Governor Walker has continuously reassured Wisconsinites that he is "not a subject of the investigation," referring to, of course, the ongoing John Doe case focussing on campaign corruption that has already led to numerous felony and misdemeanor charges against many of his closest ex-staff members.
He has reminded us over and over that his Eagle Scout status is proof of his ethical authenticity. According to reporter John Beard, "Last week, the Governor's office said he had been told he is not a subject of the investigation, but he clarified that statement today."
Oops. Necessary clarifications are never good.
Photo by Michael Matheson
It is not that he isn't the target of such investigations (which anyone would assume from his continued assertion) but that he "has not been told directly that he is a target." Got that? In the world of lying liars, there is a subtle difference. You see, he "hasn't been told that directly." But others have been told that. So, to recap: no one told Walker that he was the target, but when Walker was pressed about it, he informed us that others have been told that he is the target, though he still asserts that he believes he is not the target.
Gets complicated, doesn't it?
According to Wisconsin State Journal:
"I haven't been told that directly. Others have been told that; attorneys who work for the campaign," Governor Walker said.
When asked who told his attorneys that he's not a subject of the nearly two-year investigation, he said, "that's what they passed on to me, I didn't ask them specifically."
In a crystalline effort of clarification, Walker went on to elucidate,
"Again, you're asking a lot of questions about something that ultimately by its nature is, not per my request but per theirs, is something we're not asked to talk about until it's complete."
More convolutions than Gumby eating pretzels at a Twister party.
He says he's not the target, but "Wisconsin statutes allow government officials to seek or obtain contributions to so-called defense funds only if they are being investigated for or charged with a violation of either campaign finance or other election laws."
And he announced last Friday that he would be seeking defense funds.
Given this context, what does it mean when he flippantly replies to a rightwing media outlet that his "wife in some ways would love it" if he'd "go back to the private sector and make some real money."
I'm not sure what "back to the private sector" means from someone who has been eating at the taxpayer funded government trough for most of his adult life. It seems odd timing that he is looking at the exit doors, nervous as a long tailed cat in a rocking chair factory.
To honor his palpable anxiety, Overpass Light Brigade has some new signs that will be appearing around the state. Last evening was their debut at the Solidarity Sing Along's 300th singing celebration in a wonderful bar in Madison. As Giles Goat Boy wrote in a diary over the weekend, you can feel our confidence. We know the songs. Our commitment is forged in the smithy of the cold streets, the dark highways, the capitol rotunda packed with citizens singing songs from the earnest book of honest labor.
And we keep asking ourselves, "just who is this JOHN DOE, and when will we meet him?"
I think that soon we will know the answer.