WAUKESHA — It was announced today that U. S. Rep. Scott Fitzgerald is facing serious ethics charges for sending campaign literature to area citizens using the resources of his taxpayer-funded office. An area resident filed complaints with both the U.S. House Communications Standards Commission, the Office of Congressional Ethics, the U.S. House Committee on Ethics, and the U.S. Department of Justice.
“I filed these complaints today because Scott Fitzgerald is prohibited by both federal law and the rules of the U.S. House from advancing his re-election campaign with taxpayer-funded resources from his congressional office,” said Lt. Col. Robert Hill, USA (Retired), a 5th Congressional District constituent in Brookfield. “If Congressman Fitzerald is not held accountable for this abuse of office, it gives free rein to politicians of both parties to simply run their re-election campaigns from their taxpayer-funded offices.”
“Scott Fitzgerald hasn’t bothered to engage with the regular folks of the 5th Congressional District, and it turns out one reason he thinks he doesn’t need to, is that he can just force us to fund his campaign,” said Mike Van Someren, a business lawyer, local resident, and the Democratic candidate for Congress in the 5th District. “Unless you are an extreme right-wing Republican ideologue, Fitzgerald is seemingly afraid to interact with you, but he’s not afraid to take our taxes to fund his attack ads.”
“Starting this spring I’ve received about a dozen taxpayer-funded mailers from Rep. Scott Fitzgerald,” said Town of Brookfield resident Carl Lock. “Some weeks I’ve gotten as many as 2 or 3. They have mostly been political ads, paid for by taxpayer dollars. He should not be allowed to get away with this abuse of power.”
“Fitzgerald violated numerous provisions of the House Communications Standards as well as Congressional Ethics, and these issues should be addressed as quickly as possible so voters can fully understand the corruption of our incumbent Congressman,” said Van Someren.
The full complaint text is posted at mikevansomeren.com/ethicscomplaint.
The election for U.S. House Representative from Wisconsin’s 5th District is on Nov 8, 2022. Mike Van Someren for Congress is on the web at mikevansomeren.com, and is at @MVSforWI on social media.
