Published by Journal Sentinel Inc., a subsidiary of Journal Communications GEORGE STANLEY Editor December 7, 2017 Attorney General Brad D. Schimel 17 W. Main Street State Capitol Madison, WI 53703-7857 Dear Mr. Attorney General: On Wednesday, you released the Department of Justice’s “Report Concerning Violations of the John Doe Secrecy Order,” compiled after an extensive investigation by state employees with the authority of your office. This newspaper has reported on that investigation and the events that preceded it and will continue to do so. We have not yet reported, though we will, on the questions already raised about the report and, in particular, on an indisputable error that requires a public correction and an amendment to the report. On page 39, with respect to the investigators’ visit to the State Supreme Court offices, the report states: “Although DOJ did not announce its visit to the Supreme Court, and was otherwise inconspicuous, the visit was reported by the Journal Sentinel Reporter Daniel Bice, whose wife works in the same office space. DOJ has undertaken no action to determine why a member of the court staff would have reported this visit.” This footnote contains several demonstrably false statements: --Sonya Bice was not on Feb. 16, 2017, and is not now, an employee of the State Supreme Court. She left her position there on November 1, 2015, shortly after the passing of Supreme Court Justice Patrick Crooks, her former employer. This was more than a year before “DOJ special agents” visited the Court. She was not working for the Supreme Court when the special agents went to the Court, nor had she been for more than a year. --At no point did Sonya Bice ever work in the “same office space” as the Clerk’s Office for the Supreme Court at 110 E. Main St., Suite 215, in Madison. She worked as a lawyer for Justice Crooks in the State Capitol Building, not in the clerk’s office visited by DOJ agents. 333 West State Street Milwaukee WI 53203 TEL 414.224-2248 FAX 414.224-2772 Email: gstanley@jrn.com --While Sonya Bice was employed at the State Supreme Court, her husband, Dan Bice did not report on the work of the Court, and she at no time had any involvement in the Court’s consideration of the John Doe matters. --Sonya Bice was not the source or a source for the newspaper’s report. --“Inconspicuous” or not, the presence of state employees in a state office building on state business hardly carries with it an expectation of privacy or confidentiality. The purpose of the footnote is unclear. Its import is not. The footnote suggests that a state employee, married to a reporter, improperly “leaked” the presence of state investigators, leading directly to an accurate newspaper account of the agents’ visit. “DOJ has undertaken no action,” the report states, “to determine why a member of the court staff would have reported this visit.” Had the DOJ made any attempt at all to verify the accuracy of its statement, it immediately would have determined that no member of the court staff married to a Journal Sentinel reporter did or “would have reported this visit.” We would appreciate your prompt attention to this error. We also ask that you amend the report and notify both the State Supreme Court and Ms. Bice that your report was in error. Sincerely, George Stanley Editor Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Regional Editor USA TODAY NETWORK 333 West State Street Milwaukee WI 53203 TEL 414.224-2248 FAX 414.224-2772 Email: gstanley@jrn.com 333 West State Street Milwaukee WI 53203 TEL 414.224-2248 FAX 414.224-2772 Email: gstanley@jrn.com