Daniel Bice reports that Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel is now demanding non-disclosure agreements from employees of the Wisconsin Department of Justice:
On Aug. 10, staffers at his agency were sent an email instructing them to sign a nondisclosure agreement barring them from revealing any confidential information about their work — not just during their time in office but even after they leave the state.
The email then included a spreadsheet with the names of 129 employees who had yet to sign the one-page statement.
“If your name is on the attached list, please print and sign the attached Agreement,” the email says.
According to a copy of the agreement, it applies not just to current full-time employees but also “limited term employees, contractors, interns, externs and law enforcement partners.”
Via Brad Schimel requiring all Wisconsin DOJ employees to sign nondisclosure agreements.
Trump does this on the national level, expecting federal employees who have obligations to the public under the law to remain silent as though they were private employees of the Trump Organization.
(It’s worth noting that Patrick Marley reports that even Scott Walker – none too supportive of open government – was quick to distance himself from Schimel’s approach, thereby giving a good idea of how odd it is even for the WISGOP.)
Schimel must imagine himself a tiny Trump, another man who thinks centuries of evolving public law and open government standards should yield to his private needs.
If Schimel wants private standards, then he needs to seek a private practice.
What a contagion this is, of scheming men who want private standards and private obligations while holding public office.
Here one finds another good reason – there are many – to support Josh Kaul for Wisconsin Attorney General.