Scott Walker gave Wisconsin media 5 lousy minutes of his time yesterday after a public appearance (he's apparantly all better now from that "flu" that kept him from accompanying President Obama on a tour of a thriving unionized factory in Milwaukee). He's got plenty of time for Wisconsin RW radio shills and Faux Made Up Newzzzz, but Wisconsin media - yeah, not so much.
Of course they asked him about those 15 indictments in the ongoing John Doe Probe:
Gov. Scott Walker said Thursday that he doesn't bear responsibility for the actions and activities of his former county aides who are now facing criminal charges as part of a John Doe investigation.
In a five-minute chat with reporters in Milwaukee, Walker emphasized that he responded any time someone pointed out a potential problem or violation involving his staff when he was serving as Milwaukee County executive.
While talking to reporters, Walker brushed aside a question about whether he should have had a better handle on what his aides were doing at the county. Walker said there was important information related to the case that he can't disclose because he's working with prosecutors.
"When people look at the details, they'll see," the first-term Republican governor said. "I think our integrity was strong going in and will remain strong coming out of this process."
Of course! He's still pretending he's working with prosecutors. And continuing to use the royal "we".
How dumb does he think we are? All of this was going on under his nose in his office and involved his senior aides. Does he really think we'll believe that all those people just went collectively "rogue"?
He can't continue to use the Sargeant Schultz (I see nothing! I know nothing) excuse when these people were his closest aides whose offices adjoined his. He interacted with them multiple times every day. He took most of them with him when he became Governor. And, frankly, he's not a clueless moron.
In my very humble opinion, he knew a lot about what was going on. It was the mirror image of what happened in the 1990s in our State Legislatures Caucus Scandal which unseated both Republican and Democratic legislative leaders when it was revealed that their staffs were engaged in political activity and fundraising on the taxpayers dime. Scott Walker saw that first hand as a legislator himself at the time.
In fact, Kelly Reindfleish, the Walker aide recently indicted on 4 felonies for campaign work while on the clock as County Executive Scott Walkers aide, was involved in the Caucus Scandal over a decade ago. She excaped charges then by being granted immunity in return for cooperation and testimony. Knowing all that, Walker chose to hire her to be a senior aide in his Milwaukee County office. Why?
The smoking gun is an email from Walker, using the private email system (Update: I phrased that rather badly. He sent a private email to Russell and may not have been in the office at the time. That email was included in the indictments filed against Kelly Reindfleisch, a Walker aide as part of the emails revealed in the private email system. The private email system used private email addresses rather than the public archived emails using the Milwaukee County servers and archived according to open records laws), to Tim Russell, who was working in as housing director at the time:
"We cannot afford another story like this one," Walker wrote to Russell. "No one can give them any reason to do another story. That means no laptops, no websites, no time away during the work day, etc."
Why send the email specifically to Russell, who wasn't working in his office (he was later brought back as Walkers top aide)? And, if he didn't know about the secret email system, why does he refer specifically to it with his specific mention of the laptops which were integral to the use of the wireless router as well as the mention of websites (where Wink and others were commenting and blogging as if they were just members of the community attacking Walker opponents and praising Walker)? And why use Russells private email account?
The email itself looks more like Walker was mad not at what was done, but because they were caught doing it. He's clearly upset at the revelation and negativity of the news story (albeit a tiny one that most people missed) rather than the actions that led to it.
Like a Good Republican, he's got his talking points and he's sticking to them. Aides Bad. He Knew Nothing. He's Cooperating With Prosecutors. Rinse and repeat. Often. After all, the GOP believes that if you repeat a lie often enough and loud enough, it magically becomes the truth.
His meeting with prosecutors is still in the future and I can't wait for further revelations. It's entertaining to see Walker duck and evade our media while focusing on RW shills. Our media doesn't like this and they smell blood in the water. The sharks are circling.
Update: Another great article here well worth a read. Let me tantalize you with:
Well, it's never good for the district attorney to invite you over for a chat during a John Doe investigation. Walker has been spinning this meeting as being "voluntary," a way for him to "cooperate" with Chisholm, but it's voluntary only in the sense that Chisholm isn't serving him with a subpoena and ordering Walker to come in to his office. Neither the district attorney's office nor the Walker campaign responded to the Shepherd's request for more information on when this meeting will take place—or if it's already taken place.
Walker has hired some high-powered attorneys, but the discussion is full of dangers for him. Walker cannot shade the truth at all. If he does say something that prosecutors determine to be false, he could be charged with obstruction of justice, a felony, for misleading the prosecution.
Even worse for the governor? Walker will likely be called in front of the retired judge presiding over the John Doe investigation, Neal Nettesheim, although that would not be disclosed to the public, according to the rules of the John Doe investigation. If Walker is put under oath and deliberately misleads the judge, he could be charged with perjury, a felony.4
Please enjoy the full article.
1:34 PM PT: I'm heading out to an event in Madison (about an hour and a half drive) and will be back later on to check out your always excellent commentary.
9:06 PM PT: I'm back from Madison. Awesome Overpass Light Brigade over University Ave., meeting great activists including Wisco Wherls and JVolvo, and giving a hug to GGB who I haven't seen in about a year. Off to the comments.