Elon Comes for Wisconsin

Plus: the "capitulation crisis" accelerates

We start the day with extortion in plain sight and stomach-turning capitulation: Via the NYT: “Law Firm Bends in Face of Trump Demands”:

President Trump and the head of the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP have reached a deal under which Mr. Trump will drop the executive order he leveled against the firm, Mr. Trump said on Thursday.

In the deal, Mr. Trump said, the firm agreed to a series of commitments, including to represent clients no matter their political affiliation and contribute $40 million in legal services to causes Mr. Trump has championed…

Ron Fournier calls it “the capitulation crisis” — and it is spreading to the universities and media, as well. Politico reports: “Universities are caving to Trump with a stunning speed and scope”:

Columbia University on Thursday appeared poised to submit to a list of Trump administration demands that threaten core tenets of the school’s mission in an attempt to release itself from a $400 million federal funding freeze….

Dartmouth College on Monday announced it had hired the Republican National Committee’s former chief counsel — an outspoken critic of birthright citizenship — as the college’s top lawyer and leader of its immigration office. And dozens of universities last month rushed to scrub diversity, equity and inclusion policies from their websites and cancel related events.

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Thank God, it’s Friday.

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Musk tries to buy a Supreme Court

I have lots of stories about Wisconsin Supreme Court elections, but my favorite is the one about Trump and the prom tweets.

Back in 2022, Trump endorsed a construction executive named Tim Michels for Wisconsin governor, because he was angry that his opponent’s daughter had gone to prom with the son of a conservative Supreme Court justice who had ruled against Trump’s election lies. You may need to read that twice.

Here’s the story, which is not a parody:

In a private meeting with construction executive Tim Michels in April, Trump complained about a 2019 tweet by Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch in which she posted a picture of her daughter with the son of Supreme Court Justice Brian Hagedorn.

The tweet showed the two teenagers dressed up in formal wear and headed to a high school homecoming event. A political ally then retweeted the post, suggesting it was the beginning of a "Hagedorn-Kleefisch political dynasty in Wisconsin."

Hagedorn, who ran as a conservative, has been criticized heavily by Republicans after being a swing vote in high-profile decisions involving pandemic-related restrictions and Trump's efforts to overturn Wisconsin's last presidential election. In response, Trump attacked the Wisconsin jurist on Twitter in late 2020.

"Trump was aware of these tweets" with the photo of Kleefisch and Hagedorn's children, said a source who was in the room during the Michels meeting. "And it bothered him."

Trump went on to endorse Michels, who defeated Kleefisch in the GOP primary, but Michels turned out to be a genuinely godawful candidate — losing to the vulnerable Democratic incumbent, Tony Evers, in November 2022.

So, we know that Trump is obsessed with the Wisconsin high court. Which explains why Elon Musk is now dumping millions of dollars into this spring’s judicial race — which is on track to be the most expensive judicial race in American history: “Wisconsin Supreme Court election headed for record-smashing spending of $100 million.”

Musk, and groups affiliated with him, have so far spent more than $11 million to elect former GOP normie-turned MAGA zealot Brad Schimel to the court.¹ In turn, Democrats have launched a seven-figure counter-initiative dubbed "The People v Elon Musk."²

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Because control of the Court in a key swing state is in play, the stakes are extraordinarily high on everything from abortion to public employee bargaining rights. The court currently has a four-to-three liberal majority, but the retirement of one of the liberals has put the majority up for grabs.

Elections for Wisconsin’s high court have become increasingly partisan; and it seems hopelessly naive to lament the raw politicization of what is supposed to be a non-partisan contest. But this year’s campaign has blown through any remaining guardrails, norms, or standards of normal decency. One Musk-backed group, dubbed Progress 2028, is running deceptive ads that claim to support candidate Susan Crawford but are actually designed to alienate moderate voters by claiming that she supports a radical progressive agenda. And now, Musk is offering Wisconsin voters $100 to sign a petition against “activist judges”

Ultimately, though, the race has become All About Trump: “Trump Jr. casts Wisconsin Supreme Court race as key to advancing Trump's agenda” | AP News

Schimel is pantingly anxious to play his part. Here’s the conservative candidate — who is actually a sitting judge in Waukesha County:

The chode-ification of Schimel has been remarkable to watch. Once a mainstream Republican, Schimel’s suck-up to Trump has become the stuff of legend.³ As the NYT notes:

“Judge Schimel has echoed Mr. Trump’s lies about elections, attended his campaign rallies and walked door to door to encourage voters to back him in the April 1 election. Last fall, Judge Schimel wore a Trump-as-garbage-man costume while shaking what appeared to be a pair of maracas and playing bass guitar at a Halloween party, an episode captured on a video obtained by The New York Times.”

There is nothing — and I mean absolutely nothing - subtle about Schimel’s full-frontal Trumpism, which includes a promise to create a “support network” for Trump. Via the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:

Speaking to a group of Turning Point USA canvassers in Waukesha County earlier this month, Schimel said he needs to be elected to be part of a "support network" for the Republican president. Turning Point is led by conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who is holding a rally for Schimel next week along with Donald Trump Jr.

“Donald Trump doesn’t do this by himself; there has to be a support network around him," Schimel said in a 15-minute talk, according to a YouTube video of the event. "They filed over 70 lawsuits against him since he took the oath of office barely a month ago, over 70 lawsuits to try to stop almost every single thing he’s doing because they don’t want him to get a win. "

"They’re so desperate for him to not get a win that they won’t let America have a win," he continued. "That’s what they’re doing. The only way we’re going to stop that is if the courts stop it. That’s the only place to stop this lawfare."

Lest it is not clear that Schimel is running as a Trump-flunkie, check out some recent mailings:

Exit take: So much for judicial integrity or independence.

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BONUS: “Schimel Joins the Paranoid Mob” - by James Wigderson

Former Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel, the Republican candidate in the state Supreme Court race, is riding the crazy train of GOP election paranoia. On Tuesday, Schimel told Milwaukee conservative radio talk show host Jay Weber (1:22:21) that voters needed to bank their votes to prevent Milwaukee Democrats from stealing the election.

“That’s what we need to do. Get our votes banked. Make this too big to rig. So we don’t have to worry that, at 11:30 in Milwaukee they’re going to find bags of ballots they forgot to put into the machines like they did in 2018, or in 2024 when Eric Hovde, you know, was ahead all night then all of a sudden Milwaukee County changed that.

“I don’t know what happened. I don’t know if there was fraud there. There’s no way for me to know that.

“All I know is this: we need to turn our votes out. That’s the best insulation we have against any potential fraud is just get our people to the polls.”

Exit take: The claims of voter fraud are rank bullshit. Which Schimel knows.

Meanwhile

• New York Times: Musk Set to Get Access to Top-Secret U.S. Plan for Potential War With China

• Politico: Elon Musk threatens Pentagon leakers after NYT report on secret China war briefing

• New York Times: On Its Website, DOGE Deletes More Than 100 Government Leases It Said Were Canceled

• New York Times: Musk Offers $100 to Wisconsin Voters, Bringing Back a Controversial Tactic

Friday dog

Auggie basking.

1. You can track the spending here. Buying Time 2025 - Wisconsin | Brennan Center for Justice

2. Via the WSJ: “Democrats’ Anti-Musk Strategy Gets First Test in Wisconsin Election”

Musk has a financial interest in the outcome. His electric vehicle maker is challenging a Wisconsin “factory store” law that bars manufacturers from owning dealerships. Tesla has two company stores in the state, but buyers must travel elsewhere to pick up vehicles. The case could make its way up to the very court Musk is trying to shape….

Musk is easily the biggest individual donor in the race, based on disclosures so far. His America PAC’s latest filing shows nearly $6.2 million spent on get-out-the-vote efforts. Building America’s Future, a nonprofit he is linked to that doesn’t have to disclose its donors, has already run or has reservations for $6.3 million in Wisconsin advertising, data from AdImpact shows. Musk was the largest 2024 election-cycle donor, spending close to $300 million to help Trump and other Republicans. He was drawn into the race by the prospect of flipping the court’s control, according to a person familiar with the PAC’s activities. The organization is targeting infrequent voters, the person said, as it did in support of Trump’s election in November.

3. The NYT notes that Schimel’s Trumpism dates back to 2016. Brad Schimel, a Trump Loyalist, Aims to Flip Wisconsin’s Supreme Court - The New York Times

In October 2016, the day after the release of the “Access Hollywood” recording in which Donald J. Trump bragged about sexually assaulting women, Wisconsin Republicans held a rally in the small town of Elkhorn.

As the state’s top Republicans spoke at the event, they distanced themselves from Mr. Trump. Paul D. Ryan, then the House speaker, said he was “sickened.” Gov. Scott Walker declared that Mr. Trump’s remarks were “inexcusable.” Senator Ron Johnson called them “indefensible.”

Just one Republican took the stage, framed by haystacks and pumpkins, and came to Mr. Trump’s defense: Brad Schimel, then the state’s attorney general and now a Waukesha County judge who is running in a high-profile, expensive race for control of the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

“I know that Donald Trump has said some things that are bad,” Judge Schimel said as a voice in the crowd cried out, “Get over it!” He added: “I’m the father of two daughters. My daughters look up to me, and I don’t like hearing anyone talk that way about women. But Donald Trump will appoint judges who will defend our Constitution and respect our Constitution.”