MILWAUKEE — Judge Jill Karofsky’s campaign for Wisconsin Supreme Court has filed a lawsuit against WMC Issues Mobilization Council and the Republican State Leadership Committee after the groups continue to air knowingly false statements in television ads across the state.
“We’ve given Dan Kelly’s allies enough time to pull these slanderous ads off of the air, but it’s clear they just don’t care about the facts,” said Karofsky Campaign Manager Tyler Hendricks. “No organization should get away with spending millions of dollars on ads they know are false. Wisconsin voters deserve better than this and we urge the court to take immediate action to stop this disgusting attack.”
With combined spending from WMC and RSLC easily exceeding $1 million, the groups are making arguments related to cases that basic research and due diligence show are false:
- State of Wisconsin v. Worley: Both WMC and RSLC cite this 1999 case despite evidence showing Karofsky was not involved until more than a year after the plea agreement was made and the defendant was sentenced. PolitiFact wrote, “The ad is based on sloppy research that misunderstood the meaning of the online case records. We rate this claim Pants on Fire.”
- State of Wisconsin v. Thompson: In their latest ad, RSLC cites this 2016 case and says Karofsky was responsible for “allowing a deal that puts him back on the street.” In reality, current records show the defendant is in prison and not “back on the street.”
The Karofsky campaign has previously sent cease and desist letters to both WMC and RSLC informing them that their ads are false. Karofsky’s lawsuit seeking a temporary injunction to stop the ads from running was filed this morning in Milwaukee County Circuit Court, and a copy is available here.
