:05:18,185 them from before that. They have been implemented in 113 00:05:18,252 --> 00:05:20,988 usage. Some are ordering new drop boxes here in Dunn 114 00:05:21,054 --> 00:05:23,056 County. We've tried to make sure that if a clerk wants 115 00:05:23,123 --> 00:05:26,960 a drop box, that we're helping provide that 116 00:05:27,027 --> 00:05:28,996 can feel safe, that their ballot is going to be cast 117 00:05:29,062 --> 00:05:32,232 in this election and all future elections. 118 00:05:32,299 --> 00:05:34,134 to the elections, the Department of Homeland 119 00:05:34,201 --> 00:05:35,969 Security recently announced Wisconsin is one of a 120 00:05:36,036 --> 00:05:37,905 handful of states where they're pursuing 121 00:05:37,971 --> 00:05:40,774 investigations into noncitizen voting. Have you 122 00:05:40,841 --> 00:05:42,843 heard of any clerks in Wisconsin being contacted 123 00:05:42,910 --> 00:05:46,246 as part of these investigations? 124 00:05:46,313 --> 00:05:49,183 >> We have not yet. We are mostly anticipating that 125 00:05:49,249 --> 00:05:52,019 they will be targeting larger urban areas such as 126 00:05:52,085 --> 00:05:54,688 Madison, Milwaukee, but we have not heard of any 127 00:05:54,755 --> 00:05:57,791 federal investigators contacting any of the 72 128 00:05:57,858 --> 00:06:01,028 county clerks or municipal clerks as of yet. Now, I 129 00:06:01,094 --> 00:06:03,497 don't know what's going to happen in the next coming 130 00:06:03,564 --> 00:06:06,033 weeks, but we're wanting to make sure that everybody is 131 00:06:06,099 --> 00:06:08,402 prepared as well as they can be to know their legal 132 00:06:08,468 --> 00:06:11,004 rights of what they should be doing. If an 133 00:06:11,071 --> 00:06:14,007 investigator tries to contact them. And so we're 134 00:06:14,074 --> 00:06:16,577 trying to train as best we can across the state of 135 00:06:16,643 --> 00:06:18,312 Wisconsin. >> All right. Dunn County 136 00:06:18,378 --> 00:06:21,481 Clerk Andrew Marshall, thanks for your time today. 137 00:06:21,548 --> 00:06:24,852 >> Thanks for having me. >> One of the elections 138 00:06:24,918 --> 00:06:27,154 that often goes overlooked in Wisconsin is the race 139 00:06:27,221 --> 00:06:30,023 for attorney general. The AG runs the state's 140 00:06:30,090 --> 00:06:32,326 Department of Justice, oversees the state crime 141 00:06:32,392 --> 00:06:35,095 lab, and has the authority to represent the state in 142 00:06:35,162 --> 00:06:37,731 lawsuits in both state and federal court. The 143 00:06:37,798 --> 00:06:40,601 incumbent attorney general is Josh Kaul, a Democrat. 144 00:06:40,667 --> 00:06:43,036 He's opposed by fond du Lac District Attorney Eric 145 00:06:43,103 --> 00:06:45,973 Toney, a Republican. This is a rematch of the 146 00:06:46,039 --> 00:06:49,643 election from 2022, when Kohl narrowly defeated 147 00:06:49,710 --> 00:06:52,112 Toney. I sat down with each of the candidates to talk 148 00:06:52,179 --> 00:06:54,681 about this race. We start tonight with the incumbent. 149 00:06:54,748 --> 00:06:58,085 I met with Josh Kaul in Madison, attorney General 150 00:06:58,151 --> 00:06:59,887 Carl, thanks for your time today. 151 00:06:59,953 --> 00:07:02,122 >> Thanks for having me. >> So I think let's start 152 00:07:02,189 --> 00:07:04,992 with kind of the the precursor to this race is 153 00:07:05,058 --> 00:07:07,861 your decision to stay in this race. There was a lot 154 00:07:07,928 --> 00:07:09,897 of speculation you might run for governor. How do 155 00:07:09,963 --> 00:07:11,665 you feel about your decision to stay in the 156 00:07:11,732 --> 00:07:14,635 race for Attorney general now? 157 00:07:15,068 --> 00:07:16,837 decision. It's something I thought about seriously, 158 00:07:16,904 --> 00:07:18,972 but there were a few factors that that weighed 159 00:07:19,039 --> 00:07:21,308 on my mind. One is I'm really committed to having 160 00:07:21,375 --> 00:07:24,077 an impact through the work that I do. And of course, a 161 00:07:24,144 --> 00:07:26,980 governor can have a ton of impact, but we're also 162 00:07:27,047 --> 00:07:29,149 having a huge impact through the work that we do 163 00:07:29,216 --> 00:07:32,085 at Wisconsin DOJ. And I, I don't think that that the 164 00:07:32,152 --> 00:07:34,922 work that I've been doing is, is done yet. You know, 165 00:07:34,988 --> 00:07:37,891 family considerations ultimately, I'm really 166 00:07:37,958 --> 00:07:39,760 excited about seeking an additional term and about 167 00:07:39,826 --> 00:07:42,062 the work we could do in an additional term. 168 00:07:42,129 --> 00:07:45,098 >> So this is unique in that it is a rematch of the 169 00:07:45,165 --> 00:07:47,768 last election. We don't see that too often. How do you 170 00:07:47,835 --> 00:07:50,938 think that will influence things? 171 00:07:51,004 --> 00:07:53,106 interesting about a rematch is you can look back at 172 00:07:53,173 --> 00:07:55,976 what the candidates said in the prior race and see how 173 00:07:56,043 --> 00:07:58,145 those things held up, and I think that that's really 174 00:07:58,212 --> 00:08:00,180 instructive here. In the last campaign, it was 175 00:08:00,247 --> 00:08:03,016 shortly after Roe v Wade had been overturned. I had 176 00:08:03,083 --> 00:08:04,985 filed a lawsuit seeking to block enforcement of a law 177 00:08:05,052 --> 00:08:08,021 that dates back to the mid 1800s. Eric Toney my 178 00:08:08,088 --> 00:08:10,123 opponent had attacked me for that case. He called it 179 00:08:10,190 --> 00:08:13,093 a partisan partisan stunt. He said it was should be 180 00:08:13,160 --> 00:08:16,563 dismissed. And so we now can look and see how our 181 00:08:16,630 --> 00:08:19,499 claims held up. And what we know now is that the 182 00:08:19,566 --> 00:08:21,568 Supreme Court sided with the argument we made in 183 00:08:21,635 --> 00:08:23,704 that case, and ultimately we won that case. And 184 00:08:23,770 --> 00:08:26,840 access to abortion is safe and legal in Wisconsin. 185 00:08:26,907 --> 00:08:29,076 >> So will voters separate the attorney general's race, 186 00:08:29,142 --> 00:08:31,345 do you think, from the rest of the ballot? Because 187 00:08:31,411 --> 00:08:33,313 we've seen historically, there's usually a few fewer 188 00:08:33,380 --> 00:08:36,116 voters for the ag race than for governor, and you've 189 00:08:36,183 --> 00:08:39,019 trailed right belong. You know, we get to go back to 190 00:08:39,086 --> 00:08:41,188 2006, the last time they were AG and governor from 191 00:08:41,255 --> 00:08:43,257 separate parties. So how does that all work together? 192 00:08:43,323 --> 00:08:46,193 >> You know, the results tend to be fairly close. 193 00:08:46,260 --> 00:08:49,029 But in Wisconsin, we have a lot of close elections. And 194 00:08:49,096 --> 00:08:50,964 so sometimes those small differences can can make a 195 00:08:51,031 --> 00:08:53,100 big difference in the outcome. But I'm running 196 00:08:53,166 --> 00:08:56,003 based on, on my record and my time as AG. And, you 197 00:08:56,069 --> 00:08:58,172 know, the focus can be different. My top priority 198 00:08:58,238 --> 00:09:00,107 as attorney general has been public safety, and 199 00:09:00,174 --> 00:09:02,376 we've made significant progress on really 200 00:09:02,442 --> 00:09:04,945 important public safety issues. One of them is 201 00:09:05,012 --> 00:09:07,514 fighting the opioid epidemic. My administration 202 00:09:07,581 --> 00:09:11,351 has helped to secure over $800 million from companies 203 00:09:11,418 --> 00:09:13,554 that we've alleged contributed to the opioid 204 00:09:13,620 --> 00:09:16,523 epidemic, and from others. Many of those dollars will 205 00:09:16,590 --> 00:09:18,258 be going to communities across the state. Some 206 00:09:18,325 --> 00:09:21,528 already have. And we are seeing a real impact. 207 00:09:21,595 --> 00:09:25,432 Opioid overdose deaths in Wisconsin from 23 to 24 208 00:09:25,499 --> 00:09:29,469 dropped by over 40%. That's more than 600 person 209 00:09:29,536 --> 00:09:31,638 difference. We need to keep making progress. Our work 210 00:09:31,705 --> 00:09:34,141 isn't done, but I want to build on the progress we're 211 00:09:34,208 --> 00:09:36,643 making. profile things your office 212 00:09:36,710 --> 00:09:39,580 has done is filed lawsuits against the Trump 213 00:09:39,646 --> 00:09:42,049 other attorneys general from around the country. 214 00:09:42,115 --> 00:09:44,518 Can you give me maybe your short list of some of the 215 00:09:44,585 --> 00:09:46,553 most important cases that maybe the public isn't 216 00:09:46,620 --> 00:09:48,555 aware of, the significance of some of those? 217 00:09:48,622 --> 00:09:51,458 >> Well, I think you can look at them by category. 218 00:09:51,525 --> 00:09:53,560 So a lot of these cases involve the Trump 219 00:09:53,627 --> 00:09:54,928 administration either putting illegal conditions 220 00:09:54,995 --> 00:09:57,831 on or cutting or freezing funding that would 221 00:09:57,898 --> 00:10:00,634 otherwise be coming to Wisconsin. There's a huge 222 00:10:00,701 --> 00:10:03,504 amount of money that has been impacted by this, and 223 00:10:03,570 --> 00:10:06,139 it's vital programs, things like funding for education 224 00:10:06,206 --> 00:10:08,642 or for mental health programs in our schools, 225 00:10:08,709 --> 00:10:11,245 funding for disaster relief and mitigation funding for 226 00:10:11,311 --> 00:10:14,014 the AmeriCorps program, which the Trump 227 00:10:14,081 --> 00:10:16,483 administration tried to cut transportation funding and 228 00:10:16,550 --> 00:10:18,819 public health funding. We have consistently fought 229 00:10:18,886 --> 00:10:21,622 back, and we have one case after case, and what that 230 00:10:21,688 --> 00:10:24,324 has meant is that those funds either are not 231 00:10:24,391 --> 00:10:27,261 illegally conditioned or they're not frozen or 232 00:10:27,327 --> 00:10:29,863 ultimately cut, and instead, they can come to our 233 00:10:29,930 --> 00:10:32,065 communities and support critical programs in 234 00:10:32,132 --> 00:10:35,302 Wisconsin. There are some of those 235 00:10:35,369 --> 00:10:37,504 cases where if only if you're a plaintiff, do you 236 00:10:37,571 --> 00:10:40,274 actually get the benefit. And in some cases, some of 237 00:10:40,340 --> 00:10:42,376 the other states have gotten the benefits just 238 00:10:42,442 --> 00:10:44,444 because you've won overall, what would the impact have 239 00:10:44,511 --> 00:10:46,680 been if Eric Toney had been the attorney general and 240 00:10:46,747 --> 00:10:48,882 had discretion on whether to file these cases? 241 00:10:48,949 --> 00:10:51,652 >> Yeah. Well, of the 60 plus cases that we've been 242 00:10:51,718 --> 00:10:53,720 involved in, I don't think any single Republican AG 243 00:10:53,787 --> 00:10:56,056 has joined us in challenging the Trump 244 00:10:56,123 --> 00:10:57,858 administration in any of those cases. And I'm not 245 00:10:57,925 --> 00:11:00,627 aware of a single case where Eric Toney has said 246 00:11:00,694 --> 00:11:02,496 he would have challenged the Trump administration. 247 00:11:02,563 --> 00:11:05,499 What that would mean in some cases is Wisconsin 248 00:11:05,566 --> 00:11:08,001 wouldn't get the relief that happens in court, 249 00:11:08,068 --> 00:11:10,103 because in a number of these cases, it's only the 250 00:11:10,170 --> 00:11:12,506 states that have brought the challenge that get the 251 00:11:12,573 --> 00:11:15,108 relief. And so it could be that we no longer have 252 00:11:15,175 --> 00:11:17,744 protection for critical programs. If an AG is not 253 00:11:17,811 --> 00:11:20,681 part of one of those challenges. 254 00:11:20,747 --> 00:11:23,183 understands the stakes there? 255 00:11:23,250 --> 00:11:26,153 huge. And so I think the more we talk about it, the 256 00:11:26,220 --> 00:11:28,789 better. One thing that is unfortunate, I think, in 257 00:11:28,856 --> 00:11:30,924 the Trump administration is we often see the 258 00:11:30,991 --> 00:11:33,493 president's actions get understandable. But what I 259 00:11:33,560 --> 00:11:35,929 think there's been less coverage of is the fact 260 00:11:35,996 --> 00:11:38,065 that in case after case actions have been blocked 261 00:11:38,131 --> 00:11:40,300 and he's been stopped from moving forward, in part 262 00:11:40,367 --> 00:11:42,302 because of these suits that we're talking about. 263 00:11:42,369 --> 00:11:45,105 >> For a lot of people that don't follow your office 264 00:11:45,172 --> 00:11:47,307 very closely, one of the ways that they hear about 265 00:11:47,374 --> 00:11:50,110 the Department of Justice and the AG every four years 266 00:11:50,177 --> 00:11:51,945 is crime labs, statistics. Obviously, that's one of 267 00:11:52,012 --> 00:11:54,081 the major things you campaigned on when you 268 00:11:54,147 --> 00:11:56,850 first got elected. It was one of the issues in the 269 00:11:56,917 --> 00:11:59,319 last election. Your crime lab and unfilled 270 00:11:59,386 --> 00:12:01,288 positions and slow turnaround. So defend your 271 00:12:01,355 --> 00:12:03,290 record in where the crime lab is. 272 00:12:03,357 --> 00:12:05,459 >> Yeah. Well, first, I think it's important to 273 00:12:05,526 --> 00:12:08,328 separate two things out. One is one of the issues I 274 00:12:08,395 --> 00:12:10,531 talked about back in 2018 was untested sexual assault 275 00:12:10,597 --> 00:12:13,700 kits. And we worked to get legislation passed, which 276 00:12:13,767 --> 00:12:15,969 ultimately passed through the Republican led 277 00:12:16,036 --> 00:12:18,572 legislature. That's going to help ensure that 278 00:12:18,639 --> 00:12:21,108 Wisconsin never has another backlog of untested sexual 279 00:12:21,175 --> 00:12:24,211 assault kits. Now, in terms of the labs themselves, on 280 00:12:24,278 --> 00:12:27,047 a day to day basis, one of the things I've been clear 281 00:12:27,114 --> 00:12:29,216 about is where we need resources from the state 282 00:12:29,283 --> 00:12:31,351 legislature. And in the last state budget, my 283 00:12:31,418 --> 00:12:33,921 office requested 19 additional positions for 284 00:12:33,987 --> 00:12:37,524 the labs. Eric Toney allies in the state legislature 285 00:12:37,591 --> 00:12:40,127 provided zero positions. And look, that's not an 286 00:12:40,194 --> 00:12:43,330 accident. This is politics being played here. But the 287 00:12:43,397 --> 00:12:45,165 overall picture, I think, is important not to lose 288 00:12:45,232 --> 00:12:49,503 sight of Wisconsin last year in 2025, had the 289 00:12:49,570 --> 00:12:52,005 lowest number of violent crimes that we have had any 290 00:12:52,072 --> 00:12:55,375 year since 2011. Fond du Lac County, where Eric 291 00:12:55,442 --> 00:12:57,644 Toney is Xia last year had the second highest number 292 00:12:57,711 --> 00:13:00,414 of violent crimes that the county has had in decades. 293 00:13:00,480 --> 00:13:03,083 And so if you compare our track records overall, 294 00:13:03,150 --> 00:13:05,719 there's a clear difference. It's we need to keep doing 295 00:13:05,786 --> 00:13:08,222 what we're doing to keep our communities safe. 296 00:13:08,288 --> 00:13:11,458 >> How do you think that the DOJ gets credit for for 297 00:13:11,525 --> 00:13:14,294 lower crime statistics statewide? 298 00:13:14,361 --> 00:13:17,064 >> Well, there are lots of folks who play a role in 299 00:13:17,130 --> 00:13:18,932 what we do statewide. And the Department of Justice 300 00:13:18,999 --> 00:13:20,934 is involved in investigating crimes of 301 00:13:21,001 --> 00:13:23,504 statewide importance. We oversee the crime labs. We 302 00:13:23,570 --> 00:13:26,406 work on every felony criminal appeal in the 303 00:13:26,473 --> 00:13:28,675 state. We also work in partnerships with lots of 304 00:13:28,742 --> 00:13:31,078 other law enforcement agencies. What I think is 305 00:13:31,144 --> 00:13:33,780 important is that we recognize that lots of 306 00:13:33,847 --> 00:13:36,617 folks contribute to overall safety in the state, and 307 00:13:36,683 --> 00:13:39,119 that certainly includes local law enforcement and 308 00:13:39,186 --> 00:13:41,288 others. What's notable, I think, though, is fond du 309 00:13:41,355 --> 00:13:43,924 Lac County has gone the opposite direction from the 310 00:13:43,991 --> 00:13:46,493 rest of the state under the leadership of of Eric Toni 311 00:13:46,560 --> 00:13:48,996 that, I think, is not the kind of failure I want to 312 00:13:49,062 --> 00:13:51,765 see taken statewide. >> You brought up abortion 313 00:13:51,832 --> 00:13:54,334 earlier, but I want to bring that back as a topic. 314 00:13:54,401 --> 00:13:56,837 How relevant is that still to voters? Because it's not 315 00:13:56,904 --> 00:13:59,740 a constitutional right in either the nation or in 316 00:13:59,806 --> 00:14:01,808 Wisconsin, despite lawsuits that have attempted to make 317 00:14:01,875 --> 00:14:04,478 it so. So how important is it who the next attorney 318 00:14:04,545 --> 00:14:06,647 general is? >> It remains to be seen. 319 00:14:06,713 --> 00:14:09,449 One thing we saw, I think, over the last four years is 320 00:14:09,516 --> 00:14:11,652 it certainly can have an impact because my 321 00:14:11,718 --> 00:14:14,021 administration was fighting to protect access to safe 322 00:14:14,087 --> 00:14:17,224 and legal abortion. And Eric Toni called the case 323 00:14:17,291 --> 00:14:20,060 that we brought a farce, among other things. Now, 324 00:14:20,127 --> 00:14:22,062 fortunately, we've got a ruling in place that 325 00:14:22,129 --> 00:14:24,631 currently protects access to safe and legal abortion 326 00:14:24,698 --> 00:14:27,801 in Wisconsin. But as you said, there's no state 327 00:14:27,868 --> 00:14:29,203 constitutional protection in place right now. There's 328 00:14:29,269 --> 00:14:33,240 no federal constitutional protection specifically for 329 00:14:33,307 --> 00:14:35,709 abortion access. And what that means is that if there 330 00:14:35,776 --> 00:14:38,078 were a Tom Tiffany and a Republican legislature, you 331 00:14:38,145 --> 00:14:41,081 could have further restrictions put in place, 332 00:14:41,148 --> 00:14:43,984 attorney general, Eric Toni, if he were in office, 333 00:14:44,051 --> 00:14:46,887 aggressively working with them to restrict access to 334 00:14:46,954 --> 00:14:49,156 abortion. The other thing that's going on right now 335 00:14:49,223 --> 00:14:51,425 is the federal government is potentially going to 336 00:14:51,491 --> 00:14:54,695 restrict access. The new attorney general had a 337 00:14:54,761 --> 00:14:57,297 meeting with with an anti-abortion group, where 338 00:14:57,364 --> 00:15:00,133 he signaled that he wanted to restrict access. And I 339 00:15:00,200 --> 00:15:02,569 think making sure that the states are prepared to 340 00:15:02,636 --> 00:15:04,705 fight back where there's a legal basis for doing so is 341 00:15:04,771 --> 00:15:07,407 going to be important to protecting people's rights 342 00:15:07,474 --> 00:15:09,543 >> Josh Kohl, thanks for your time. 343 00:15:09,610 --> 00:15:11,745 >> Thanks for having me. >> Earlier this week, I met 344 00:15:11,812 --> 00:15:14,648 with Eric Toni in Fond du Lac Eric Toney. Thanks for 345 00:15:14,715 --> 00:15:16,850 joining us. >> It's great to be with 346 00:15:16,917 --> 00:15:19,386 you to talk about the Attorney General's race and 347 00:15:19,453 --> 00:15:22,623 the importance of it for Wisconsin. 348 00:15:22,689 --> 00:15:24,925 why you decided to run again. It's not often we 349 00:15:24,992 --> 00:15:27,027 see repeat candidates for these statewide elections. 350 00:15:27,094 --> 00:15:29,796 >> You know, you know, within a week of that race, 351 00:15:29,863 --> 00:15:33,867 back in 2022, I had so many people already encouraging 352 00:15:33,934 --> 00:15:36,837 sure it was something that I would want to do, because 353 00:15:36,904 --> 00:15:39,706 there's a lot of time and energy that goes into these 354 00:15:39,773 --> 00:15:41,909 statewide races. But for me, I really had a clarifying 355 00:15:41,975 --> 00:15:45,245 moment in 2023. I was I ended up in probably August. 356 00:15:45,312 --> 00:15:48,148 What I later learned to have a mini stroke in the 357 00:15:48,215 --> 00:15:52,052 office, lost control of my legs for about 20s. I was 358 00:15:52,119 --> 00:15:54,488 inpatient at the hospital here in fond du Lac. The 359 00:15:54,555 --> 00:15:57,424 next day, cardiologist did some testing, came in and 360 00:15:57,491 --> 00:16:00,160 said, your aortic valve is destroyed and you need open 361 00:16:00,227 --> 00:16:02,930 heart surgery. I was starting to think about 362 00:16:02,996 --> 00:16:05,966 what do I want to continue to do if this surgery goes 363 00:16:06,033 --> 00:16:08,202 well? But I was at that point just trusting God 364 00:16:08,268 --> 00:16:10,671 through the hands of my medical team that hoping 365 00:16:10,737 --> 00:16:13,106 and praying things would go well and I, as it got 366 00:16:13,173 --> 00:16:15,342 closer, knew that I would want to run again. 367 00:16:15,409 --> 00:16:18,579 >> So when we're looking at a rematch in this 368 00:16:18,645 --> 00:16:20,714 environment, what what should voters be thinking 369 00:16:20,781 --> 00:16:23,617 of in terms of, oh, how did I vote last time? Or what's 370 00:16:23,684 --> 00:16:25,018 different about this matchup this time? 371 00:16:25,085 --> 00:16:27,721 >> You know, one of the things people can look at 372 00:16:27,788 --> 00:16:30,090 with me is what I've done since then. As the 373 00:16:30,157 --> 00:16:32,192 president of the District Attorneys Association, I've 374 00:16:32,259 --> 00:16:34,061 always talked about putting public safety over politics. 375 00:16:34,127 --> 00:16:37,731 I stood with our attorney general after that 2022 376 00:16:37,798 --> 00:16:40,200 race, helping him get more crime lab positions in that 377 00:16:40,267 --> 00:16:42,769 state budget, working with Republican legislators 378 00:16:42,836 --> 00:16:45,672 behind the scenes. I helped get a transformational 379 00:16:45,739 --> 00:16:48,141 investment into prosecutors, public defenders in our 380 00:16:48,208 --> 00:16:50,477 judicial system, in that budget that the Wisconsin 381 00:16:50,544 --> 00:16:53,347 Law Journal awarded me as an unsung hero for what 382 00:16:53,413 --> 00:16:55,749 they described as helping end a constitutional crisis. 383 00:16:55,816 --> 00:16:58,252 Those are all things we do together, working with the 384 00:16:58,318 --> 00:17:00,420 Democrat governor and the Republican legislature to 385 00:17:00,487 --> 00:17:03,957 deliver those results. And then, in contrast, you see, 386 00:17:04,024 --> 00:17:06,793 during the tenure of our attorney general, we've 387 00:17:06,860 --> 00:17:10,097 seen periods of record homicides in places like 388 00:17:10,163 --> 00:17:12,966 Milwaukee, record drug deaths and other increases 389 00:17:13,033 --> 00:17:15,369 in crime. And I've never been one to say it's one 390 00:17:15,435 --> 00:17:17,304 individual person's responsibility when that 391 00:17:17,371 --> 00:17:19,473 happens, because there are so many different factors 392 00:17:19,540 --> 00:17:22,176 that go into why crime happens in different areas. 393 00:17:22,242 --> 00:17:24,978 But what we have to look at is what are people doing 394 00:17:25,045 --> 00:17:27,447 with the resources they have? And so what we saw 395 00:17:27,514 --> 00:17:30,317 our attorney general do during this period is put a 396 00:17:30,384 --> 00:17:33,220 hiring freeze in place. And so I mentioned those crime 397 00:17:33,287 --> 00:17:36,456 lab positions. I helped him get. Well, over a year 398 00:17:36,523 --> 00:17:39,560 later, we saw a nonpartisan audit released of our crime 399 00:17:39,626 --> 00:17:41,762 labs. And they said he hadn't even filled those 400 00:17:41,828 --> 00:17:44,231 positions. We saw that he had less DNA positions 401 00:17:44,298 --> 00:17:47,034 filled compared to 2020. And we see that they're 402 00:17:47,100 --> 00:17:49,703 taking for DNA, for example, taking on average over 403 00:17:49,770 --> 00:17:52,840 twice as long to test less from when he started to 404 00:17:52,906 --> 00:17:55,876 where we are now. >> So the attorney general 405 00:17:55,943 --> 00:17:58,812 points to crime statistics being down in Wisconsin, as 406 00:17:58,879 --> 00:18:01,548 they are across the country. He also singles out that 407 00:18:01,615 --> 00:18:04,151 crime statistics in fond du Lac County are up. Why 408 00:18:04,218 --> 00:18:07,020 should either one of you get credit or blame for 409 00:18:07,087 --> 00:18:10,224 crime statistics when, as the. You know, either the 410 00:18:10,290 --> 00:18:12,559 prosecutor or the Attorney General, you don't control 411 00:18:12,626 --> 00:18:14,862 whether crimes are committed or even how 412 00:18:14,928 --> 00:18:16,930 they're investigated. >> That's a great question 413 00:18:16,997 --> 00:18:19,666 to ask the Attorney general, because he's been the one 414 00:18:19,733 --> 00:18:21,802 trying to take victory laps when he see crime numbers 415 00:18:21,869 --> 00:18:24,605 go with what he thinks is in his favor, despite 416 00:18:24,671 --> 00:18:26,707 cherry picking what those stats are, I don't think 417 00:18:26,773 --> 00:18:29,076 anybody heard from him when we were seeing record 418 00:18:29,142 --> 00:18:31,778 homicides in Milwaukee. But now, because we're seeing 419 00:18:31,845 --> 00:18:33,814 crime down in many areas, including fond du Lac 420 00:18:33,881 --> 00:18:36,183 County, crime is down overall, and I've never 421 00:18:36,250 --> 00:18:38,652 taken credit for the crime numbers we've seen during 422 00:18:38,719 --> 00:18:41,088 my almost 14 years as a district attorney, because 423 00:18:41,154 --> 00:18:43,790 I know it's a team effort when we do these things and 424 00:18:43,857 --> 00:18:45,592 crime doesn't stop at county lines. 425 00:18:45,659 --> 00:18:48,262 >> When we look at Attorney General's races in the past, 426 00:18:48,328 --> 00:18:50,497 historically, they followed right below the 427 00:18:50,564 --> 00:18:52,299 gubernatorial election. The last time there were 428 00:18:52,366 --> 00:18:55,235 members of different parties was 2006 to to win 429 00:18:55,302 --> 00:18:58,038 these races. So are you trying to separate yourself 430 00:18:58,105 --> 00:19:00,774 from Tom Tiffany in his race for governor, or do 431 00:19:00,841 --> 00:19:03,610 you think you're going to follow right along with him? 432 00:19:03,677 --> 00:19:06,613 >> I'm running my own race from when I got into this 433 00:19:06,680 --> 00:19:08,749 back in October of 2025, I talked about the forensic 434 00:19:08,815 --> 00:19:12,152 testing failures, the fentanyl epidemic, and how 435 00:19:12,219 --> 00:19:14,588 partisan, our attorney general, has become. I mean, 436 00:19:14,655 --> 00:19:17,824 we we have driven home issues that affect people 437 00:19:17,891 --> 00:19:20,027 in all 72 counties. And that's what I've been 438 00:19:20,093 --> 00:19:22,896 focused on is what our Department of Justice can 439 00:19:22,963 --> 00:19:25,365 do to help protect everybody in Wisconsin by 440 00:19:25,432 --> 00:19:27,668 putting public safety over politics. Again, it all 441 00:19:27,734 --> 00:19:30,470 comes back to what do you do with the resources you 442 00:19:30,537 --> 00:19:32,639 have. And so what we're seeing is broken promise 443 00:19:32,706 --> 00:19:35,175 after broken promise from our attorney general. He 444 00:19:35,242 --> 00:19:37,611 campaigned on the fentanyl and opioid epidemic. And 445 00:19:37,678 --> 00:19:40,247 there is accountability for pharmaceutical 446 00:19:40,314 --> 00:19:43,083 manufacturers. But talk to anybody in law enforcement 447 00:19:43,150 --> 00:19:46,353 or public safety, and they will tell you the overdoses 448 00:19:46,420 --> 00:19:48,522 that we're seeing, by and large, are coming from 449 00:19:48,589 --> 00:19:51,024 fentanyl, which is coming across the border and then 450 00:19:51,091 --> 00:19:53,493 here into Wisconsin, and parents are burying their 451 00:19:53,560 --> 00:19:55,762 child. And our attorney general has broken that 452 00:19:55,829 --> 00:19:59,266 promise. He won't even talk about that issue because it 453 00:19:59,333 --> 00:20:02,169 doesn't maybe be popular with his liberal base. We 454 00:20:02,236 --> 00:20:03,937 look at the forensic testing he actually 455 00:20:04,004 --> 00:20:06,773 promised back in 2020 that we were going to see a 456 00:20:06,840 --> 00:20:10,344 dramatic improvement in DNA testing because he had more 457 00:20:10,410 --> 00:20:12,145 analysts than his predecessor, and he had 458 00:20:12,212 --> 00:20:14,414 improved technology. And his own policies were the 459 00:20:14,481 --> 00:20:16,517 reason that they were testing less, limiting what 460 00:20:16,583 --> 00:20:18,986 law enforcement can send in. And now, on average, he's 461 00:20:19,052 --> 00:20:21,588 taking over twice as long. And he campaigned against 462 00:20:21,655 --> 00:20:24,191 all of the political lawsuits when he first ran. 463 00:20:24,258 --> 00:20:26,393 And now that's effectively what he's running his 464 00:20:26,460 --> 00:20:29,663 entire campaign on is those lawsuits where he's putting 465 00:20:29,730 --> 00:20:31,865 politics over public safety. >> Well, let's talk about 466 00:20:31,932 --> 00:20:33,800 those lawsuits. Obviously, the Department of Justice 467 00:20:33,867 --> 00:20:35,969 has filed and joined a lot of these federal lawsuits 468 00:20:36,036 --> 00:20:38,172 against the Trump administration. If you were 469 00:20:38,238 --> 00:20:40,874 the AG, would you have joined any of these? 470 00:20:40,941 --> 00:20:43,143 >> So one of the things I've always talked about is 471 00:20:43,210 --> 00:20:45,846 putting public safety over politics. And when we see 472 00:20:45,913 --> 00:20:47,881 the attorney general, he's not filing lawsuits. What 473 00:20:47,948 --> 00:20:50,217 he's doing is called joining them. So the vast 474 00:20:50,284 --> 00:20:53,220 majority of those lawsuits, whether he signs on to that 475 00:20:53,287 --> 00:20:55,422 or not, are going to continue to move forward 476 00:20:55,489 --> 00:20:57,357 because other attorneys general across the country 477 00:20:57,424 --> 00:20:59,526 have actually done the legal work on those. And so 478 00:20:59,593 --> 00:21:02,329 what I will be doing as attorney general is making 479 00:21:02,396 --> 00:21:04,865 sure we are prioritizing our resources for public 480 00:21:04,932 --> 00:21:07,401 safety, ending the hiring freeze that's been put in 481 00:21:07,467 --> 00:21:10,137 place by him to make sure we have those crime lab 482 00:21:10,204 --> 00:21:13,040 positions filled, that we're always filling our 483 00:21:13,106 --> 00:21:16,276 DEI and other public safety positions, and we'll 484 00:21:16,343 --> 00:21:18,412 evaluate any case that's been filed on a case by 485 00:21:18,478 --> 00:21:20,581 case basis to make sure that we're following the 486 00:21:20,647 --> 00:21:23,350 facts and the law. >> One more question on the 487 00:21:23,417 --> 00:21:25,519 federal lawsuits and some of those cases, if you 488 00:21:25,586 --> 00:21:28,288 weren't a member of those, you didn't get the benefits. 489 00:21:28,355 --> 00:21:30,424 And Wisconsin has seen some of those benefits from 490 00:21:30,490 --> 00:21:32,392 being a part of those winning cases, as AG. Would 491 00:21:32,459 --> 00:21:34,595 you have joined any of those cases? 492 00:21:34,661 --> 00:21:37,531 >> One of the things that we have to do at our 493 00:21:37,598 --> 00:21:40,300 Department of Justice, it can't be who's in the white 494 00:21:40,367 --> 00:21:42,302 House or who's in the governor's office. We have 495 00:21:42,369 --> 00:21:45,372 to look at these on a case by case basis. And 496 00:21:45,439 --> 00:21:48,308 unfortunately, we haven't do that. He's he's talked 497 00:21:48,375 --> 00:21:50,477 about joining over 60 of these lawsuits in the last 498 00:21:50,544 --> 00:21:53,280 18 months or so, compared to probably five or less 499 00:21:53,347 --> 00:21:55,582 during the four years of the Biden administration 500 00:21:55,649 --> 00:21:57,784 and has effectively given a free pass to Tony Evers. So 501 00:21:57,851 --> 00:22:00,454 to me, it's not going to matter who's in the white 502 00:22:00,521 --> 00:22:03,524 House or who's in the governor's office, we're 503 00:22:03,590 --> 00:22:06,393 decisions based on the facts and the law. So I 504 00:22:06,460 --> 00:22:08,395 would expect, whether it's a Republican or Democrat, 505 00:22:08,462 --> 00:22:10,797 governor, president, that lawsuits when it's needed 506 00:22:10,864 --> 00:22:13,367 to protect Wisconsin. >> One of the issues that 507 00:22:13,433 --> 00:22:15,469 Josh Kaul says is interesting about this 508 00:22:15,536 --> 00:22:17,604 rematch is looking at some of your position statements 509 00:22:17,671 --> 00:22:20,507 from the last race, and he brings up abortion 510 00:22:20,574 --> 00:22:23,076 specifically. At that time, he had filed a lawsuit that 511 00:22:23,143 --> 00:22:25,279 eventually was passed by the Wisconsin Supreme Court, 512 00:22:25,345 --> 00:22:27,581 which guaranteed the right to abortion in Wisconsin. 513 00:22:27,648 --> 00:22:30,617 He at that time, you criticized his part of that 514 00:22:30,684 --> 00:22:32,819 lawsuit. Do you still think that was the wrong choice 515 00:22:32,886 --> 00:22:35,455 for him, for the state to file that lawsuit against 516 00:22:35,522 --> 00:22:37,624 the 1848 abortion law? >> Well, the original Dane 517 00:22:37,691 --> 00:22:40,327 County judge actually didn't support the ultimate 518 00:22:40,394 --> 00:22:42,196 legal finding that was made by the Supreme Court. But 519 00:22:42,262 --> 00:22:45,165 we have to look at where the law is now. And there 520 00:22:45,232 --> 00:22:48,001 are five month protections in place for women. I have 521 00:22:48,068 --> 00:22:50,904 not and am not advocating for any changes to the law 522 00:22:50,971 --> 00:22:53,140 in Wisconsin. And if there is going to be any change, 523 00:22:53,207 --> 00:22:56,009 that's something that needs to be voted on by the 524 00:22:56,076 --> 00:22:58,111 people of Wisconsin and not decided on by politicians 525 00:22:58,178 --> 00:23:00,480 in Madison. We need to create an environment that 526 00:23:00,547 --> 00:23:03,784 supports women and girls in our state, in every corner. 527 00:23:03,851 --> 00:23:06,019 And you look at what our attorney general's comments 528 00:23:06,086 --> 00:23:07,988 have been in recent years on this. He was actually 529 00:23:08,055 --> 00:23:10,958 asked about those five month or 20 week 530 00:23:11,024 --> 00:23:14,261 protections in 2024 in the fall. And he said, it's not 531 00:23:14,328 --> 00:23:17,631 a protection, it's a restriction. He said there 532 00:23:17,698 --> 00:23:19,867 intervention calling for the legislature to take 533 00:23:19,933 --> 00:23:22,603 action, effectively arguing for nine month abortion 534 00:23:22,669 --> 00:23:24,805 here in Wisconsin. >> Eric Toney, thanks for 535 00:23:24,872 --> 00:23:26,540 your time. >> Greatly appreciate it. 536 00:23:26,607 --> 00:23:29,977 Thank you. >> Today marks 25 years 537 00:23:30,043 --> 00:23:33,480 since the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001. In 538 00:23:33,547 --> 00:23:36,416 a coordinated attack, terrorists four planes, 539 00:23:36,483 --> 00:23:38,986 crashing two into the World Trade Center in New York 540 00:23:39,052 --> 00:23:41,989 City, one into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. and the 541 00:23:42,055 --> 00:23:44,658 final plane crashed in Pennsylvania. When the 542 00:23:44,725 --> 00:23:47,761 passengers on board fought back, former Wisconsin 543 00:23:47,828 --> 00:23:50,330 Governor Tommy Thompson was in Washington, DC at the 544 00:23:50,397 --> 00:23:52,232 time, serving as the secretary of Health and 545 00:23:52,299 --> 00:23:55,469 Human Services in the Bush administration. Thursday, 546 00:23:55,536 --> 00:23:57,437 Thompson shared some of his memories of visiting New 547 00:23:57,504 --> 00:24:00,607 York City in the days after the attack. 548 00:24:00,674 --> 00:24:05,112 >> Ladies and gentlemen, it was such a surreal. Several 549 00:24:05,179 --> 00:24:09,316 days. It's hard to really put it in words. The 550 00:24:10,384 --> 00:24:15,622 feeling, the emotions, the. The hatred, the sorrow that 551 00:24:16,356 --> 00:24:20,928 America was attacked. It was like a like a pall had 552 00:24:22,596 --> 00:24:27,267 set in. And the whole city, everybody wanted to get 553 00:24:28,001 --> 00:24:32,606 along. Everybody wanted. We walked down that thing and 554 00:24:32,673 --> 00:24:36,243 people were not talking. They were not smiling. They 555 00:24:36,310 --> 00:24:41,114 were just walking and. And it was all the debris was, 556 00:24:44,384 --> 00:24:47,588 was flying down that beautiful day out there 557 00:24:47,654 --> 00:24:49,790 with the sunlight. You couldn't see it. It was 558 00:24:49,857 --> 00:24:54,428 just all obscure. But the debris flying all over. 559 00:24:55,963 --> 00:24:58,098 >> Earlier this week, New York City officials 560 00:24:58,165 --> 00:25:01,301 released 170,000 documents that were previously hid 561 00:25:01,368 --> 00:25:04,304 from the public, detailing their knowledge of how 562 00:25:04,371 --> 00:25:06,974 hazardous the air quality was at ground zero for both 563 00:25:07,040 --> 00:25:09,910 rescue workers and residents. We asked former 564 00:25:09,977 --> 00:25:12,946 Secretary Thompson his reaction to that news. 565 00:25:13,013 --> 00:25:16,450 >> It had to be obvious to everybody, anybody that was 566 00:25:16,517 --> 00:25:20,487 there, you know, during nine over 11, right after 567 00:25:20,554 --> 00:25:24,691 it, like I was, the air was so deleterious to a 568 00:25:26,593 --> 00:25:29,029 person's health. I mean, you didn't have to be too 569 00:25:29,096 --> 00:25:32,332 smart to realize that some people were going to be 570 00:25:32,399 --> 00:25:37,671 adversely impacted. And, I mean, the amount of debris 571 00:25:37,738 --> 00:25:40,641 that was coming out of the sky. I mean, it was a 572 00:25:40,707 --> 00:25:44,178 beautiful day, like today in New York going up there. 573 00:25:44,244 --> 00:25:47,447 But once you got there, it was just dismal because 574 00:25:47,514 --> 00:25:49,950 everything that was the sun was blacked out by the 575 00:25:50,017 --> 00:25:53,587 debris flying around. And a lot of that stuff was 576 00:25:53,654 --> 00:25:58,258 hazardous. And so you you can't discount it because I 577 00:25:58,325 --> 00:26:02,329 saw it. I was witness to to that. So it was obvious 578 00:26:02,396 --> 00:26:04,464 that the people were going to be adversely impacted 579 00:26:04,531 --> 00:26:07,134 health wise. >> For more on this and 580 00:26:07,201 --> 00:26:09,203 other issues facing Wisconsin, visit our 581 00:26:09,269 --> 00:26:12,105 website at PBS wisconsin.org and click on 582 00:26:12,172 --> 00:26:14,775 the news tab. That is our program for tonight. 583 00:26:14,842 --> 00:26:17,010 Frederica Freyberg will be back next weekend. I'm Zac 584 00:26:17,077 --> 00:26:19,880 Schultz have a great weekend. 585 00:26:40,801 --> 00:26:41,869 >> Funding for "Here& Now" is provided by the fund for 586 00:26:41,935 --> 00:26:44,705 is provided by the fund for Journalism and Friends of 587 00:26:44,771 --> 00:26:46,440 PBS Wisconsin.