Contact: Melanie Conklin, 608-260-2409
Madison – Last weekend, according to an agenda obtained by MapLight, Brad Schimel appears to have attended an opulent retreat and fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago that the Republican Attorney’s General Association (RAGA) did its best to hide.
The weekend’s activities included: a dinner with $125,000-per-year donors to the RAGA, golf tournaments, catamaran tours and numerous fundraisers. Most alarmingly, on the agenda, was a panel dubiously titled “Rule of Law Restoration Update: 370 Days since the election of President Trump.”
Secrecy for the event was a top priority, as it was not made public and the agenda notes that “cell phone use and picture taking is prohibited in all areas.”
“These lavish, secretive retreats making policy with rich donors behind closed doors are exactly why Wisconsinites have lost their faith in partisan politicians like Brad Schimel,’ said Martha Laning, chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. “He should disclose to Wisconsinites what plans and promises he made at this event, especially to any regular RAGA donors like Koch Industries and major opioid manufacturers that have already done so much to harm to the people of Wisconsin.
“Schimel needs to immediately disclose if he attended, and if so, disclose if he met with representatives of pharmaceutical companies that manufacture opioids that Schimel claims he’s investigating. With donors like these, it’s no wonder Schimel uses his DOJ to disenfranchise voters, rob people of their health care and place the needs of big business over those of hard-working Wisconsinites. The people of our state deserve an Attorney General who puts them first, and it’s clear Brad Schimel does not.”
