Bice: As Sheriff Clarke's profile soars, gifts roll in

This story was originally published on September 16, 2016. 

This "America's Sheriff" gig is certainly paying off for David A. Clarke Jr.

The Milwaukee County sheriff burst on the national scene not quite two years ago with his mix of pro-cop rhetoric and searing blasts at Black Lives Matter and President Barack Obama. Clarke's sudden rise to national prominence, earning him the nickname America's Sheriff, has been accompanied by an equally dramatic jump in his outside income.

Clarke's ethics disclosures show that he brought in slightly more than $150,000 in speaking fees, travel reimbursements, gifts and other items during 2015 — more than what he made as Milwaukee County sheriff, a job that pays $132,290 annually.

Notably, Clarke received a $40,000 trip to Israel and Russia funded largely by the National Rifle Association, earned $26,000 in speaking fees, locked up $22,500 in car services to shuttle to his various media appearances, took a plane flight valued at $9,000 to speak at an Idaho conference and scored playoff basketball tickets from the Milwaukee Bucks' GM.

His filings list only one item, a cash gift of $250, that was given to charity, and the costs for one trip that were reimbursed through his campaign fund.

Clarke's outside income last year ballooned by 90 times from the previous year, when the three items he received — a .45-caliber Smith & Wesson handgun and a pair of tickets to a Washington, D.C., business banquet — were valued at $1,609.

"I reported everything that I was required to report," Clarke said briefly after an August press event, referring other questions to his attorney, who refused to comment.

But here is the key question: Should America's Sheriff be collecting baskets of goodies from private interests while he is supposed to be serving the public good in Milwaukee County?

County ethics rules say public officials cannot use their position to obtain anything of value for their own personal benefit or financial gain. In other words, county officials can't use their day jobs to cash in.

"It looks like Clarke's banking money he shouldn't or is a part-time sheriff with a side job," said Jeremy Levinson, a Milwaukee lawyer who handles campaign finance and ethics issues for Democrats. "But the latter would require one to believe he'd get those lucrative speaking gigs and travel even if he weren't an elected official."

Jonathan Becker, who oversaw enforcement of state ethics laws at the Government Accountability Board, was more cautious in his analysis, suggesting it might take an investigation to decide if Clarke had crossed the line. Becker emphasized that he dealt only with state, not county, matters in his GAB job.

"If this was a state official, that's an awful lot of gifts and trips," Becker said after reviewing Clarke's records.

"However, the bare information from the Statement of Economic Interest alone does not establish a violation. What one would have to do is to determine whether he was receiving all of this stuff because of his holding a public office or whether he had some other relationship with these organizations that would explain his receipt (of these gifts)."

Clarke's largest gift last year was his jaunt to Israel and Russia from Nov. 28 to Dec. 13, a trip valued at $39,940 for airfare, hotels, visas, ground transportation, meals and excursions. His expenses, including $22,452 in airfare, were picked up by the National Rifle Association Ring of Freedom; NRA First Vice President Pete Brownell, CEO of Brownells, a major gun parts supplier; and The Right to Bear Arms, a Russian gun-rights group.

Earlier this year, Clarke's office declined a records request for details on the trip, saying it was personal — not official — travel, even though personal trips (a.k.a. vacations) are not supposed to be listed on the ethics form.

"In this case, such records, of travel documents and itineraries of private, personal travel not related to Milwaukee County employment or duties, are not disclosable," Inspector Edward Bailey wrote on April 26 in denying the records request.

Bailey provided a 2015 news release saying Clarke was going to the Middle East and Asia to get briefings on local issues and to visit historic sites. It did not say who was paying for the trip or who accompanied the sheriff. The NRA was not mentioned.

Certainly, Milwaukee's jet-setting lawman likes to travel in style.

During 2015, private groups or individuals paid $51,840 in airfare for Clarke to fly to 25 events, meetings or speaking engagements. That included $9,110 in airfare for Clarke, donning cowboy hat and uniform, to speak at the 33rd annual Allen & Co. conference — a four-day retreat for moguls and media figures — in Sun Valley, Idaho, on July 10, 2015. Overall, he had 11 flights that cost more than $1,000.

Among other items given to the sheriff in 2015 were:

• $26,000 in honorariums for speeches he gave to seven groups. His biggest was a $10,000 payment from the National Shooting Sports Foundation — the trade association for the firearms industry — for a talk at the group's annual trade show on Jan. 19, 2015. He was also given a $1,159 firearm.
• Two $175 tickets to a Milwaukee Bucks playoff game against the Chicago Bulls from general manager John Hammond on April 23, 2015. He also received four $58 tickets to a Milwaukee Brewers game on Aug. 14, 2015, against the Philadelphia Phillies.
• $22,500 in car services for media interviews. Clarke's form says this expense occurred in 2016, even though the report was supposed to cover only 2015 and was signed in January 2016.
• $600 annual membership to the exclusive National Republican Club of Capitol Hill. Clarke, who runs as a Democrat but lines up politically with Republicans, likes to say he belongs to neither political party. 
• A black powder muzzleloader valued at $350 for winning the Charlton Heston Courage Under Fire Award in 2015 at the Conservative Political Action Conference, an annual gathering of thousands of GOP activists. Clarke's campaign reimbursed CPAC a little more than $3,000 for his expenses for this event. 

One trip offers a window into Clarke's lifestyle on the road.

The sheriff was paid a $5,000 honorarium to deliver a 48-minute address on Nov. 6, 2015, at Restoration Weekend, a retreat sponsored by conservative activist David Horowitz's Freedom Center in Charleston, S.C. In addition, Clarke was reimbursed for $2,997 in airfare and ground transportation, $1,212 in hotel costs and $784 for meals.

Total cost for the speaking gig: $9,993.

It's not clear if Clarke has reported these honorariums, gifts and the value of his travel on his income taxes.

State Department of Revenue officials said Friday that they have no record of Clarke's 2015 state income tax return. That could simply mean he has asked for extensions and hasn't yet filed. He paid $12,481 in state income taxes in 2014 and $7,611 the previous year.

Michael Whitcomb, a Milwaukee attorney who represents Clarke personally and in county disputes, declined to comment, even in response to questions about apparent errors in Clarke's ethics form. Nor would Whitcomb say if Clarke kept the speaking fees and other gifts, including the firearms and a $240 Stetson hat, or donated them to charity, as Gov. Scott Walker does his gifts.

"Respectfully decline to answer questions you submitted," Whitcomb wrote via email.

Last week, someone posted an item on the Facebook page for the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office in response to my questions. It said Clarke is not hiding anything or being influenced by outside groups. The post included a link to Clarke's ethics form and provided a brief explanation for the Russian leg of his 2015 international jaunt.

"As a member of two NRA subcommittees, the sheriff was part of a mission that traveled to Russia in 2015 to be briefed on right to bear arms efforts in Russia," the post said. Clarke — who was once a gun control advocate — is a member of the NRA's Law Enforcement Assistance Committee and Outreach Committee. He is also a regular at the NRA's national conventions.

Brownell and the NRA did not respond to calls or emails.

But Maria Butina, founder of The Right to Bear Arms, said her group welcomed a delegation from the NRA, including Clarke, in December 2015. She said her group is dedicated to securing the right to bear arms for all Russian citizens.

Butina said her group wanted to learn from the NRA officials how it could become more successful. The two pro-gun groups, she said, are independent of one another.

"Sheriff Clarke is an impressive public figure who was very popular with both my fellow citizens and government leaders," Butina said. "America is lucky to have him!"

A former attorney for Milwaukee County says Clarke may have trouble justifying all of his gifts and expenses from last year.

"County ethics code is confusing, contradictory, frustrating," said the former official, who asked not to be named. "(But) Clarke’s fees, trips, meals, etc., seem a clear violation."

The ex-county attorney said it appears that Clarke is being given gifts and being paid fees to give speeches because of his position as sheriff.

The trips, in particular, do not seem to have any benefit to the county, the ex-county attorney said. They are not generating grant money for Milwaukee County or bringing support for positions taken by the County Board or the executive.

"Most of his trips are not publicized, or not until after the fact," the former county attorney said. "They are not publicized or promoted in any fashion beneficial to the county, only to himself."

The unsigned post on the sheriff's Facebook page offers a different take.

The anonymous author says Milwaukee County officials must report anything of value that they receive to make certain that they do not have a conflict of interest or aren't improperly influenced in their dealings with Milwaukee County contractors.

"The Sheriff reports everything required and does not hide anything," the post says. "People can look at whether he is being influenced in his decisions as Sheriff."

Contact Daniel Bice at (414) 224-2135 or dbice@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter @ DanielBice or on Facebook at fb.me/daniel.bice.