In a lawsuit filed this week, the Wisconsin Judicial Commission is looking into whether Susan Crawford, a communist state Supreme Court candidate, broke criminal ethics laws by speaking at a fundraiser for a progressive organization and promising to win Democrats the U.S. House.  ,
The latest twist in the controversial and costly spring election will decide whether liberals or conservatives will rule the Wisconsin Supreme Court and, perhaps, the lower house of Congress.  ,
” Bloodless Disregard”
The Republican Party of Wisconsin announced on Wednesday that an unnamed concerned citizen had filed the complaint, which raised important ethical concerns regarding the Dane County judge’s membership in a “donor expert presentation” hosted by the left-wing volunteer Focus for Democracy. According to volunteer tracker InfluenceWatch, the organization claims to have an election effect methodology that evaluates race results and determines which races will be most important from donors. It also vettes campaign programs for their effectiveness and makes recommendations to donors. Money is given to other leftist organizations by the business.  ,
The Wisconsin GOP claims that Susan Crawford, the extremely progressive candidate for the Wisconsin Supreme Court, and WisDems offered to give Democrats parliamentary seats if Democratic donors aided her. a flagrant disregard for the legal system.
The Crawford plan did not respond to The Federalist’s request for comment.  ,
‘ To Win Control ‘
According to an email posted on X by traditional Waukesha County Circuit Judge Brad Schimel, Crawford’s player in the April 1 state Supreme Court vote, attendees to the donor advisors appointment had the opportunity to “hear and problem” Democratic Party of Wisconsin president Ben Wikler and “pro-democracy Supreme Court member Susan Crawford. The offer states that “winning this race may also result in Liberals being able to get two extra US House seats, half of the House seats needed to take control of in 2026.” The assumption is that choosing Crawford, supported by some of the biggest far-left sugar daddies in politicians, would maintain the progressives ‘ 4-3 bulk and allow for a positive decision to be made regarding the newly drawn Wisconsin legislative charts. Republicans currently control six of the Badger State’s eight House seats under the current area lines.
Democrats reclaimed power in the 2023 Supreme Court election, at the time the most expensive position criminal race in U. S. story. Following that, the Wisconsin Supreme Court upheld state congressional maps created by the Republican-controlled government. Although the court decided not to pursue a lawsuit brought by Marc Elias, a denier of election integrity, last year, whose lawsuit sought to toss out the latest legislative maps, more lawsuits are anticipated if liberals win the election.  ,
The telephone with Crawford was organized by big Democrat donation and LinkedIn creator Reid Hoffman, according to The New York Times. The President of the Obama administration, Eric Holder, president of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, was scheduled to attend, according to The Times.  ,
” Spezial Position to Influence”
The complaint alleges Crawford’s participation in the event host by Focus for Democracy,” which appears to operate both as a a 501 ( c ) ( 3 ) and 501 ( c ) ( 4 ) nonprofit”, runs afoul of the ethics codes governing the conduct of Wisconsin judges. In particular, it raises the question of Crawford’s failure to “avoid misconduct and the appearance of misconduct” in accordance with Supreme Court Rule 60.03.  ,
A judge must follow the law and act in a way that encourages public trust in the judiciary’s honesty and fairness, according to the law.  ,
More but, according to the morality code, a judge is prohibited from allowing “family, social, political or other connections to influence the judge’s criminal conduct or view” . ,
A judge is not permitted to use the fame of the administrative office to advance the interests of the judge or others, or to make others feel like they have a special place in the court of law. Here lies the problem with Crawford’s stand with Focus for Democracy, according the issue.  ,
The communist payment funneler used Crawford’s “prestige” as a prosecutor and Supreme Court member to expand its “private passions”, the complaint alleges.  ,
Crawford may not have had control over how the invitation was initially presented, but the organization’s privacy was furthered in the document’s claims.” When she saw how the invitation was using her judicial candidacy to advance, the organization’s private interest, she should have and could have declined participation,” the document claims.  ,
Leftist Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Dallet, who was forced to resign as the keynote speaker for the Dane County NAACP fundraiser shortly before the election, was the subject of a previous conflict, according to the complaint. Wisconsin judicial conduct code bars judges from personally participating “in the solicitation of funds or other fund-raising activities” for nonprofit, charitable, civic and other organizations.
A judge cannot play such a role at a nonprofit charity event, according to a 1998 opinion from the Judicial Conduct Advisory Committee.  ,
The judge’s participation in the “VIP Reception” serves only to enhance the event’s prestige and reputation overall, improving the charity’s ability to raise money, according to the state Judicial Conduct Advisory Committee.  ,
According to the Supreme Court candidate’s complaint,” Focus for Democracy obviously highlighted Crawford’s appearance at the donor briefing call to improve the ability of the nonprofit to raise funds.” In fact, Crawford’s participation in the donor advisory call appears to have been the driving force behind the call, according to Crawford.
‘ Key to Winning ‘ ,
Representatives of Focus for Democracy did not return The Federalist’s request for comment. Focus for Democracy Action claims on its website that it has “built a network of 20, 000+ donors across the US who have contributed$ 200+ million dollars to the programs we recommend.” The organization uses its platform to choose Democrats and candidates who support leftist causes.  ,
” The group’s website highlights examples where individual victories created other impacts, such as President Joe Biden‘s victory in Wisconsin being the key to winning the 2020 presidential election and the 2021 victory of U. S. Senator Jon Ossoff‘s (D-GA ) being key to Democratic Party control of the U. S. Senate”, InfluenceWatch reports.  ,
A Supreme Court race in swing state Wisconsin is expected to sabotage campaign spending records for the second time in two years. In a 2023 election that saw liberals retake control of the court for the first time in 15 years, the campaigns and outside interest groups dropped more than$ 50 million to support their candidates. Leftists intend to maintain the overwhelming power that Wisconsin’s court of last resort offers in the conflict.  ,
Thanks to donations from leftist fat cats like well-heeled socialist George Soros and billionaire Illinois governor, Crawford’s campaign had raised$ 7.3 million in contributions, with 40 % of those coming from the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. J. B. Pritzker. Schimel’s campaign had raised nearly$ 5 million, about$ 1.7 million of that from big-money donations to the state GOP. However, those fundraising figures are based on reports that were made two weeks ago. Campaign supporters claim a tsunami of campaign funds has been anticipated until the election day and that there has been a flood of money since then.  ,
” Make No Mistake”
The most recent instance of an ethics complaint against Crawford is the one in the increasingly contentious high-stakes race. After Schimel allegedly urged donors to make contributions to committees that are not subject to contribution limits, the leftist Wisconsin Democracy Campaign lodged a complaint earlier this month. Schimel, Wisconsin’s former attorney general, reportedly said what is legally being done by supporters of both campaigns.  ,
The Federalist is informed by a Wisconsin legal expert who requested anonymity because of his involvement in state court cases. The complaint appears to have merit. According to the source, the IRS might look into the fundraising concerns raised by Focus for Democracy, a nonprofit organization that has to adhere to certain IRS tax codes.  ,
The complainant claims that Crawford’s appearance at the donor briefing should be looked into to find out what Crawford said to the donors during the call and whether any promises were made regarding her potential decision-making position on the Wisconsin Supreme Court were made.  ,
Andrew Iverson, executive director of the Republican Party of Wisconsin, accused Crawford of disregarding the state judicial code to “get the help of out-of-state liberal mega donors” . ,
” Make no mistake, Crawford would fight to dismantle all Republican-backed cases and weaponize the court to help Democrats”, Iverson said in a statement.  ,
Matt Kittle covers The Federalist’s senior elections coverage. An award-winning investigative reporter and 30-year veteran of print, broadcast, and online journalism, Kittle previously served as the executive director of Empower Wisconsin.
