Wisconsin secretary of state on lawsuit: I don't have any records

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Wisconsin secretary of state on lawsuit: I don't have any records

By Erin McGroarty
Aug 23, 2023

Sarah Godlewski 012422 03-01242022131308 (copy)

Wisconsin Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski has failed to release public records related to Gov. Tony Evers' decision to appoint her to the position last spring, according to a conservative law firm and political activist group.

Wisconsin Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski, accused in a lawsuit of refusing to turn over public records, has issued a statement that says the documents in question don't exist.

"My office does not have any responsive records for this request, and we learned of this court action through news reports this morning," Godlewski said in a statement emailed Tuesday to the Cap Times, which had earlier in the day reported on the lawsuit. "We do our best to respond to records requests as soon as practicable, and my office is seeking support from the Department of Justice to ensure this action is handled appropriately. Despite this conspiracy fishing expedition from partisan groups, my office will continue to work diligently to modernize and best serve Wisconsinites."

Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, a right-wing law firm based in Milwaukee, and Institute for Reforming Government, a conservative political nonprofit, filed the lawsuit with the Waukesha County Circuit Court Tuesday morning.

The lawsuit alleges that Godlewski, in her capacity as secretary of state, has ignored IRG’s request for all correspondences among her, Gov. Tony Evers and former Secretary of State Doug La Follette, leading up to her appointment as secretary of state this spring. All three are Democrats.
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Godlewski told the Associated Press in March that she was “surprised” by the appointment. In an interview with the AP, Godlewski said she was summoned to the governor’s office on March 15, two days before La Follette’s resignation was announced, and didn’t know Evers was going to offer her the position until the two sat down together................................