Van Hollen demotes a top Justice official

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Wisconsin’s attorney general demoted one of his department’s top officials Wednesday.

J.B. Van Hollen said Carolyn Kelly threatened him and his top aides, held up the release of public records in the Crandon shootings and obstructed a probe into e-mails she wrote.

Kelly is a 25-year Justice Department veteran and has headed the special investigations unit for 14 years.

She was also the state’s fire marshal.

Starting Tuesday, Van Hollen will put Kelly into a programming and planning analyst job with a 40 percent pay cut to around $54,000.

Van Hollen said he would not fire Kelly because she had a clean personnel record until now.

The attorney general said the Kelly investigation began late last year after reporters asked for e-mails on the sudden retirement of criminal investigative chief James Warren.

In January, Kelly lost her state car, badge and service weapon. She won’t get them back.

She won’t testify in court, either. Van Hollen says there are too many questions about her credibility.

Kelly said she was shocked, and her attorney, former assistant Attorney General Daniel Bach, denied all of Van Hollen’s allegations

Bach said Kelly was frustrated with her department’s releases of public records, since special agents’ cell phone numbers were getting out.

Bach said her e-mails – which mentioned things like hits against Van Hollen, calling his top aides weasels, and spreading an illness she had last fall -- were all meant to be jokes.

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