Smoking gun on Scott Walker in John Doe criminal investigation

Scott Walker e-mail shows complicity in illegal, secret e-mail system; timeline shows Walker directing cover-up to county executive's office campaign operation.

Jud Lounsbury's analysis of Scott Walker's e-mail to his former and criminally-charged deputy chief-of-staff, Tim Russell, is a blockbuster.

It has been widely spun that when Scott Walker sent the 'no more campaign work at work' email [found by the John Doe investigation of Scott Walker aides] to Tim Russell [who along with former county veterans official Kevin Kavanaugh is charged with stealing more than $60,000 in donations intended for Operation Freedom, an annual event honoring veterans ... both face multiple felonies] that the e-mail was directing Rusell in his oversight capacity as [Milwaukee County] Deputy Chief of Staff to reign in the illegal activity. However, Russell's official job in the county executive's office was Director of Housing, not Deputy Chief of Staff.

Russell had left the position of Deputy Chief of Staff on March 15, 2010 and the 'no more campaign work at work' email came two months later on May 14, 2010.

By Jud Lounsbury

In other words, at the time [Koch-brothers-loving] Walker gave the order to Russell, he had no official oversight capacity over the County Executive Office staff indicated in Walker's email-- his only role at the time was as the defacto head of illegal campaign operations in the County Executive's Office.

In fact, Russell wasn't even supposed to be in the county executive's office-- his official job was more than a mile away at the Health and Human Services Building.

Or, to look at it another way, if Walker truly had no idea what was going on and simply wanted to send out a directive ensuring no more illegal campaign activity why wouldn't he send the email to those officially in charge of oversight of his office: Chief of Staff Tom Nardelli [who "abruptly quit his (subsequent) state job with Gov. Scott Walker in late July (2011), pulling the plug on his $90,000-a-year position just days after accepting the post." (Steve Schultze. Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Aug 23, 2011)] or Deputy Chief of Staff Kelly Rindfleish? [See also Veterans’ Funds Stolen by Scott Walker Cronies in Growing Scandal, first reported by Dan Bice in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel for more information in this Nixonion scandal.]

Clearly, Walker wrote to Tim Russell because he knew Tim Russell was in charge of the illegal campaign-at-work set-up. As the complaint clearly states, we know this email to Russell had great impact, because after Russell got it, illegal campaign-at-work activity took a sudden downturn. Why would campaign-at-work activity of people that Russell had no official oversight of take this kind of downturn?

The only logical explanation is that Russell was in charge of the campaign-at-work operation and, more importantly, Walker knew that Russell was in charge of the illegal activity.

And that, friends, is one of the biggest reasons that Scott Walker charges are just around the corner.

The complaint discuses the exchange of thousands—yes, thousands—of e-mails involving fundraising and political activity. Many of these e-mails from the deputy chief of staff who is now charged with four felony counts of misconduct in public office, Kelly Rindfleisch, and top political aides to Walker, including Keith Gilkes, who went on to serve as the governor’s chief of staff.

Walker has said that during the campaign he was in constant communication with Gilkes about fundraising and campaign strategy. [Nichols. The Nation, Jan. 26. 2012]