Wisconsin GOP Donor at Center of Saudi-Veterans Scandal at Trump DC Hotel

Jason Johns, former registered agent of
Saudi Arabia and Republican-linked
donor and Gov Scott Walker appointee,
is at the center of a scandal at
the Trump International D.C. hotel.

Scott Walker-appointed official, GOP pol and registered Saudi agent defends Saudi Arabia scheme funneling $100,000s to Trump

Madison, Wisconsin — A Wisconsin Republican Party-linked lobbyist was a chief organizer of the Saudi Arabia-funded scheme to fund Donald Trump's D.C. hotel by inducing veterans to front for an effort to indemnify Sandi Arabia in its role in the 911 attacks against the United States, the Wisconsin State Journal reports, (Verburg, Wisconsin State Journal). [See also Daily Kos.]

The Wisconsin State Journal contacted Johns after news of the scheme broke in a piece published by the Washington Post on Dec. 5.

Johns, of Oregon, Wisconsin, has donated $1,000s to numerous Republican officeholders, data at the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign reveals. [Enter "Johns" to generate Jason Johns and Jason E. Johns of Oregon, Wisconsin.]

Johns also donated some $1,000 to the Wisconsin State Senate Democratic Committee, the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign website shows.

Reports the Wisconsin State Journal:

A Wisconsin veterans advocate and former appointee of Gov. Scott Walker was near the center of a Saudi Arabian lobbying effort that has raised eyebrows for its heavy use of the Trump hotel in Washington, D.C.

But Madison-based advocate Jason Johns said in an interview with the Wisconsin State Journal he did nothing wrong in overseeing the Saudi-funded program, which flew veterans to Washington and put them up at President Donald Trump’s hotel while they spoke out against a law the Saudis wanted overturned.

Jason Johns was appointed by Gov. Scott Walker (R) as deputy secretary to the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs (WDVA) in 2011 after a Republican-backed law gave Walker the sole authority for hiring and firing executive-level WDVA political appointees, (Stein, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel).

Johns is listed as founder and president (2005-present) of Wisconsin Legislative Strategies, Inc. lobbying firm in Johns' LinkedIn webpage.

"Johns said he registered as an agent of the Saudi government when he started working for  Qorvis/MSLGroup [Saudi lobbying group] and let the registration lapse in 2017 after the program ended," reports the Wisconsin State Journal.

Johns defended the Saudi Arabian scheme. Reports the Wisconsin State Journal:

Johns said Thursday he wasn’t involved in booking the Trump property, and he didn’t buy the implication that it was wrong.

'The undertone here is that Qorvis purchased all of the hotel rooms at the Trump Hotel in order to curry ‘favor’ and/or ‘influence’ with President Trump as he was coming in to office,' Johns said.  

Nothing to see here, may become the new Republican Party slogan.

High Suicide Rate Among Wisconsin Veterans

Wonder where the major political parties in Wisconsin stand on multiple deployments?

MADISON, Wis. - A new study says Wisconsin veterans are more likely to commit suicide than the general population is. The report says veterans make up 8 percent of Wisconsin's population but committed nearly 21 percent of suicides in the state. Kenneth Black is the secretary of the state Department of Veterans Affairs. He says his department sees the issue of veteran suicide as a growing concern. The study was conducted by the state Department of Health Services, the Injury Research Center at the Medical College of Wisconsin and a group called Mental Health America. The report was presented at a recent meeting of the Board of Veterans Affairs, chaired by Marvin Freedman. He says he'll ask the VA to appoint a staff member to address the report.

Wisconsin Vietnam War Stories

Wisconsin Public Television (WPT) will present Wisconsin Vietnam War Stories in 2010.

No glory. No George W. Bush and "Mission Accomplished." War sucks and war is a lie.

That's the message from the coming documentary of the veterans who decades later live with the lie, a "sweeping look at the experiences and impact of the Vietnam War on Wisconsin soldiers and civilians with Wisconsin Vietnam War Stories. The project won't air on WPT until 2010, but work has already begun around the state to find veterans who will tell their stories."

It's not too difficult to recognize Vietnam War veterans around Wisconsin. You see them at peace rallies, drinking too much at the Rustic Tavern, and ensconced and isolated in a small house on the south side of Milwaukee. But stealing looks, they all seem to have a consistently haunted look in their eyes that you know better than to ask about.

About this clip Willie Williams of De Forest and David Kies of Verona are just two of the many veterans who are sharing their memories of Vietnam for the latest in WPT’s portrayal of war through firsthand accounts — Wisconsin Vietnam War Stories. Williams served in the 25th Infantry Division in Cu Chi in 1966 and 1967. Kies served with the 173rd Airborne Division during the same period as the ten-year war was heating up.