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A secretly recorded video produced by a conservative activist shows Senate President Mike Ellis talking about creating and raising money for a committee to run negative ads against his Democratic opponent — which would be illegal for a candidate to do in Wisconsin.

In the video, the Neenah Republican describes having friends contribute to an independent campaign committee run by Republican fundraiser Judi Rhodes to air attack ads against his Democratic opponent, Rep. Penny Bernard Schaber.

“I am putting together my own Super PAC,” Ellis said. “I’m raising the money, but she will manufacture the crap.”

“I told Judi if I raise $500,000, then you attack her. I don’t want to attack her,” he goes on to say. “I want somebody else to attack.”

Ellis issued a statement Wednesday acknowledging the conversation but saying he learned the next day the proposal was illegal and did not pursue it. He said he never spoke with Rhodes or any of the other people mentioned about third party expenditures or exceeding contribution limits.

He added that earlier this year, he returned a check to one of the mentioned individuals who tried to contribute too much money.