There has to be plenty of "there" there considering the massive efforts to stop the latest John Doe Probe which is looking into allegations of illegal coordination between campaigns and well funded RW groups. From the time it was revealed by one of the groups receiving a subpoena, the army of RW radio shills in Wisconsin have been attacking the probe, the prosecutors, and even the John Doe process itself and legal challenges have been made.
Last weeks ruling that enabled the John Doe secret investigation to continue has been followed by yet another lawsuit to stop the process entirely.
A conservative group and its director sued a judge and prosecutors Monday in federal court in an attempt to shut down a secret investigation of campaign fund-raising and spending in Wisconsin's recent recalls.
In a filing with the U.S. District Court in Milwaukee, the Wisconsin Club for Growth and its director, Eric O'Keefe, argued the probe violates group members' rights to free speech, free assembly and equal protection under the law.
The civil rights lawsuit asked the court to enjoin prosecutors from continuing the John Doe probe, relieve O'Keefe and the Wisconsin Club for Growth from having to cooperate with it and order prosecutors to pay them compensatory damages for violating their constitutional rights.
Some of what they are seeking has been blacked out, as have other long sections of the 76-page complaint they filed because of secrecy orders issued in the probe.
Named as defendants are Reserve Judge Gregory A. Peterson, who is overseeing the investigation; special prosecutor Francis Schimtz; Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm; Assistant District Attorney Bruce Landgraf; Assistant District Attorney David Robles; and investigator Dean Nickel.
The first John Doe Probe, which ended with the conviction of 6 people (4 of whom were associates/appointees of Walker and 1 of his major donors) never received the kind of attention and attacks that this one is receiving. Walker described himself as "cooperating" with the probe while repeating that he was the son of a preacher and former Eagle Scout. Corporate media, always friendly to Walker, kept most of the information on the probe in online blogs unless there was an incredibly major development such as an indictment or conviction and always seemed to distance Walker from any involvement.
His "cooperation" cost a bundle. He set up a Criminal Defense Fund and spent over $650,000 on "cooperating" with several high priced criminal lawyers and a public relations firm.
He also spent over $86,000 on his legal defense team in 2013, after the original John Doe Probe was closed.
While Walker was never charged, it was revealed that there was a secret wireless router hidden in a cabinet feet from Walkers office and that his staff, receiving taxpayer funded paychecks in a taxpayer funded suite of offices, were performing campaign work and fundraising when they were supposed to be doing Milwaukee County business. The RW mostly stayed quiet.
Not this time. With a statewide slate of RW radio talk show hosts the flames started flying as soon as the probe started and it's been non-stop ever since.
The 76 page complaint (warning: huge .pdf file) claims the probe violates the groups "free speech rights", accuses prosecutors of "intimidating behavior and harassment", and claims political bias.
And there's more:
In further developments, it seems that Kelly Rindfleisch, currently appealing her misconduct in office conviction in the first John Doe, is involved in the current John Doe as well. Her initials appear in a report filed by Francis Schmitz, the special prosecutor in the current John Doe Probe from the previous lawsuit which failed to stop the current John Doe investigation.
Two of the reports list the initials of the individuals at the center of the investigation in those counties.
Specifically, the Columbia County order lists "K R" as the party in the case. In Iowa County, the order bears the initials "E.S.O." as the party in the John Doe investigation.
Sources tell No Quarter that the first filing refers to Kelly Rindfleisch, the former deputy chief of staff to Walker when he was Milwaukee County executive.
It seems that the disclosure of those initials and other information was inadvertent, but the RW is all over it claiming that it's further evidence of harassment and intimidation.
Rindfleisch also lost her court battle to prevent the public release of emails from the first John Doe. She was given an opportunity to review the records and redact any personal information prior to release, but has now declined to do so citing the enormous amount of time that would be needed.
A convicted former aide to Gov. Scott Walker is declining to review thousands of her emails and other records gathered by criminal investigators, a move that will hasten the records' release from under seal.
Court of Appeals Judge Patricia Curley ruled last week that thousands of records in the appeal of Kelly Rindfleisch should be available in the court file of her misconduct in office case, even though the documents have long been sealed as part of a secret investigation of former Walker aides.
Curley gave Rindfleisch 30 days to review the records so she could make arguments about withholding certain types of records, such as those with Social Security numbers or medical information.
But on Friday, Rindfleisch's attorney said Rindfleisch would not do that, clearing the way for the records to be unsealed more quickly.
Those records will be interesting.
One thing is certain, however. Considering the enormous RW campaign to stop the probe and all the legal eagles trying to squash it in court, there has to be a whole lot of "there" there.
Stay tuned.
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UPDATE: From CTMET in the comments, an interesting article. Let me give you a teaser:
Newly-unsealed court documents and media leaks add to a growing body of evidence that Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s campaign is at the center of a wide-ranging secret probe into campaign finance violations during the state's contentious 2011 and 2012 recall elections.
The special interest groups under investigation include Wisconsin Club for Growth, which is led by a top Walker advisor and friend, R.J. Johnson, and which spent at least $9.1 million on "issue ads" supporting Walker and legislative Republicans during the 2011 and 2012 recall elections. Another group is Citizens for a Strong America, which was entirely funded by Wisconsin Club for Growth in 2011 and 2012 and acted as a conduit for funding other groups that spent on election issue ads; CSA's president is John Connors, who previously worked for David Koch's Americans for Prosperity and is part of the leadership at the Franklin Center for Government & Public Integrity (publishers of Watchdog.org and Wisconsin Reporter). Other groups reportedly receiving subpoenas include AFP, Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, and the Republican Governors Association.
The entire article is worth a read.
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