Ethics Board Reaches Decision on (Wisconsin) AG's Use of State Car

WBAY TV2 Action News -- Green Bay, Wisconsin ^ | March 24, 2004 | WBAY TV2 Action News

[Chummy]

Action 2 News learned late Wednesday morning that the state Ethics Board has now reached a decision as it looked into the Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager's use of a state-owned car without reimbursing the state.

However, the Ethics Board isn't ready to make that decision public, and board members won't say if they shared that decision with Lautenschlager yet.

The board met openly for about 15 minutes in the morning before going behind closed doors.

Records show the attorney general put 20,000 miles on the state-owned car, which she used for commuting between her home in Fond du Lac and work in Madison, but that includes an unknown number of personal miles.

The issue came to light after Lautenschlager drove the car into a ditch while driving drunk last month.

Lautenschlager has said if the Ethics Board ruled against her she would reimburse the state.

Action 2 News has a crew in Madison to bring you more information on Action 2 News at Five and Six.

[Chummy]

This station reported recently it had already discovered the Attorney General had apparently not filed papers designating her residence away from Madison as her office.

[RightWhale]

Lautenschlager drove the car into a ditch while driving drunk last month.

That ought to do it.

[steveegg]

> Lautenschlager drove the car into a ditch while driving
> drunk last month.

That ought to do it.

Except for the fact that she's a DemonRAT. My money's on the cost of the "crash trip" and the damages to the car going back to the state, and Goldschlager being told, "Go forth and sin no more (until you get your license back)."

[Chummy]

..little difference here between Lautenschlager's (man, does that name use up the bandwidth) use of state (taxpayer-funded) property for her transportation needs and that of the previous Governor, is there?

[steveegg]

..little difference here between Lautenschlager's (man, does that name use up the bandwidth) use of state (taxpayer-funded) property for her transportation needs and that of the previous Governor, is there?

Again, she's a RAT of the Madistan subspecies. Also, I don't remember McCallum turning in false expense reports (something that Goldschlager did, and the main thing that ended Brian Burke's career and perhaps his freedom for a while).

[LouD]

If she does not get nailed to the wall on this, I fully intend to start deducting my commuting expenses on my state income tax.

[afraid]

i just moved to appleton from Texas. Wisconsin is WAY to liberal for me.....

[LouD]

What really burns me about this is the fact that, if she hit and killed or injured someone while intoxicated, the State of Wisconsin, and ultimately us, would be on the hook for millions of dollars in liability claims.

[LouD]

Me too.

Do us a favor and invite a few hundred thousand of your fellow Texans to move up here too, and we'll change that.

[Chummy]

That's what I've been saying, too, LouD. That she could have taken someone's life, as well as the immense risk in which this public official placed the taxpayers of Wisconsin has been grossly overlooked, and she has not once recognized in any source nor taken responsibility that I can recall reading this very simple and horrible fact.

Guess that's just asking too much of a Dem.