WAUKESHA – Following her decision not to charge GOP Rep. Janel Brantjen for campaign finance violations, Waukesha County District Attorney Sue Opper has also declined to pursue charges against political candidate Adam Steen’s campaign committee.
Steen mounted a narrowly unsuccessful primary challenge to incumbent Speaker of the Assembly Robin Vos in 2022 and has been vocally critical of Vos’ handling of the 2020 election.
Steen’s campaign is at the center of allegations from the Wisconsin Ethics Commission that claim that Steen, his campaign, several county-level Republican parties, and others including Brantjen to avoid campaign contribution limits. The Commission then recommended charges to the Waukesha County D.A.
“I do not believe it is possible to charge a campaign committee, such as Friends of Adam Steen, with the commission of a criminal offense.” Opper said in a statement responding to the commission.
Opper said her office does not have the resources to investigate and prosecute any other people involved in the alleged collusion, and expressed doubt about her ability to have jurisdiction in Racine County, where the crimes are alleged to have been committed.
“The investigation which was conducted by the investigators hired by the Commission is substantially incomplete in many aspects,” Opper said.
She also raised questions about the audio recordings at the center of the case, which were provided to conservative media outlet Wisconsin Right Now by Steen staffers, noting that the authenticity of the recordings has not been verified and the way they were obtained means they would not be admissible as evidence in court.
Like she did in the Brantjen decision, Opper emphasized that “this decision does not clear those involved of any wrongdoing.”
No criminal charges have been filed related to the Ethics Commission report in any jurisdiction.
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