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Inquiry arises into Attorney General Lautenschlager’s use of state vehicle

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The state Ethics Board will reopen its inquiry into Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager’s use of a state vehicle after recently learning that the AG’s gas receipts may show she used a state-owned car to attend political events.

Using the Open Records Law, the Wisconsin State Journal requested the state AG’s gas receipts issued from using a state-funded fuel card. By comparing the receipts and Lautenschlager’s schedule, they discovered she fueled up several times when she had no state business to attend to, such as traveling to political events or on holidays.

Lautenschlager, however, formally denies ever using a state car for political purposes.

“At no time was the state vehicle used to attend political events,” she said in a release.

Although Ethics Board Director Roth Judd said he did not foresee a change in the board’s original ruling, he indicated a new inquiry would be launched due to the new information.

In a letter to District Attorney Brian Blanchard, lawyer Mark B. Hazelbaker criticized the Ethics Board’s investigation labeling it “limited in scope” and asking the body to look again into the issue.

“Clearly, if a reporter with the limited resources available to him is able to uncover questions of this nature, it would seem that someone with the resources available to your office might be able to do a thorough job and see what really is going on here,” the letter read.

The Ethics Board’s former inquiry into Lautenschlager’s use of a state vehicle found the AG possessed “no intention to obtain an unlawful benefit,” when using a state car. However, she was asked to reimburse the state for 1,900 miles used for reasons unrelated to state business.

The first investigation was launched after questions arose about Lautenschlager’s use of a state vehicle when she was pulled over for drunken driving while using a state car.