New investigations of Scott Walker and friends
New probe investigating illegal actions, including campaign violations during the Senate and Governor's recall elections.
John Doe investigations have been the most consistent and on-going news from the Administration of Scott Walker.
The original John Doe investigation began as Walker took office and continued for over two years.
John Doe rises again like a bad penny that has been stuck in the vending machine of political flimflam only to be found in the coin-return slot still bearing the date of its mint. Kelly Rindfleisch was sentenced on November 19th, 2012 to six months in jail and three years of probation for her role in rising Walker to power.
Kelly keeled, Walker walked, and all the lawyers talked and talked. Now, here we go again with John Doe Act 2, and at a most inopportune time for the “Walker who walked” as he is up for re-election next November, and his name is included in conversation as a presidential candidate in 2016.
Not one day. Not one hour of Scott Walker has been free of a John Doe investigation. The timeline of shadiness began in his County Executive's office with a secret email network and has continued through the shady Wisconsin Sportsmen Grantthat was buried in the most recent state budget.
"Unintimidated" - the book "Unindicted" - the reality
Just as Walker's hard bound campaign brochure "Unintimidated" is due to be officially released, yet another, wave of John Doe subpoenas and searches have been active across the State of Wisconsin. Unfortunately, this is nothing new. Even before Walker's recall election the silent and secret sleuth, John Doe, was known to be searching and tossing apartments of Walker's friends and associates. Now, this time, it seems the Feds may be involved.
The Wall Street Journal is painting this as a further witch hunt against conservative groups and contend that "Americans learned in the IRS political targeting scandal that government enforcement power can be used to stifle political speech." The article (quoted below) suggests that new and active John Doe investigation in Wisconsin may be a further federal action against conservative groups. To the Journal, it appears to retribution for Governor Scott Walker's union reforms.
Free Speech?
Subpoenas hit allies of Scott Walker as his re-election campaign loom
Wall Street Journal Updated Nov. 15, 2013
In recent weeks, special prosecutor Francis Schmitz has hit dozens of conservative groups with subpoenas demanding documents related to the 2011 and 2012 campaigns to recall Governor Walker and state legislative leaders.
Copies of two subpoenas we've seen demand "all memoranda, email . . . correspondence, and communications" both internally and between the subpoena target and some 29 conservative groups, including Wisconsin and national nonprofits, political vendors and party committees. The groups include the League of American Voters, Wisconsin Family Action, Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, Americans for Prosperity—Wisconsin, American Crossroads, the Republican Governors Association, Friends of Scott Walker and the Republican Party of Wisconsin.
The actions of the some conservative groups mentioned above have broken the law in documented cases during the days preceding the Senate recall elections in Wisconsin, when
Americans for Prosperity mailed out election information that was false, and would lead to the disenfranchisement of voters.
The Republican County Clerks in several counties were documented as displaying false voter ID information on official web sites stating that a voter ID would be required to vote in the Senate recall and the Walker recall election even though the requirement was nullified by a court injunction.
Republican County Clerks in several Wisconsin counties are known to have sent election materials out of state illegally. Cartridges holding the electronic record of the Walker recall vote were returned to the vendor "Command Central" days before they were to be held secure by state law.
Wisconsin activists have felt helpless against money and organization of many of the "conservative groups" listed in the subpena, and sought federal intervention into allegations of election fraud in Wisconsin dating back to the day Kathy Nickolaus "found" 14,000 votes after the 2011 Spring Supreme Court Election.
Please do not dismiss the investigations into the broken laws and consistent dismissal of such frequent displays of incompetency on the part of county clerks as a witch hunt.
The groups listed in the subpena were not exercising their rights of free speech by intentionally and illegally misinforming voters. County clerks must be held accountable for misinformation posted on web sites that could very well have mislead and disenfranchised voters.
Coincidence and incompetence may be a reasonable defense in a limited number of cases, but most investigators do not believe in coincidence. The new widespread investigation of the well healed conservative groups that have invaded Wisconsin since the days before the 2010 election, is a long time in coming.
The suggestion that these groups are being singled out and being deprived of their right of free speech, only serves to demonstrate how little the Wall Street Journal knows of what has been happening on the ground in Wisconsin for the past three years. The people who read the false information on web sites and received deceptive mailings from Americans for Prosperity - are the victims. People who discovered how election materials that were to be kept secure after the June 5 election had already been sent back - are the victims. Documented proof is held that demonstrates that the people of Wisconsin were deprived of their right to vote, and the Wall Street Journal hopes to defend the perpetrators?