Head of Wisconsin Ethics Commission asks for investigation to clear his name

MADISON - The top staffer of the state Ethics Commission said Friday he has been unfairly maligned and asked his bosses to investigate him to clear his name. 

Administrator Brian Bell made the plea during a meeting of the bipartisan commission after members from both parties praised his work. 

The development marked the latest escalation of the ongoing fight over Bell; an elections official; a pair of John Doe investigations of Republicans; and the conduct of the now-disbanded Government Accountability Board. 

"I believe that an objective review of my conduct in service to the state would definitively show that I have consistently conducted myself in a nonpartisan and impartial manner," Bell told the commission. "Such an investigation would also refute baseless allegations that have been made against me."

The commission, which consists of three Republicans and three Democrats, discussed the matter in closed session after he made his request. Commissioners would not say afterward whether they had launched the investigation because state law requires their work to be done confidentially.

David Halbrooks, a Democrat and the chairman of the commission, noted the commission has subpoena powers and can force people to testify under oath. 

That raises the prospect of top Republicans having to explain what evidence they have that Bell did anything improper. Bell and his allies have contended he has acted appropriately and there is no reason to force him out of office. 

Also Friday, Republicans and Democrats on the commission urged GOP lawmakers to hold a hearing on Bell before deciding whether to oust him.

If the state Senate won't hold a hearing on whether to confirm or reject Bell, leaders of the commission indicated they would hold one of their own. They contended his opponents need to detail the reasons they thought he should go. 

"I have seen no inkling of any kind of partisanship by Mr. Bell," said J. Mac Davis, a Republican member of the commission who is a former judge and former state senator. 

GOP leaders of the state Senate on Thursday authorized GOP Attorney General Brad Schimel to broaden his investigation into how two John Doe probes of Republicans were conducted and the activities of the accountability board.

One investigation led to six convictions of Walker aides and associates. The other looked into whether Walker's campaign illegally coordinated with conservative groups in recall elections. The state Supreme Court terminated that second investigation in 2015, finding nothing illegal occurred.

The second probe sparked Republican outrage, leading them to limit the state's John Doe law, which allows investigations to be conducted before a judge in secret. They also disbanded the accountability board and replaced it with the Ethics Commission and Elections Commission. 

In 2016, the Guardian U.S. published nearly 1,400 pages of secret documents from John Doe II, including ones showing the Legislature approved a 2013 measure aimed at retroactively shielding paint makers from liability after a billionaire owner of a lead producer contributed $750,000 to a political group that provided crucial support to Republicans in recall elections.

Schimel investigated the leak and this month issued a report finding the leak was a crime but that he did not have sufficient evidence to charge anyone. His report detailed the breadth of investigations of Republicans, which included gathering millions of pages of emails and other documents.

That report prompted GOP lawmakers to call for Bell to step down from the Ethics Commission and Administrator Michael Haas to step down from the Elections Commission.

Both previously worked for the accountability board. Bell was not involved with the John Doe investigations. Haas was not part of the core team that worked on them, but reviewed and edited legal filings when John Doe II was challenged in court. 

Haas on Thursday said lawmakers' criticism of him may amount to slander. He asked Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) for an apology. They have not responded to him. 

The controversies are ensuring the John Doe probes and their fallout will stay in the news for the foreseeable future — nearly eight years after the first probe began.