J.B. Van Hollen has some explaining to do
First a reminder from his campaign page.
Dear Friends:
I'm honored to serve as your Attorney General. Please know that I take the faith entrusted in me as the state's top law enforcement officer seriously.
The framers of our Constitution wisely limited the scope and primary purpose of government. It was clear to me that Wisconsin voters saw that this ideal had been abandoned and they spoke loudly for a new direction in the Department of Justice. I'm humbled that Wisconsin voters gave me the distinct privilege to get our state back to the basics - no more gimmicks or political agendas - instead, a commitment to the rule of law.
Upon taking the oath of office I have focused on helping keep Wisconsin families and communities safe by fighting crime and restoring integrity. It's not just a campaign slogan. It is commitment to the people of Wisconsin that the Department of Justice will work to protect personal freedoms, demand high ethical standards and seek justice for victims.
God bless,
The story is also intriguing for revealing a Wisconsin Attorney General complicit in illegal activity: Wisconsin’s Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen allegedly bought one of the illegal guns.
You wouldn’t think J.B. would be cavalier about this sort of thing given that during his 2006 primary run for the post of Attorney General, he called for a crackdown and harsh penalties for those who use a gun to commit a crime.
We also see suggestions of retribution against the whistle blower, Dan Bethards. The State of Wisconsin has initiated an internal investigation against him. And yet a similar investigation has NOT been initiated by the State of Wisconsin against the man who Bethards says has been illegally selling guns and who, Bethards alleges, planned to resell a fully automatic machine gun that he knew was stolen.
There are some initial indications in the link above that this investigation will get wider as the corruption is uncovered.
It is not okay if you are a Republican. We need to keep reminding them of this.
Of course the DOJ jumped right in with investigating after getting notified, against the whistleblower:
Bethards already filed a complaint under the state’s whistle-blower statute alleging the DOJ retaliated against him for reporting the information about Smith on Dec. 19. He said the same day he notified his superiors, he reported the allegations to U.S. Attorney John Vaudreuil in Madison.