Gannett from Wisconsin:

Secretly recorded remarks by state Sen. Mike Ellis about illegal fundraising and attack ads were hypothetical, Ellis told Post-Crescent Media on Wednesday.

The comments were captured on video at a Madison hotel bar by Project Veritas, a New York-based group aimed at “exposing dishonesty and self-dealing.”

Ellis said the video caught him “blowing off steam” and thinking of ways to combat special interest groups. He said he learned the day after the video was filmed that his idea would be illegal.