Grant Uses Caucus for Personal Gain
Today's Wisconsin State Journal article reinforces the fact that prosecution witness, Eric Grant is the only caucus staffer to personally profit from political work done on state time using state resources.Grant told the State Journal that he received money from a variety of political campaigns dating back to 1996 that were not related to the Assembly Caucus or its campaign committee RACC.
In other words, Grant who only worked from 9-5 and never took vacation or leave time to do political work for State Legislative candidates padded his wallet with extra cash. At the same time other legislative staffers used their vacation time and paid additional taxes as independent consultants while working overtime to get the job done.
Grant entered the scene as a failed Republican candidate for Assembly, and left as the guy who complained about his work load while he was raking in extra money doing work non-partisan candidates and members of both political parties.
Perhaps Grant stole all those files from the ARC on his way out the door because he was afraid someone might discover his for profit scheme. I'd be scared too if I were double dipping while working for both parties.
10 Comments:
I think he's now working with Valerie Plame and Joseph Wilson.
Privously he worked for Former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neil.
Feel free to trash them all.
If you're comparing him to Plame, Wilson and O'Neil, are you then comparing Jensen and Schultz to Cheney and Bush? Yikes.
besides... didn't everyone in the legislature use the caucuses for personal gain? isn't that Jensen and Schultz's defense? so... who cares, right?
Actually, msnk, I think Above the Belt is dead on. Eric Grant is the ONLY person to surface, legislator or otherwise, who personally pocketed money from the system.
The "system" as you called it allowed it and in many cases as it appears, encouraged or required it. Why else would they want him to work on county board races or a couple of congressional races? Just for fun? No. "Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?" Plus this system fattened Jensen's campaign coffers with cash he evidently solicited using state resources. And now he's using these campaign contributions to pay his own personal legal bills. Convenient, no?
This is just not an interesting topic.
Eric Grant's involvement with non-Assembly races, I have on good authority, was his decision. Note he also did work for Tammy Baldwin, a Democrat. When he did work on county board races, he charged the candidates and then did the work on state equipment. Not to defend it, but when he did work for Assembly candidates, he didn't charge for the work (because that's work his superiors wanted done).
Regarding Jensen's campaign coffers, he may only use those dollars for legal bills IF the contributor okays it. After all, it was the contributor's money in the first place.
That's interesting considering the State Journal reported he did non-Assembly work for Speaker Prosser AND Mark Green (who was in a leadership position in the Assembly). When it's been done in the past (an argument the defense is using), and those who are requesting the work are your bosses, what is one to do? Just sounds like he was taking advantage of the system as much as everyone else was... and it seems as though there were many who were willing to pay him for it, too. And please, Mark Green - the attorney and Congressman - not knowing what the Caucus was doing? Come on. I've spent a lot of time in Green Bay and know folks from up there aren't as dumb, nor are they that naive.
All of these allegations would have come to an end if everyone involved simply admitted to taking advantage of the system (like all those witnesses are doing), stopped their activities and vowed to clean up government once and for all.
I'm with you, msnk, regarding Green. Does anyone REALLY believe he didn't know Assembly staffers were engaging in campaigns? Gimme a friggn' break. And you're right, it would be so refreshing just to hear folks admit it, kind of like how Jeff Plale did in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Plus - not to defend what anyone did - but nobody was being killed or tortured here! Raising money. Spending money. Republicans trying to beat Dems (which they usually did). Dems trying to one-up Jensen. Sounds like a bunch of kids at work.
Speaking of admissions - didn't Rick Skindrud pretty much confess to all of this a few years back... only to be overheard by a reporter? (Note: I didn't say dumb and naive)
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