Sen. Tammy Baldwin Hires High Powered Attorney

It appears that Sen. Tammy Baldwin is preparing for the fireworks coming her way. 

Right Wisconsin:

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel columnist Dan Bice reports that Baldwin hired Marc Elias, a high powered Washington D.C. attorney, for representation in any court proceedings that might occur as a result of the termination of staffer Marquette Baylor. Baylor was fired in the wake of reports that Baldwin's office failed to act on a report of opiate abuse at the Tomah VA that resulted in the death of a Marine.

So who is this Attorney?  Read more from Right Wisconsin:

According to a Washington Free Beacon profile last Fall, Elias "has long been the legal mind that guides Democrats through troubled waters." Just look at his resume from recent years.

 

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D., La.), for example, brought in Elias to handle the storm that arose when it became clear that Senate funds were used to pay for private charter flights, including for campaign events.

 

Elias conducted a full review of Landrieu’s travel expenses, and wrote a letter to the Senate Ethics Committee assuring it that all future taxpayer-funded charter flights would be “cleared in advance by counsel.”

 

Elias’ review resulted in Landrieu reimbursing the federal government $33,727.

 

He was also the lawyer brought in by Sen. Claire McCaskill (D., Mo.) when she was accused of improperly using government funds to pay for charter flights, and wound up returning $88,000 to the Treasury Department.

 

Elias was also the lawyer brought in by Sen. Kay Hagan (D., N.C.) when it became clear that her husband received hundreds of thousands worth of federal stimulus money.

 

“[Hagan’s] only involvement [with the stimulus grants] was when she made sure that a respected ethics attorney was consulted to ensure that it was appropriate, and the attorney found that it was,” said Hagan’s spokeswoman Sadie Weiner.

 

Kentucky Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes’s brought in Elias when it was revealed that she was using vehicles, including a luxurious tour bus, that were owned by her father’s catering company explicitly for her campaign.

 

Elias issued a statement in response to the Politico report that Grimes was violating campaign finance laws, and argued that the bus was being rented from her father’s company at “normal and usual” rates and therefore the campaign was in compliance with all laws.

 

Reid turned to Elias earlier this year when it was revealed that his campaign directed $31,000 to his granddaughter and wrote it off on filings as “holiday gifts.”

 

Elias employed what was described as a “rope-a-dope” strategy to the FEC inquiry, sending back a response that contained little to no additional information beyond the “holiday gift” description. The strategy got the FEC off the campaigns back for enough time for Reid to reimburse the money and settle the issue.

 

Elias is not just some Washington D.C. lawyer. He is the go-to lawyer for Democrats in very deep trouble. He is the guy they call in to put out the fires and save the bacon of elected Democrats.