[Madison, WI] — Governor Evers has faced intense criticism for secretly recording a phone call with legislative leaders in May. Now a breaking story from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel indicates that there is no evidence of written authorization from the governor or any of his aides to the unnamed staffer who recorded the call.
Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald previously released a legal memo outlining how someone without authorization recording the call could have committed a felony. Fitzgerald released the following statement today on the news from the Journal Sentinel:
“The fact that no evidence of authorization to record the call exists just raises more questions. Is the governor’s office harboring someone who committed a felony? It’s clear that the governor thinks he can hide from this and that it will just go away – that’s totally unacceptable.
“The governor needs to immediately make clear who recorded this call, who authorized the recording, and what discipline members of his staff are facing.”
Read the story from the Journal Sentinel here or find excerpts below.
There’s no record of anyone authorizing secretly recording Wisconsin lawmakers by Gov. Tony Evers’ staff
Patrick Marley
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
June 30, 2020
MADISON – There is no written record of anyone authorizing the secret recording of top Republican lawmakers by an aide to Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, according to the governor’s office.
Someone on Evers’ team recorded a May conference call with top Republicans, Evers and the governor’s aides, but Evers has refused to say who made the recording and who knew about it at the time.
It’s a crime in Wisconsin to record a phone call without the knowledge of at least one person on the call. Evers has said he did not know about the recording at the time but his aides have said someone else was aware of it. The aides have not said who was aware of the recording and whether that was the same person who did the recording.
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The lack of certainty about who made the recording or approved it continues to anger Republicans, who say they can’t trust Evers after his office broke norms by making the recording. Some Democrats have sided with them, saying the recording was in poor form.
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Read the full story here.
