GOP state Rep. Janel Brandtjen suggested the Ethics Commission wanted to tarnish her reputation ahead of the fall election when it asked a local DA to charge her with a felony for an alleged scheme to funnel contributions to a man challenging Assembly Speaker Robin Vos.
Waukesha County DA Sue Opper on Friday declined to file charges against Brandtjen, R-Menomonee Falls, citing a lack of evidence she could use in court.
Brandtjen, who didn’t respond to a message on Friday seeking comment on Opper’s decision, said in a statement Monday the Ethics Commission’s referral was a “complete surprise to me.” Brandtjen added she wasn’t notified of an investigation, didn’t receive the original complaints and wasn’t allowed to respond.
Brandtjen didn’t include details of why she thought the commission might have targeted her. She pushed a series of conspiracies about the 2020 election while she chaired the Assembly’s Campaigns and Elections Committee before Vos, R-Rochester, removed her from that post.
“Given the timing of this referral, it raises suspicions of an attempt to tarnish my character before the upcoming fall election, especially considering its release on the last legislative floor date of 2024,” Brandtjen said. “Nevertheless, I maintain my stance that ‘I have done nothing wrong’ and will continue to stand by it.”
Opper wrote in a letter to the commission on Friday that her decision not to file charges should not be seen as a finding that Brandtjen’s actions were “lawful nor laudable.” Opper added the Ethics Commission could still pursue a civil violation where “the burden of proof and constitutional rights of the accused are far less stringent.”
The commission’s referral included tapes of conversations in which Brandtjen and others allegedly discussed funneling money to the campaign of Adam Steen as the Sturtevant Republican challenged Vos in the GOP primary and then during the fall as part of a write-in campaign.
Opper wrote because the intercepted communications couldn’t be used in a court to prosecute Brandtjen, there was no way to prove the lawmaker’s knowledge and intent, which are necessary to win a conviction or establish a conspiracy.
Brandtjen hasn’t officially announced her plans for the fall election. State Sen. Dan Knodl, R-Germantown, has filed to run for the 24th AD, which Brandtjen was drawn into under the new maps.
Knodl and Brandtjen last year squared off in a three-way GOP primary for the 8th SD, which was filled through a special election after the resignation of Sen. Alberta Darling, R-River Hills. Longtime GOP redistricting consultant Joe Handrick calculated if the new 24th AD had been in place last year, Knodl would’ve pulled about 64% of the vote from the communities in that seat, compared to 36% for Brandtjen.
Brandjten hasn’t responded to calls from WisPolitics inquiring about her plans for the fall. She also didn’t immediately respond to a message WisPolitics left with her state office today.
The Ethics Commission declined comment.