Ethics Commission alleges Trump joint fundraising committee, Brandtjen involved in campaign finance scheme to benefit Vos challenger

The state Ethics Commission alleges Donald Trump’s joint fundraising committee and GOP state Rep. Janel Brandtjen schemed to evade campaign finance limits as part of an effort that steered at least $40,000 to the 2022 primary challenge of Speaker Robin Vos, according to records obtained by WisPolitics.

The commission this week recommended local district attorneys investigate and charge both, as well as the campaign of Adam Steen, who lost to Vos by 260 votes, eight individuals and the three county Republican parties alleged to be involved.

The referrals accuse Steen, Brandtjen, the Save America Joint Fundraising Committee and others of committing felonies.

The records also show the commission looked into a $4,000 donation MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell gave one of the county parties. But it decided there wasn’t sufficient evidence to prove he actually intended the donation to benefit Steen’s campaign.   

The recommendations for prosecution pose another potential legal headache for Trump, who clashed with Vos in 2022 after the longtime Assembly speaker refused his calls to try to overturn Wisconsin’s 2020 presidential election results. The Save America Joint Fundraising Committee is the primary fundraising vehicle for Trump’s 2024 campaign and his leadership PAC. The referral doesn’t identify any individuals associated with the committee the commission believes should face an investigation and charges. Instead, the commission found probable cause the committee and its “agents” had violated Wisconsin’s campaign finance laws.

The commission alleges the participants sought to take advantage of Wisconsin laws that place no caps on the size of donations political parties may receive and allow them to make unlimited transfers to candidates. 

The commission alleges the participants sought to take advantage of Wisconsin laws that place no caps on the size of donations political parties may receive and allow them to make unlimited transfers to candidates. 

The heart of the effort was an arrangement between Steen, the county parties and others to send donations to the Langlade County GOP, the investigation found. Steen and campaign aides told those who wanted to give more than the $1,000 limit on individual donations for Assembly candidates to send the additional contributions to the Langlade County GOP with a  “63” in the memo line. That references the district Vos, R-Rochester, represents. The number was a signal that the Langlade County GOP was to forward those funds or use them for in-kind donations to benefit Steen, according to the documents, which were obtained through an open records request.

Altogether, the investigators identified more than $40,000 the Langlade County GOP contributed to Steen’s campaign, which raised $174,129 in 2022. A WisPolitics check of state campaign finance reports found the party gave Steen’s campaign $44,702 between July 7 and Nov. 8 that year. 

See more on this developing story in today’s REPORT.