Fitzgerald says House Judiciary Committee closely watching Dugan case

U.S. Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, a member of the House Judiciary Committee, says Republican lawmakers in Congress are closely watching the fallout after the FBI arrested Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan.

“There’s been a lot of discussion with Chairman Jordan about that,” Fitzgerald said on WISN 12’s “UpFront,” which is produced in partnership with WisPolitics. “I don’t think anything has really fully developed to the point where Congress would be weighing in on anything specific, but certainly it falls under our purview if there are some things that emerge nationally for us to take a look at. Sen. Lee has also been watching this closely. So I guess we’ll see. We’ll see where this is headed.”

Fitzgerald acknowledged the unusual nature of FBI agents placing Dugan in handcuffs and arresting her inside the Milwaukee County Courthouse.

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“I know the optics were certainly strong,” Fitzgerald said. “I think many of my colleagues that have seen it were wondering if it had to be handled that way. But you know, not all crime is premeditated, and what Judge Dugan did is outrageous, and I think everything that’s happened since that has been appropriate, including what the Wisconsin Supreme Court has now done with taking action as well. So I know these cases are very emotional, but a judge is certainly expected to be the level head in the room, no matter what is going on within that courthouse.”

Fitzgerald, the former state Senate majority leader, cautioned Republican lawmakers from moving too quickly. Some, like former Gov. Scott Walker, have called on the Legislature to immediately remove Dugan.

“I think they should wait,” Fitzgerald said. “You know, like we said, it was not premeditated I don’t feel, but certainly any type of knee-jerk reaction that puts a judge in a position where they’ve actually committed a crime certainly needs to be scrutinized and reviewed at length, and it looks like the Wisconsin Supreme Court is doing that right now.”

Fitzgerald also reflected on the sometimes contentious town hall he recently held and vowed to continue in-person events.

“I went through some of the larger, more vocal groups after Act 10 when we were doing office hours, so it’s not something that I’m not used to,” Fitzgerald said. “But in a couple of locations we were at, yeah, people were a little bit over the top — people using swear words and such. I don’t like that because it makes law enforcement nervous, and when law enforcement is nervous, then I get nervous. So we have a lot of requests. People are calling the office asking about scheduling some in the future, and as the congressional calendar allows us, we’ll get back to it at some point here.

“It’s something that comes with the job,” Fitzgerald added. “When you’re at a fever pitch on something like what we’re going through right now with the big shakeup in D.C., you just want to make sure that people are respectful and that they’re not yelling over the top of their own neighbors as they try to express themselves as well.”

Attorney General Josh Kaul says he does not believe the recent order from the Wisconsin Supreme Court temporarily prohibiting Dugan from her judicial duties speaks to the merits of the federal charges.

“I think what’s important for folks to note is I don’t think that order in any way, and I don’t speak for the justices certainly, but I don’t think that order in any way is meant to provide any indication as to what that means about the merits of the underlying case,” Kaul told “UpFront.” “I think that was something that was done sort of routinely, just given the circumstances.”

Kaul declined to weigh in on the arrest and case itself but left open the possibility that the state may get involved in the case.

“It’s very early in the case right now,” Kaul said. “So we’re going to see how things develop. If the state of Wisconsin ends up having any interest in the case, it’s possible that we would, but it’s going to depend on the circumstances that arise here in the state.”

Kaul backed the recent guidance from Gov. Tony Evers directing state employees not to answer questions or provide documents without first calling an attorney if Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents enter state buildings.

“I’m surprised that this has received as much pushback as it has,” Kaul said. “As I understand it, and I haven’t looked at the specifics of the guidance, but as I understand it the governor has suggested that if ICE comes somewhere that the state agency should make sure to get their attorneys involved in the process, that’s a reasonable thing that I think anybody would suggest in this circumstance. Having attorneys work through the process to make sure that things are done lawfully, that the rights of the state’s citizens are protected — because the state government, of course, has a lot of confidential and private data regarding state citizens — that’s just common sense. So I think this is an effort to politicize what is really a common-sense move from the administration.”

UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin says university officials have concerns as the Trump administration continues to target universities nationwide.

“It’s been a whirlwind, and there have been a number of things that cause us concern,” Mnookin told “UpFront.” “The research we do at UW-Madison is such an incredibly important part of, well frankly, the Wisconsin economy and innovation and invention, and there are a lot of challenges to the funding for that research, and we are concerned about that.

“We’re also concerned about academic freedom,” Mnookin added. “And the ability of universities to give students transformative experiences and serve our state.”

The Trump administration is investigating UW-Madison and dozens of universities nationwide amid its crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion programs and the treatment of Jewish students on campuses across the country.

Mnookin said she has not received any updates from the administration on the scope or status of the investigations.

“I believe we’re doing a generally good job of supporting all of our students, including our Jewish students, to have an excellent experience here at UW-Madison.

“Are we perfect?” Mnookin added. “No, no campus is perfect, but that overall we have a very strong, positive experience for the vast, vast majority of our students on campus, and we’re proud of that.”

The Trump administration recently restored the visas of 27 international students after initially revoking their legal status.

“We did have 27 students and recent graduates who were lawfully working in this country face the removal of their records, which in essence means that they can no longer legally be in this country,” Mnookin said. “We’re very pleased that all 27 have been reversed.”

Mnookin said she is still unaware why the visas were revoked in the first place.

“It’s just very mysterious, to be honest,” she said. “Some of them have low-level legal infractions, but sometimes we’re talking about things like a speeding ticket, so really incredibly minor. And while it’s entirely reasonable to expect those studying in our country to follow the laws, I don’t think it makes any sense, and I don’t think it’s right for, you know, you get stopped for a speeding ticket, that shouldn’t jeopardize your student status.”

University officials are also closely tracking cuts to federal research grants. Officials have said that of the roughly $1.7 billion in grants last year, $1 billion came from the federal government.

“At this point, we have had a number of grants frozen or eliminated, and in some cases, we don’t even fully know why,” Mnookin said. “Those grants can range from topics like a researcher who’s studying teens’ online behavior and how it affects their mental health to topics like weather satellites and how we do a better job of detecting fires so we can prevent them from getting out of control. So we have lost grants across an array of areas, and that is concerning, and we’re also concerned about the possibility of more to come.”

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