Wisconsin Ethics Commission staff leakers face 9 months prison, $10,000 fine.

• Author: Schuster, Steve

Byline: Steve Schuster, sschuster@wislawjournal.com

Last updated 7:54 p.m. CDT on September 20, 2023.

Dan Carlton, administrator for the Wisconsin Ethics Commission, says that if any of his seven staff members leak details from an ongoing investigation he will personally terminate them on the spot and refer them to law enforcement.

"Complaints are confidential. If this was any of my staff, they know they would be terminated and referred to law enforcement," Carlton told the Wisconsin Law Journal on Wednesday.

According to Carlton, there are certain exceptions to the non-disclosure rule, such as when there is a public settlement or district attorney referral.

While Carlton could neither confirm nor deny the recent report by conservative talk radio host Dan O'Donnell alleging Supreme Court Justice Janet Protasiewicz's campaign allegedly conducted money laundering and fraud known as "smurfing," he said it is perfectly legal under Wisconsin law for the complainant to disclose the complaint details.

Madison attorney Lester...