Contact: Alec Zimmerman
(608) 257-4765
[Madison, WI] — Today, a discredited former public official who was fired from the Department of Justice after he asked the governor’s then-chief of staff to break the law and destroy public records unleashed a sad and disappointing series of patently false and deeply personal attacks. As former Corrections Secretary Ed Wall releases his politically motivated book, the Democrat candidate for governor that he has endorsed, Tony Evers, should have to answer for Wall’s actions – does he think that Wall did the right thing by advocating for the illegal destruction of public records?
“Ed Wall is a discredited state employee who was fired from the Department of Justice after he secretly lobbied for a new job in the administration, then asked the governor’s then-chief of staff to break the law and destroy public records,” said Alec Zimmerman, spokesman for the Republican Party of Wisconsin. “Not only did the Walker administration do the right thing, but Tony Evers has done the wrong thing by accepting Ed Wall’s endorsement. Evers should immediately make clear whether he agrees with Wall’s efforts to destroy public records while he was employed in state government.”
Ed Wall is a Discredited Former Employee Who Encouraged the Destruction of Public Records:
- Wall resigned from DOC as the investigation into his agency was taken over by the FBI.
- Wall returned to his previous position at the Department of Justice but was quickly demoted and placed on leave.
- Wall sent a letter to the home of Walker’s then-Chief-of-Staff Rich Zipperer, trying to get his old job back.
- In attempt to stick it to his old boss, Wall shot a campaign ad for the Democratic frontrunner for Governor.
- Wall circumvented open records laws by sending a letter to Zipperer’s house asking for his job back. The letter included a note asking Zipperer to shred Wall’s letter after reading it.
- Wall knew he was breaking the law. In the letter sent to Zipperer’s home, Wall asked Zipperer to shred the letter after reading it because of the “records issue.” Because of this he was fired by Attorney General Schimel.
- Schimel’s firing of Wall was upheld by the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission and a Dane County judge.
- While claiming that he was told not to create public records, Wall in fact made a clear written statement that he had “never been instructed” anything of the kind.
