Will Janet Protasiewicz recuse herself?
A shocking report from the Washington Examiner shows that Justice Janet Protasiewicz was backed by the same left-wing groups paying Marc Elias as he now sues over the Wisconsin Congressional maps.
Given Janet Protasiewicz’s previous comments prejudging the case, the money she has taken directly from the Democrat party, and the direct involvement from the DCCC with Marc Elias, this begs the question: Will she recuse herself?
Left-wing Wisconsin judge was backed by same groups paying firm behind congressional map lawsuit
Washington Examiner
Gabe Kaminsky
A left-wing Wisconsin Supreme Court justice was endorsed on the campaign trail last year by activists that, around the same time, paid major sums to a Democratic law firm now pressing the court to order new congressional maps ahead of the 2024 election, records show.
Republican lawmakers demanded the recusal last week of Badger State justice Janet Protasiewicz from taking up a redistricting motion due to her criticism of Wisconsin’s “rigged” maps while running in 2023. That heavily scrutinized effort to overhaul Wisconsin elections is being led by Democratic superlawyer Marc Elias, whose influential Elias Law Group raked in more than $680,000 combined for “legal services” in 2023 from left-wing groups that, in turn, rallied to support Protasiewicz, according to Federal Election Commission filings.
That Protasiewicz was boosted in 2023 by EMILY’s List, End Citizens United, and Family Friendly Action PAC is likely to prompt further calls from the GOP for the justice to step away from the Elias Law Group’s motion, which seeks a new congressional map in time for the election this November. Protasiewicz waved away requests from conservatives last year for her to recuse from lawsuits in connection to the state’s GOP-drawn legislative maps, which the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled were unconstitutional in December 2023. Democrats have a 4-3 court majority.
…
Protasiewicz later asserted she would “likely” recuse from any cases involving the Wisconsin Democratic Party.
Now, Wisconsin Republicans have determined Protasiewicz cannot impartially rule on the Elias case, which was brought on behalf of four voters in Wisconsin and comes after congressional district boundaries were approved by the state’s Supreme Court in 2022. Still, the Wisconsin Judicial Commission rejected a flurry of formal complaints last year from Republicans accusing Protasiewicz of violating ethics rules with her prior remarks about legislative maps being “rigged” and “unfair.”
But certain indirect financial ties between Protasiewicz and groups that endorsed her could also lead to ethical landmines for the justice.
In February 2023, Protasiewicz was on the receiving end of an endorsement from EMILY’s List, which reportedly marked the first time in the feminist advocacy group’s 38-year history it backed a candidate in a state judicial race. Laphonza Butler, then-EMILY’s List president and now-U.S. senator in California, asserted her confidence Protasiewicz would be “standing up to extremism” as the “rights and freedoms of millions of Wisconsinites hinge on a Wisconsin Supreme Court committed to reproductive freedom, democracy, and voting rights for all.”
EMILY’s List shelled out a staggering $609,100 throughout 2023 to Elias Law Group, according to documents on file with the Federal Election Commission. During the two years prior, EMILY’s List had paid the firm $581,600 combined, filings show.
…
Protasiewicz, a 61-year-old former circuit court judge in Milwaukee, was also endorsed by the Democratic-aligned End Citizens United PAC in March of last year. The PAC’s president, Tiffany Muller, called Protasiewicz “a fair and impartial jurist, who will always put the constitution and the rights of Wisconsinites ahead of radical partisanship.”
…
From February 2023 to September 2023, Elias Law Firm collected more than $65,000 in “legal services” fees from End Citizens United, FEC records show.
End Citizens United also sent Elias Law Firm more than $84,000 for “payroll” and “legal services” in 2021 and 2022 combined, according to a Washington Examiner review of campaign finance disclosures. Muller has notably made personal donations totaling $6,000 over the years to the campaign for Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), among other Democrats.
End Citizens United transferred $52,500 combined in two separate payments in March 2023 to the DCCC, just weeks after End Citizens United issued its endorsement of Protasiewicz, according to FEC records.
…