Prosecutors in 3 Wisconsin counties decline to pursue charges against Trump committee, lawmaker

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Prosecutors in three Wisconsin counties declined to pursue felony charges of campaign finance violations against former President Donald Trump ‘s fundraising committee and a Republican state lawmaker related to an effort to unseat Assembly Speaker Robin Vos.

The prosecutors cited conflicts of interest, in some cases because they too are actively involved in their local Republican parties.

The Wisconsin Ethics Commission, which recommended last month that charges be filed, announced the local prosecutors’ decisions in a memo prepared for a Friday meeting. Charges were also forwarded to district attorneys in three additional counties but they had yet to inform the commission of their plans.

The ethics commission was meeting Friday to vote on referring the charges to counties adjacent to the three that declined to prosecute. Ultimately, the state attorney general, Democrat Josh Kaul, could be asked to prosecute the cases.

The commission alleges that Trump’s fundraising committee and state Rep. Janel Brandtjen, a Trump ally, conspired in a scheme to evade campaign finance laws to support the Republican primary challenger to Vos in 2022.

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