Here & Now

Josh Kaul on His Plans for Office

Frederica Freyberg:
Now to state Capitol news. Breaking news in the race for Wisconsin Attorney General. A final vote count posted on the State Elections Commission site has Attorney General Brad Schimel within the margin for a recount. The number shows Josh Kaul up by 17,190 votes, under the 1% threshold for a candidate-paid recount. Attorney General Brad Schimel announced this afternoon he will take the weekend to decide whether to seek that recount. On election night, Schimel said it appeared Kaul had won but he stopped short of conceding. For his part on election night, Kaul said the results were close but clear. I spoke to Attorney General-Elect Kaul this afternoon before the final tally was released. I started by congratulating him. Thanks for being here.

Josh Kaul:
Thanks for having me.

Frederica Freyberg:
Congratulations.

Josh Kaul:
Thanks very much.

Frederica Freyberg:
Right out of the chutes, not specific really to your election, but what are your comments on the moves on the part of the Republican legislature with the apparent approval of Scott Walker to move the date of the 2020 presidential primary so that it’s not at the same time as the state Supreme Court election, ostensibly to protect the conservative justice?

Josh Kaul:
Im hopeful that the legislature is not going to be taking a lot of action here before Tony Evers takes office. The date of this election has been set for a long time. The legislature could have taken action earlier if this was an important issue. It didn’t do so and I don’t think now, after the voters have spoken, is the time for that sort of action to be taken. It would also be costly to the state. I don’t think there’s any reason for an additional election to be held.

Frederica Freyberg:
Following the transition, what is your first order of business as attorney general?

Josh Kaul:
There are going to be several, but Governor-Elect Evers has made clear that he wants to withdraw the state of Wisconsin from the lawsuit that’s seeking to invalidate the Affordable Care Act and I look forward to working with him to withdraw the state from that lawsuit. That suit, if it’s successful will eliminate protections for people with a pre-existing condition. It would eliminate the guarantee that young adults can remain on their parents’ coverage until they turn 26. So I don’t think that that suit is in the interest of Wisconsinites and I’m glad we’re going to be able to withdraw from it. But we also need to take action to request the funds we need to address increased delays at the state crime labs. I’m looking forward to also working with legislature to develop legislation that can help ensure that there’s never another backlog of untested rape kits in Wisconsin and we’ve got to start responding to the opioid epidemic like the crisis it is.

Frederica Freyberg:
And I want to ask you about each of those things but in terms of the ACA lawsuit, withdrawing from that suit, which would try to repeal the law, would you sign on to a suit to protect the law?

Josh Kaul:
So in this particular suit, the state of Wisconsin has been on one side of the case and I don’t think it makes sense for the state of Wisconsin to switch sides mid case. So I think there what we should do is withdraw. But I do think that we should pass protections here in Wisconsin for people with a pre-existing condition so that those protections are not just in federal law, but we also have them here in state law.

Frederica Freyberg:
What would you do with the Solicitor General’s Office currently in the Justice Department?

Josh Kaul:
So I think having a Solicitor General makes sense. That’s a signifier that that person is the chief appellate lawyer at the Wisconsin Department of Justice. But I think we could move some resources from that office into other areas. I think potentially criminal litigation to have more attorneys who are focused on issues like the opioid epidemic. I also think having that unit more streamlined with the appellate units at the Department of Justice makes sense. So one of the things Ill be looking at as we move forward is what type of reorganization to look at in that area.

Frederica Freyberg:
Some 45 former attorneys at the Department of Justice endorsed you. Do you expect to be greeted by a morale problem?

Josh Kaul:
I think that there is room for improvement in morale at the Department of Justice. And one of the things I think is going to be important is making sure that there’s a clear vision in terms of what the AG is hoping to accomplish. And I think there are some areas where Ive been spelling that out. I spelled that out throughout the campaign, which is increasing environmental enforcement, for example, increasing consumer protection enforcement. Then I think we need to empower the professionals at the Department of Justice to do their job of working on behalf of the people of Wisconsin.

Frederica Freyberg:
What do you say to victims of sexual assault who might have been waiting to see their cases prosecuted?

Josh Kaul:
I think we need to do a better job than we have so far. The backlog of untested rape kits in Wisconsin I think, the testing process was delayed too long and there shouldn’t have been a backlog that built up in the first place. One of the things Im going to do as AG is ensure that where there are DNA matches from the testing of the kits in the backlog, that those matches are fully and thoroughly investigated. But as I mentioned, we also need to pass legislation that’s going to strengthen our laws and I think DOJ needs to play — needs to keep playing a role in making sure that law enforcement agencies have training about when kits should be submitted and that there’s clear guidance provided to agencies around the state.

Frederica Freyberg:
What is it like to have been elected to this position that your late mother, Peg Lautenschlager, held?

Josh Kaul:
It means a lot. You know, she was able to spend a lot of her career in public service and to make a difference in her community and in the state and I know that that meant the world to her. It also meant a lot to her that I also spent part of my career as a federal prosecutor. I’m sure she’s looking down and is excited I get to spend the next four years as Wisconsin Attorney General.

Frederica Freyberg:
Josh Kaul, thanks very much.

Josh Kaul:
Thank you.