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Georgia Thompson
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| Georgia Thompson | |||
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| Basic facts | |||
| Role: | Executive secretary, Wisconsin Public Records Board | ||
| Location: | Wisconsin | ||
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Georgia Thompson is the Wisconsin Public Records Board Executive Secretary.[1]
Prosecution and reversal
In June 2006, Steven Biskupic prosecuted and convicted Thompson, who at the time was employed as a state purchasing agent under Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle (D). Biskupic convicted Thompson of giving a travel contract to donors of Doyle. Thompson was sentenced to 18 months in prison. She had served four months of her sentence when the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals threw out the conviction and took the unusual step of ordering her immediate release during oral arguments.[2]
The opinion of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, written by Judge Frank Easterbrook, was strongly worded:[3]
| “ | There is not so much as a whiff of a kickback or any similar impropriety... The idea that it is a federal crime for any official in state or local government to take account of political considerations when deciding how to spend public money is preposterous.[4] | ” |
| —Judge Frank Easterbrook | ||
After her conviction was overturned, her attorney, Stephen Hurley, stated that prosecutors had told Thompsan they would go easy on her if she were to implicate Doyle or his Secretary of Administration, Marc Maratta. Some felt that the prosecution was part of a politically-motivated agenda.[2]
Following the reversal, Thompson was given a new state job and awarded $67,161.46 in back pay. Eventually, the state agreed to reimburse Thompson $228,792.62 for her legal costs.[3][5]
John Doe investigations
Two John Doe investigations, beginning in 2010 and ending in 2015, were launched by Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm (D) into the activities of staff and associates of Gov. Scott Walker (R).[6] According to some conservatives, the actions of prosecutors in the John Doe investigations related to Scott Walker were the same as those used by Steven Biskupic in the Thompson case, actions which Democrats decried at the time. Biskupic represented the Walker campaign during the John Doe investigations.[7][8]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Georgia Thompson Wisconsin. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Wisconsin
- Milwaukee County
- Scott Walker
- John Doe investigation
- John Doe investigations related to Scott Walker
- Timeline of John Doe investigations related to Scott Walker
Footnotes
- ↑ State of Wisconsin Public Records Board, "Minutes – Approved, Public Records Board," June 1, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Isthmus, "Biskupic tried to 'squeeze' Georgia Thompson," May 17, 2007
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Freed official back on state job," April 21, 2007
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Wisconsin State Legislature, "2007 WISCONSIN ACT 74," March 25, 2008
- ↑ United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin Milwaukee Division, "Eric O’Keefe, and Wisconsin Club for Growth, Inc.," accessed February 23, 2015
- ↑ Wisconsin Watchdog, "Wisconsin Dems suddenly support political investigations," November 25, 2013
- ↑ Wisconsin Watchdog, "Would Walker settlement with John Doe prosecutors be a deal with the devil?" May 28, 2014
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