- In our closer look
tonight, an interview with a state official who accuses
Wisconsin's Republican leaders of slander and wants them to,
"Stop trashing his name and reputation." Here's the
background.
Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald and Assembly Speaker
Robin Vos say they've lost confidence in the directors of
the state Elections and Ethics Commission because of partisan
influences when they worked for the former Government
Accountability Board.
This follows a scathing report from the state Attorney General
over how the GAB handled the now-closed John Doe
investigation into Governor Scott Walker's campaign.
The AG described the GAB as, "weaponized by partisans in
furtherance of political goals." The Republican leaders call for
the Ethics and Elections Commission administrators to
step down and if they do not, Senator Fitzgerald has set a
January 23rd Senate vote to reject their confirmation.
Fitzgerald says he won't hold a public confirmation hearing and
adds, "It has become abundantly clear to me that as appointees,
Administrators Michael Haas and Brian Bell will never receive
the votes necessary for Senate confirmation,
which has been the case throughout their tenures.
Any leftover remnants of the partisan GAB will never have the
confidence of the public to ensure complete,
non-partisanship in the administration of elections or
the oversight of government ethics." For his part,
the chairman of the bipartisan Elections Commission this week
called Senator Fitzgerald a bully and a coward.
This is tough stuff.
And Elections Commission Administrator Michael Haas
is in the middle of it.
Thanks for being here.
- Thank you. Good to be here.
- How have Republican leaders slandered you?
- Well, I'm an attorney.
I know what it means when somebody says that there's
potential criminal activity.
And what was said was that
there was not confidence in our agency
or me as an administrator and that there should not be people
leading the agencies who -- I think the phrase was who are
candidates for criminal charges or something to that effect,
implying that I had something to do with some type of criminal
activity within the state agency.
That's just offensive. That's ridiculous.
It's completely false.
And I think it's beneath an elected official to make
allegations like that.
- Do you deny their allegations about the Government
Accountability Board and indeed yourself being partisan?
- Absolutely.
Unless people looked at the evidence in the investigations
that the Government Accountability Board reviewed
and its investigators reviewed, they don't have any idea of what
the judges on the board looked at when the judges authorized
preliminary investigations.
And beyond that, my focus has been on administrating
elections.
I was first staff attorney, but then elections division
administrator since 2013.
It's been a focus on administering the laws that the
legislature passes, whether it's photo ID or any other
election-related law.
And nobody can point to any decision or action of myself or
the GAB or the current Elections Commission that's been based on
partisan motives.
- So what is your reaction to being told to resign?
- Well, I answer to our commission.
Our commission's made up of three Republicans,
three Democrats.
They've unanimously supported me.
They unanimously appointed me.
And recently, I have reaffirmed that
and asked for a public hearing.
Senator Fitzgerald, Speaker Vos and many other Republicans
told me that they supported my appointment
when I was first appointed in 2016.
So I don't think it's true that the votes were never there.
And I'm confident that there is support amongst the Senate for
my confirmation.
- And what is your response to apparently not getting a public
hearing?
- Well, it's frustrating. I think it's unusual.
I mean, we have a little bit of a unique appointment structure
because it's not a gubernatorial appointment.
It's by the commission.
And then advice and consent to the Senate.
I think there would be two positive things to come out of a
public hearing.
Both myself, commissioners and the public could let the Senate
know what they think of the direction of the agency and
senators, if they have concerns, they can have their questions
answered.
I've been told that there's a lack of confidence amongst the
public.
We would know if that were the case.
We would be getting phone calls and emails.
That's not the case.
I've asked legislators if your constituents have concerns,
let me help you answer their concerns.
Nobody has offered up any specific concern of any member
of the public that we could address.
- I should add here that we did ask Senator Fitzgerald to join
this conversation and he declined that.
What remedy do you have if your confirmation is rejected?
- Well, I think that's a little bit of uncharted territory.
Right now we're focusing on making the case to the Senate
that my confirmation should be--
my appointment should be confirmed.
So if the vote is not to confirm,
then I think we will try to deal with those issues at the time.
- You know, given the fact that the Government Accountability
Board was disbanded in 2015 and neither you nor Mr. Bell have
yet been confirmed, I mean, did that spell some trouble?
- Well, not for me, because I was checking in with Senator
Fitzgerald's office regularly.
I would say, are there any concerns?
Are there any Senators you think I should talk to?
I was always told, no, we think everything's fine.
We'll let you know.
So I was surprised to get a letter, frankly,
requesting my resignation.
- What do you think happened?
- Apparently there was a caucus amongst the Senate Republicans
ironically on the same day that Senator Fitzgerald's staff said
they were scheduling a meeting for me with Senator Fitzgerald.
They said they'd be happy to set up a meeting the following week.
That was after Senator Nass had asked for our resignations.
But since that time, they're frankly just not answering my
phone calls.
- Michael Haas, thanks very much.
- Thank you.