Wisconsin Dem Gov Candidate Kathleen Vinehout Faces Serious Questions of Judgment Over Character Letter

Just days into her campaign for Wisconsin governor, Democrat candidate Kathleen Vinehout is already finding herself in hot water after it was revealed she authored a character reference letter for someone found guilty of possession of child pornography. The Cap Times reports that Vinehout wrote the letter for a legislative attorney in Wisconsin’s State Senate, who she described as a “hardworking, intelligent, persistent, dedicated public servant.” Shockingly, Vinehout doesn’t appear to have any remorse for writing the letter, even claiming that “she doesn’t believe people will find anything objectionable” in it. Vinehout’s decision to provide a character reference for a convicted owner of child pornography and her stunning lack of regret for doing so raises serious questions about her judgement less than a week after she entered the state’s gubernatorial race.

The Cap Times reports:

“State Sen. Kathleen Vinehout, a Democratic candidate for governor, says she doesn’t believe people will find anything objectionable in a character reference letter she wrote for a legislative attorney found guilty of possession of child pornography…

Vinehout’s letter, printed on her official state letterhead and dated Nov. 11, 2015, describes Lovell as a ‘hardworking, intelligent, persistent, dedicated public servant” with ‘extraordinary diplomatic skills.’ Lovell was the Legislative Council staff member assigned to a committee she chaired for four years. Vinehout worked with him on that committee and in several other instances, during which he ‘went above and beyond the call of duty in his work.’

Vinehout said she believes anyone who reads the full text of the letter ‘will not find anything they object to.’ A copy of the letter is available here.

Lovell’s Maple Bluff home was searched in May 2015 after a state Division of Criminal Investigation special agent identified his computer as a source offering to distribute known child pornography on the file-sharing service BitTorrent. Files distributed from Lovell’s computer depicted nude, “early pubescent” females, according to court records.

The search of his personal computer and an external hard drive turned up 10 images, accessed in 2014 and 2015, depicting nude, prepubescent females, according to court records.

Lovell, now 60, received concurrent three-year prison sentences for each count of possession of child pornography, with three years of extended supervision. Five additional counts of possession were dismissed. He has been in prison since June 27, 2017, and will remain on the state’s sex offender registry until 2038.”