Wisconsin senators Devin LeMahieu and Andre Jacque have both made official statements in reaction to the settlement of the Green Bay City Hall secret recording case.
The settlement includes a payment of $200,000 from the City to cover legal fees and a public statement from Mayor Eric Genrich indicates that he will not illegally record citizens in City Hall again.
In all, the mayor’s actions have cost the City of Green Bay more than $500,000. In response to the settlement, Senator LeMahieu stated, “Mayor Genrich broke state and federal laws and violated the Constitutional rights of numerous citizens. His actions were so egregious that a federal court took the rare step of stripping Mayor Genrich of qualified immunity.”
Senator Jaque was able to provide further insight into how long these activities had been taking place.
He stated, “Had the Mayor simply admitted he made a mistake, immediately removed the listening devices, and stopped trying to egregiously invade citizens’ privacy when I first asked him in February 2023, 18 months of costly litigation would not have been necessary. Instead, his unwillingness to agree to these terms earlier and his subsequent legal maneuverings have now cost the City and its taxpayers over a half million dollars in legal fees and settlements”.
Jaque also stated that he is pleased to have finally settled the case and that it has unquestionably created a historic precedent to prevent government spying from ever happening again.
