Republicans take vow to hide truth from public
Yet another revelation about the culture of secrecy perpetuated by GOP lawmakers
MADISON - Assembly Democratic Leader Peter Barca (D-Kenosha) released the following statement today - just two weeks before redistricting is set to be tried in federal court - regarding the startling news that legislative Republicans signed an agreement vowing to hide details of their redistricting plan from the public:
"With today’s explosive revelations we see why Republicans fought so hard to keep their redistricting documents from coming to light. Forced by the federal court to turn over secret documents, the public now learns that the Republican lawmakers signed an oath to keep the truth about redistricting and maps from the public and their constituents.
"They knew that if these documents became public it would become another scandal. And it is scandalous. Republican lawmakers were given secret instructions in private, signed and told to keep it from the public, and were told in orders from their leaders: 'Public comments on this map may be different than what you hear in this room. Ignore the public comments.'
"This is an unprecedented low in a year that has already had so many blows to open government. Wisconsin’s reputation for clean, honest and transparent government is in tatters. With disturbing regularity we hear details of a new scandal, another example of secrecy or misleading the public.
"Today’s news that Republican lawyers took this oath with their attorneys - who have cost the taxpayers at least $400,000 - not to talk to the public paying those bills raises questions about which is more important: secret oaths meant to preserve their power or the public oath of office we all take as lawmakers to serve our constituents and our Wisconsin Constitution."
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