Over at WKOW’s “Inside Scoop” blog, Tony Galli has an interesting take on how the upcoming trial of Republican State Rep. Bill Kramer, who is facing two charges of sexual assault.
Republican attorney general candidate and Waukesha County District Attorney Brad Schimel faces the prospect of going before voters in November, on the immediate heels of a sex crimes trial against state lawmaker Bill Kramer – prosecuted by a Schimel subordinate.
During this campaign, both Schimel and democratic attorney general candidate, Jefferson County District Attorney Susan Happ, have faced scrutiny over their alleged, lenient treatment of sex offenders.
Kramer is charged with two felony counts of sexual assault. Authorities say Kramer sexually assaulted a former aide following a 2011 political event in Muskego.
Kramer’s case is scheduled for trial Oct. 28 – one week before Schimel and Happ square off for the state’s top cop job.
Kramer donated $500 to Schimel’s campaign. When the woman’s accusations against Kramer surfaced earlier this year, Schimel campaign officials said Kramer’s campaign contribution would be given to charity.
To avoid even the appearance of impropriety, Schimel delegated the Kramer case to assistant district attorney Debra Blasius, although he considered making a special prosecutor assignment: http://bit.ly/1pGGIcg
But simply handing such a case to a subordinate, while condoned by state supreme court ethical rules, has already dogged Happ. A victim filed a complaint against Happ with the state office of lawyer regulation, maintaining Happ’s failure to appoint a special prosecutor when a man who purchased a home from Happ was accused of sex crimes, was an ethical breach. Happ delegated the case to a subordinate, who struck a deferred prosecution agreement with the defendant, taking all sex crimes off-the-table, unless the man violated the agreement’s terms.
Why does this pattern of Schimel backing away from doing his job as prosecutor for Waukesha County happening?
He takes a donation for his AG campaign from Kramer, then when the public finds out about Kramer, gives away the money. Then he considers sending the case over to another DA, finally deciding to delegate everything to the assistant in his office. Schimel, we are told, is having nothing to do with prosecuting Kramer.
This is much the same as when Schimel would have no part in any investigation into Joel Kleefisch for sponsoring a bill to cut child support payments for his rich donor Michael Eisenga.
Schimel’s job as DA is to prosecute law breakers, regardless of money or political alliances.
You also need to add how Schimel threw the case against Scott Jensen, letting him off with a slap on the wrist, and allowing Scooter to become a major money-funneled for the GOP through the voucher lobby. I’m sure there’s no payback involved in clearing the field for him as AG, is there?
He’s a partisan crook that makes DB Van Hollen seem like Perry Mason. Why haven’t the Dems pointed out how Schimel condones the culture of cronyism that defines Walkershaw County is beyond me