A Wisconsin court has decided to allow a lawsuit against Attorney General Josh Kaul’s use of a Bloomberg-funded Special Assistant Attorney General (SAAG) to proceed. This decision marks a significant moment in the ongoing debate over private influence within attorney general offices. The Calumet County Circuit Court, on August 8, denied Kaul’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit initiated by state dairy groups in February. The court said that the plaintiffs have “a legal interest to contest governmental actions leading to what they believe is an illegal expenditure of taxpayer funds.”
The lawsuit, filed by the Wisconsin Dairy Alliance and Venture Dairy Cooperative, argues that the SAAG’s placement grants private interests undue influence over the state’s top legal office. Cindy Leitner, president of the Wisconsin Dairy Alliance, expressed concerns about “the influence of special interest groups on state attorneys.” The plaintiffs claim that Karen Heineman, Wisconsin’s SAAG, remains aligned with the NYU program that funds her salary rather than serving Wisconsin residents.
This development coincides with Congress launching an investigation into Michael Bloomberg’s NYU program. In July, the House Oversight Committee began probing NYU’s State Energy and Environmental Impact Center and Bloomberg Philanthropies for potential “partisan activism with state attorneys general.” Lawmakers caution that this initiative may blur lines between independent state legal work and external donor agendas.
Bloomberg-funded fellows in other states have been involved in prominent climate lawsuits and worked closely with environmental activists. This raises concerns about whether taxpayer-supported offices are being used for private policy goals instead of public interests. Although AG Kaul has not yet pursued a climate lawsuit against the oil and gas industry, pressure from activists persists.
The court’s decision means Wisconsin taxpayers might soon learn more about who their Department of Justice truly serves. With Congress examining the broader Bloomberg-NYU program, this issue extends beyond local concerns to question whether attorneys general serve their constituents or billionaire benefactors funding their staff.
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