State Journal's Dee Halls Blows John Doe-GAB Piece

Wisconsin John Doe Statute

Update: Further knockdown of Wisconsin discredited rightwinger, subject of State Journal stenography. From Marley, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:
"The attorney for the state's ethics and elections board on Saturday said he will soon file court papers disputing claims that the agency had violated Wisconsin laws in pursing a campaign finance investigation of Gov. Scott Walker's campaign and conservative groups."

The Government Accountability Board will present evidence that 'will refute and disprove specific allegations as well as the general hyperbole of the plaintiff's complaint,' said a statement from the board's attorney, Paul Schwarzenbart."
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What is the Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, Wisconsin) newsroom doing to its reporter Dee Hall?

Hall is typically a solid and occasionally brilliant journalist but errs and misreports badly in today's Page One piece, "GAB didn't OK secret inquiry, records say."

Hall's reporting is uninformed, contrived and is constructed in the manner of a GOP operative's.

In fairness to Hall, uninformed reporting in Wisconsin on the John Doe probes of criminality associated with Scott Walker and his former staff is on a par of the low-grade journalism put out by Gannett Co. and Wisconsin's rightwing propaganda mill, the Wisconsin Reporter and other GOP organs.

The piece reports on the release of Government Accountability Board (GAB) documents, ordered by a Waukesha County judge at the request of rightwinger Eric O'Keefe of the extremist group, Wisconsin Club for Growth.

Writes Hall:

The state Government Accountability Board’s top officials proceeded with a secret probe into coordination between Gov. Scott Walker’s campaign and conservative political groups for months without authorization from the six retired judges who run the board, court records unsealed Friday allege.

The documents filed by a target of the investigation also allege that the board voted to end its involvement in the probe in July but that staff continued to work on it.

The records add ammunition to Republicans in the state Legislature seeking to overhaul or abolish Wisconsin’s elections and ethics watchdog agency.

Some corrections:

Target

There are no targets (ala federal grand juries and many other state grand jury systems) in Wisconsin John Doe proceedings until a probe determines individual(s) are to be criminally charged and served with a probable cause warrant.

Wisconsin John Doe probes investigate if and by whom crimes may have been committed when conflicts of interest, practical difficulties (such as stonewalling) and protection of privacy is judged imperative by a district attorney(s) and a supervising judge, per Wisconsin statute, who determine that reasonable suspicion of criminality merit further investigation in the above circumstances.

For Hall to refer to Mr. O'Keefe as a "target of the investigation" is an error in reporting, and one which furthers the GOP PR line that the John Doe probe is a "witch hunt" though the fact is the John Doe probe that has determined Scott Walker is at the center of a "criminal scheme" is being run by Wisconsin constitutional law enforcement officials who are publicly proclaimed to be Republican and Democratic, and who are sworn officers of the sovereign state of Wisconsin.

Knockdown

In the ninth graf, readers are treated to the knockdown by "David Deininger, the retired appeals court judge who chaired the board during the launching of the John Doe investigation, defended Kennedy and the GAB staff Friday."

"Deininger was skeptical about the assertions made in the complaint. He said he didn’t recall exactly when the board was made aware of the investigation, 'but something of this magnitude would have been brought to our attention at the earliest opening.'"

'They would know this would have been something the board needed to be up to speed on from the get-go,' Deininger said.

He also vouched for Kennedy and Becker, saying impartial administration of election laws was their 'modus operandi.'"

Deininger's quote demolishes Hall's piece and should have killed it.

Omission

Hall quotes Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) and another Republican without mentioning that Vos and the Republicans have already insisted publicly on direct gubernatorial appointments to the GAB, a partisan power grab of which Hall is certainly aware.

Hall opines "The records add ammunition to Republicans in the state Legislature seeking to overhaul or abolish Wisconsin’s elections and ethics watchdog agency," as though the proposed dismantling of the non-partisan agency has not been part of Republican machinations in the manner of Walker's appointments to the Wisconsin Judicial Commission in 2012, picked by a corporate lobbyist (Millhiser, ThinkProgress).

Tell me Hall could not get a jurist or elected officeholder to describe Vos' nonsense as a power grab on the record. Hall omits what is common knowledge of the GOP's aversion to the GAB or any independent agency that would hold GOP officials to account for criminality and corruption.

There's more, but Hall blew this piece, and the Republican Party of Wisconsin can celebrate the news columns of the Wisconsin State Journal once again.

Wisconsin John Doe Probes Seek If and by Whom Crimes Are Commited

The John Doe probe shows Scott Walker is at the center of a criminal scheme to funnel $10s of millions into the recall elections of 2011-12, so are GOP operatives,  R.J. Johnson and Deborah Jordahl.

This does not make them guilty of crimes, John Does are not mini-trials.

This does not make them "targets." John Does are not grand juries and do not designate targets as federal grand juries do (and as some other states' counties do).

It makes them subjects in an investigation that has Wisconsin Republicans and their paymasters across the country scared as rabbits.

This week John Doe special prosecutor Francis Schmitz' attorney, Randall Crocker released a statement: "While these (released) documents outlined the prosecutor's legal theory, they did not establish the existence of a crime; rather, they were arguments in support of further investigation to determine if criminal charges against any person or entity are warranted. Mr. Schmitz has made no conclusions as to whether there is sufficient evidence to charge anyone with a crime. It is wrong for any person to point to this sentence in a legal argument as a finding by the special prosecutor that Governor Walker has engaged in a criminal scheme. It is not such a finding." (Stein, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)

At the least the released documents demonstrate that the accumulated evidence exceeds the reasonable suspicion standard for the John Doe probe to proceed. Most jurists (the non-Federalist Society kind) would see the evidence exceeds a higher standard, probable cause, for further investigation.

As for the public relations lines, Prosecutor: Scott Walker is not a target, as the Wisconsin State Journal's hard copy edition blares this morning. No kidding.

Neither are Bambi, Guy Fawkes or Mickey Mantle.

You become are "target" when you are charged with a crime, and the investigation is not completed, halted and awaiting a ruling from the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit before it can proceed.

The State Journal headline this morning, Prosecutor: Scott Walker not a target, is intentionally misleading, likely written by a pro-Walker copy editor or other staffer with pro-Walker leanings.

The John Doe investigation is not completed; stopped by the ethically challenged Judge Rudolph Randa with a bizarre opinion that should become the subject of ridicule from the panel of the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

Randa's opinion doesn't end the John Doe probe, as White Wisconsin asserts. White Wisconsin apparently forgot about the federal appellate court circuit, deliberating the appeal.

As for when someone should be charged under a John Doe probe, and by what standard of evidence: Probable cause or guilt beyond on a reasonable doubt, If you can get a straight answer on background from a knowledgeable jurist, good luck.

No one appears to know.

In the meantime, treat words from Scott Walker and his mouthpieces with a heavy does of salt: Scott Walker has no credibility and a well-documented history of lying to the people of Wisconsin.

This we know beyond a reasonable doubt.

Scott Walker Alleges Corruption of Five Wisconsin DAs, Takes John Doe to New Level

Scott Walker Runs to Fox and Friends
Host, Steve Doocy for PR Help
Last Week after Documents Reveal
DAs Believe Walker Is Part
of Criminal Schtheeme

Updated - Neo Confederates follows Walker's lead. From James Varney, New Orleans Times-Picayune (NOLA.com): "Unscrupulous Democratic operatives there (in Wisconsin) are doing everything they can to bury a successful GOP executive.
What is particularly scary about Wisconsin, and what should give Americans of all stripes pause, is that the operatives there are prosecutors. Under a 'John Doe' banner - a distinctly Bolshevik sort of tool that should be illegal in the United States - prosecutors have launched a witch-hunt against Walker and some of his conservative supporters."

See also Scott Walker Says the Dark Money Probe Is 'Over,' but He's Wrong (Fischer, PRWatch).

See also Scott Walker's Non-Denial Denial of John Doe Criminality
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Scott Walker's explanation made in response to the blockbuster report of allegations of a wide-ranging criminal scheme made by five Wisconsin district attorneys is that these five law enforcement Constitutional Officers (and special prosecutor Francis Schmitz) are corrupted by the political motivations of "big-government special interests;" and are corrupt allies who deny the John Doe probe they are conducting is "over;" "is a case that has been resolved;" and that "there is no argument" on the legal disposition of the John Doe litigation.

That the five Wisconsin District Attorneys continue to litigate on appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit is attributed by Walker as an attempt to impugn the reputation of Walker by the five district attorneys, to "trash" Walker to use the word of a Fox and Friends host with whom Scott Walker enthusiastically agreed.

It's a good thing for Walker, the appellate justices do not consider news reports in ruling on the merits of John Doe litigation, instead rightfully consigning themselves to the arguments in legal briefs and oral arguments.

The five district attorneys (plus special prosecutor Francis Schmitz) are:

• Milwaukee County DA John T.Chisholm
• Dane County DA Ismael R. Ozanne
• Iowa County DA Larry E. Nelson
• Dodge County DA Kurt F. Klomberg
• Columbia County DA Jane E. Kohlwey

Fox and Friends Host, Steve Doocy [video is linked at left] put it to Walker: "It looks like they're just trying to trash you."

Unsealed Court Order and Exhibits from John Doe Probe

Walker agreed with Fox's Doocy, saying in response, "I think there's no doubt. This is one of those where the media jumps on this; some on the left spin this; you get our detractors out there trying to claim there's something more than there is. ... This is a prime example of what happens when you take on the big-government special interests. They're looking for ways to come at us. They'll continue to do it. They did it, you know, two years ago in the recall election. They're going to do it again now; we got another tough election this Fall. And so, they're going to come at it with just about everything out there."

As noted here yesterday, this alternative reality of the legal situation is too much for the editorial page of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel which blasted Walker in substance and blistering tone not seen yet in commentary in the daily newspaper that has broken most of the reporting on the John Doe investigation.

Reads the editorial in part:

It's over, Gov. Scott Walker is arguing: The John Doe case looking into whether his campaign illegally coordinated with supposedly independent groups is done. Kaput. Finished.

Well, sorry, governor, but that simply isn't true.

Yes, the investigation into the conduct of the campaign and outside groups during the 2012 recalls was halted by federal Judge Rudolph Randa in May when the judge ruled that the secret investigation violated the free speech rights of its targets. Randa's decision is now before a federal appeals court, and just like the recent federal court decision ending Wisconsin's ban on same-sex marriage, this case will continue until all appeals are exhausted.

That could be a while, which means that this story is far from over. Nor should it be.

We think Randa should have not shut down a duly commissioned state investigation into the campaigns. The prosecutors, with affinities for both parties, were simply doing their jobs: State law limits what outside groups such as the Wisconsin Club for Growth can do. Such groups are supposed to remain independent of campaigns; they cannot strategize with candidates.

Randa's decision was stunning for its overreach. He ordered the investigation shut down and found that only "express advocacy" — that is, explicitly urging people to vote for or against a candidate — was subject to state limits and control.

But coordination between campaigns and outside groups has long been illegal in Wisconsin for good reason. It's in the state statutes and was upheld by the Wisconsin Court of Appeals in a 1999 decision involving a state Supreme Court race. State election regulators later reaffirmed that a campaign cannot coordinate with an outside group, and on that basis, John Doe investigators proceeded to look into how the recall elections were conducted.

Walker's characterization of the ethics and motivation of the five District Attorneys is as ludicrous as Walker's reading of the legal disposition of the now several cases involving the investigation of Scott Walker and possible other parties at the center of the criminal scheme to funnel money into the recall races of 2011-12.

Walker also includes the media of course as in cahoots with the five District Attorneys: "Still, many in the media proceed as though the opinion of the partisan prosecutors is new information and ignore the truths I have stated .... It is not. It is old news that has already been discounted by two judges. No charges. No case," said Walker.

Walker's accusations demonstrate the callow and reckless disregard Walker has for the truth and those he defames.

Walker's message of corrupt district attorneys is dutifully picked up by the righwing press used as a lead-in for pieces about different topics, "Wisconsin doesn't have just a problem with rogue prosecutors (see the Milwaukee County DA's John Doe probe of Governor Scott Walker's allies). It also appears to have a rogue education department." (Finley, Wall Street Journal)

If the five district attorneys are engaging in partisan character assassination of Scott Walker [an unlikely possibility considering that two of the five DAs are Republicans and the fact that all have shown themselves to be ethical jurists in good standing with the State Bar of Wisconsin], Scott Walker should make a public and formal declaration of prosecutorial misconduct and proceed on this basis. Name the names and tell all of the facts.

Of course, any non-Republican can see that Walker is engaging in desperate spin and formally questioning the conduct (which would be an unjust and defamatory exercise) of the District Attorneys would likely result in making public more hard evidence and documentation of the affairs of Scott Walker while serving as Milwaukee County Executive and Governor.

This is the last thing Scott Walker wants.

Scott Walker Runs into Arms of Fox, Hoping District Attorneys Will Just Leave

Update: Striking editorial, pedagogic in tone from the GOP-leaning editorial page of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, chides Scott Walker for his spinning and fact-free legal analysis.

Erudite and subtly jabbing Walker, the title of the editorial is "Walker should be careful what he wishes for."

Reads the Sunday editorial in part:

It's over, Gov. Scott Walker is arguing: The John Doe case looking into whether his campaign illegally coordinated with supposedly independent groups is done. Kaput. Finished.

Well, sorry, governor, but that simply isn't true.

Yes, the investigation into the conduct of the campaign and outside groups during the 2012 recalls was halted by federal Judge Rudolph Randa in May when the judge ruled that the secret investigation violated the free speech rights of its targets. Randa's decision is now before a federal appeals court, and just like the recent federal court decision ending Wisconsin's ban on same-sex marriage, this case will continue until all appeals are exhausted.

That could be a while, which means that this story is far from over. Nor should it be.

We think Randa should have not shut down a duly commissioned state investigation into the campaigns. The prosecutors, with affinities for both parties, were simply doing their jobs: State law limits what outside groups such as the Wisconsin Club for Growth can do. Such groups are supposed to remain independent of campaigns; they cannot strategize with candidates.

Randa's decision was stunning for its overreach. He ordered the investigation shut down and found that only "express advocacy" — that is, explicitly urging people to vote for or against a candidate — was subject to state limits and control.

But coordination between campaigns and outside groups has long been illegal in Wisconsin for good reason. It's in the state statutes and was upheld by the Wisconsin Court of Appeals in a 1999 decision involving a state Supreme Court race. State election regulators later reaffirmed that a campaign cannot coordinate with an outside group, and on that basis, John Doe investigators proceeded to look into how the recall elections were conducted.
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There Can Be No Whitewash in Wisconsin. People Have to Got Know Whether or Not Their Governor Is a Crook

In October 2013 a story broke that the John Doe probe had "(spread) to five Wisconsin counties," and evidence was leading investigators to look into possible violations of state law during the 2011-12 Recall races.

The investigation was revealed to be led by Francis Schmitz, a well-known Republican jurist who was on George W. Bush's shortlist for nomination to the US Atty of the Eastern District of Wisconsin in 2001. (Bice, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, October 21, 2013)

Scott Walker had a response to the piece that he communicated before going back into hiding: "We expected that with a new Democrat candidate for governor in the race that there would be stories like this along the way," said Walker on the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel's October story on the John Doe investigation. (Murray. WPR)

So, the Republican-led investigation is simply a concocted story to help the expected Democratic nominee for governor (primary election is in August 2014), and stories breaking about the John Doe investigation are not true, is this what Walker was saying?

Walker wouldn't say, preferring innuendo to candor.

But Walker's quick comment-and-hide strategy made it plain Walker knew this probe was coming and where the investigation was heading.

When the blockbuster story broke on Thursday, June 19 that bipartisan Wisconsin prosecutors allege in documents that Scott Walker "was at the center of an effort to illegally coordinate fundraising among conservative groups to help his campaign and those of Republican state senators fend off recall elections during 2011 and '12," (Patrick Marley, Daniel Bice and Dave Umhoefer in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) Walker's first response was to run to Fox and Friends, and not to face the people of Wisconsin in a no-hold-barred, question-and-answer session addressing allegations of criminality of a Wisconsin governor that have no precedent in Wisconsin history.

Walker speaking in a more rapid cadence than employed in his usual evasions did not repeat the  language made public that Walker was at the center of a "criminal scheme," but pretended that the accusations from the John Doe probe did not exist and that the matter had already been "resolved."

This would come as news to the five prosecutors, the special prosecutor and the attorneys working to appeal an adverse decision in appellate court.

Walker implies these five district attorneys and the special prosecutor are just pawns of big-government special interests.

Said Walker on Fox and Friends to Co-host Steve Doocy:

"This is one of those where the media jumps on this; some on the left spin this; you get our detractors out there trying to claim there's something more than there is. ... This is a prime example of what happens when you take on the big-government special interests. They're looking for ways to come at us. They'll continue to do it. They did it, you know, two years ago in the recall election. They're going to do it again now; we got another tough election this Fall. And so, they're going to come at it with just about everything out there."

Scott Walker is alleged to have been at the center of an effort to illegally coordinate fundraising among 12 rightwing groups to help his campaign and those of Republican state senators fend off recall elections, in violation of campaign laws intended to insulate special interests and campaigns for public office.

This sounds pretty big to me.

Why doesn't Scott Walker come before a town hall-type meeting, say at Camp Randall, take questions until the audience is exhausted and clear the air?

I'm betting Walker won't.

Following is video of an excellent segment at Politics Nation, and a piece by United Wisconsin, Failing to Prosecute Illegal Coordination in John Doe Case Threatens Legitimacy of State Campaign Finance Law.

From United Wisconsin:

MADISON, WI – Based on evidence provided in Exhibit C of the John Doe documents unsealed Thursday, failing to prosecute illegal campaign coordination exposes a grave threat to the public’s trust Wisconsin elections by undermining state campaign finance safeguards in place to prevent corruption.

“The unsealed John Doe documents reveal a clear case of the corruption of Wisconsin elections at the hands of Scott Walker’s campaign and outside conservatives groups. The failure to bring charges in Walker’s “criminal scheme” puts in jeopardy Wisconsin campaign finance laws which were put in place to ensure the integrity of the electoral process,” said United Wisconsin Executive Director Lisa Subeck.

Prosecutors laid out the case that Gov. Scott Walker was at the center of a “criminal scheme” to coordinate illegal campaign fundraising among his campaign and conservative groups to fund the running of phony “issue advocacy” campaigns clearly designed for the direct political benefit of Walker’s campaign and Republican legislators facing recall elections in 2011-12.

Despite what appears to be clear evidence of illegal coordination, a recent stay issued by Federal Judge Rudolf Randa halting further investigation leaves Wisconsin campaign finance laws governing disclosure of campaign spending unenforceable and stripped of legitimacy.

According Francis D. Schmitz, special prosecutor in the John Doe investigation “Movants argue that “coordination” of political activities that do not arguably express advocacy cannot be a crime under Wisconsin law. These arguments fail to recognize or misinterpret Wisconsin statutes, administrative rules, and G.A.B. formal opinions. Movants have also ignored controlling Wisconsin case law. Indeed, in their submissions, movants – FOSW, Citizens for a Strong America, Inc. (CFSA) Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, Inc. (WMC) and Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce-Issues Mobilization Council (WMC-IMC) and Wisconsin Club for Growth (WiCFG) appear to have tacitly admitted to violating Wisconsin law.”

“Failing to prosecute what is clearly a violation of state campaign finance law leaves our elections more vulnerable than ever to this type of alleged illegal coordination and erodes any sense in eyes of voters that Wisconsin elections are truly fair,” Subeck said.
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United Wisconsin is an independent, grassroots organization dedicated to advancing progressive values, strengthening democracy, and ensuring every Wisconsinite has a voice. For more information, visit our website at www.unitedwisconsin.com.

Wisconsin GOP Flacks Say Kill John Doe Law in Effort to Protect Scott Walker

Scott Walker still hides from Wisconsin and has
offers no comment on the secret router and
email system used by Walker and his aides

It is clear that GOP flacks and politicians do not know what Wisconsin's John Doe statute is; they just don't like it when the law is used to find out Republicans who commit crimes against the Wisconsin people.

John Doe probes find the guilty and protect the innocent, a dangerous law enforcement mandate for Republicans in Wisconsin politics today.

Law enforcement acting in the John Doe probe found evidence of GOP criminality beyond a reasonable doubt, so predictably Republican flacks want to kill the John Doe statute (the text of the Wisconsin statute is newly and heavily annotated online).

GOP arguments—such as there are—are unsound and uninformed.

Take today's Wisconsin State Journal's Chris Rickert.

Rickert writes,

But whereas a John Doe can dam up just about any information about who they’re targeting and why, a grand jury offers at least a few opportunities for information to leak out, providing clues into what prosecutors are after. ...

The argument for dumping Doe is simple enough from a health-of-the-democracy perspective. Politicians are adept at misrepresenting their opponents’ positions and spinning news to fit their agendas.

John Doe probes do not "target" anyone.

Their charge under law is to investigate if and by whom crimes have been committed when practical difficulties, like stonewalling by Scott Walker that resulted in the first John Doe, and conflicts of interest make law enforcement investigations impractical, and when innocents could be hurt "from the fallout of frivolous prosecutions" (Berghahn) vis a vis John Doe probes.

"The whole purpose of the John Doe is to inquire whether possible criminal activity occurred," said the retired judge (Neal Nettesheim overseeing the first John Doe). "The John Doe served its purpose. It's to resolve uncertainty and to go where the evidence takes you." (Bice and Umhoefer. MJS)

Secrecy is not mandated, but secrecy protects innocents and the investigation, so secrecy codicils are often employed in John Doe probes.

If and only if a criminal charge is brought or evidence points to a charge being likely does someone like Scott Walker aides or appointees—Tim Russell, Kevin Kavanaugh, Darlene Wink, Kelly Rindfleisch for example—find out he or she is a target.

Russell and Kavanaugh embezzled $10,000s from non-profits meant for veterans and their families, so naturally readers won't hear their names often from Republicans.

John Doe probes are not mini-trials, they are law enforcement investigations that may or may not result in prosecutions.

As for the health-of-the-democracy argument, just because Republicans are revealed to be corrupt and charged and convicted of crimes (with no claims of innocence) does not mean the John Doe statute is suddenly "undemocratic."

If Republicans want to make the argument that Tim Russell, Kevin Kavanaugh, Darlene Wink, Kelly Rindfleisch et al., are innocent then by all means, let's examine their presented evidence and hear their arguments.

No such claims of innocence from the first John Doe probe (even from GOP flacks) have been made because against the evidence such claims are ludicrous.

No, Republicans are going after the statute because they know that Scott Walker is dirty and has been for a long time, and they wish to protect Walker.

Being innocent and yet convicted and in prison does not weigh heavily on most Republicans' minds.

Ask Penny Brummer, an innocent women who sits in prison, or Robert Lee Stinson of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for whom a wrongfully convicted bill is named, killed by Republicans in the state assembly.

Ask Scott Walker who says he cannot grant pardon because there are too many innocents in Wisconsin prisons, a beyond-belief argument that ought to disqualify Walker from public office.

Walker used the Milwaukee County Executive's office as a campaign machine for governor because he felt is he was entitled; Walker violated public records law because he felt he was entitled; and Walker won't talk to the press now because he knows as well that he is neck-deep in uncharged crimes.

Now, I am no attorney but I'm thinking what just about every non-Republican jurist is thinking: Scott Walker should have been charged at a minimum with Misconduct in Public Office (Wisconsin Statute 946.12), but some people like Scott Walker and Republicans are more equal than others.

Milwaukee District Attorney John Chisholm, who was leading the first John Doe investigation, knows this, and backed away from charging Walker last year because he was afraid of the fall-out.

Why Scott Walker Won't Answer Questions

Question from Luke, Green Bay, WI. - A simple yes or no question "Did you Governor Walker know of the secret e-mail system?" Why won't he just answer the question? We are paying his salary. It is a simple yes-no question.

 

Answer from Daniel Bice, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel  - Why won't he answer the question? My guess: He is paying his lawyers very good money, and they have told him, "Do not answer that question."

-- From the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Columnist Dan Bice's Online Question and Answer

New Journal-Sentinel Column Signals Press Tired of Scott Walker Lies, Evasions

It's no wonder Gov. Chris Christie has done over 100 listening sessions and Scott Walker had done zero.

Walker is afraid to face the people of Wisconsin, and more afraid to face the press in an extended press conference explaining the new release of emails and the emails' writing that points to Walker cheating, lying and stealing from the taxpayers of Milwaukee County.

Scott Walker had his own illegal, secret email account, emails show.

Scott Walker ordered his personally hired Milwaukee county staff to post fatuous pro-Walker comments on Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel news online pieces, emails show.

Scott Walker and his staff campaigned on Milwaukee County time, emails show.

Scott Walker is correct in pointing out that he was never criminally charged in the first John Doe investigation, to the chagrin of the Wisconsin people who see the evidence of Walker's criminally campaigning on the taxpayers' dime, in taxpayers' space and on taxpayers' time in black and white in the court-ordered released emails.

This is what is called felony misconduct in office, as convicted Walker aide, Kelly M. Rindfleisch, will tell you.

Milwaukee County DA John T. Chisholm had the discretion in the first John Doe probe to decide whom to prosecute and he chickened out, fearing blowback in prosecuting a sitting governor.

That decision of Chisholm's is not final. The evidence for prosecuting Scott Walker is plain to see and is certainly with the scope of the John Doe II probe. The DAs now investigating if and by whom crimes were committed should prosecute those who broke the law even if this someone is a sitting governor.

Scott Walker Is Naked to the World—Deceitful and Premeditatedly Criminal

Watching Scotty Blow - Esquire
Photo Illustration by DonkeyHotey
via Flickr/Special to The Politics Blog

Reading the machinations of Scott Walker and his close aides in some 27,000 documents is evidently what it took to kill the fiction Walker has a future as a national leader in even the contemporary Republican Party that has off gone off the rails of rational political discourse.

Scott Walker is every bit the Tea Bagger and corrupt bigot so many Wisconsin folks have long regarded him; not just a poor steward of the economy and environment, but a premeditated disaster operative—mean-spirited, petty, hateful and a crook.

"Communication between Walker's campaign and his office was 'very common,' according to a top investigator," reports Sean Sullivan in the Washington Post, in violation of Wisconsin law.

New pieces in Mother Jones, Blogging Blue, The Nation, Democurmungeon, The Political Environment, The Progressive, Slate, Uppity Wisconsin, Isthmus, Caffeinated Politics, The New York Times, Milwaukee Shepherd-Express and of course Charles P. Pierce at Esquire. A second racist email has also been reported in Buzzfeed.

That repulsive bigotry is common in the culture of Scott Walker intimates is no big surprise; this is a guy whose personal friends and appointees embezzle from military veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, but hate has a way of continuing to shock the conscience.

Also, breaking is news that Scott Walker's mining terrorirst friend, Gtac's Bill Williams has been indicted in Spain for willful poisoning and breaking of environmental regulations. And the Bad River Band Asks EPA to Stop All Mining Activity in Penokees, a crucial first step in the mandatory analysis of Native American treaty rights.

From Uppity Wisconsin comes an email authored by Scott Walker on the secret e-mail system directing that this illegal medium be used for an official statement:

Scott Walker himself urging the use of non-official accounts to coordinate a
campaign statement #WalkerDocs

Newly-released e-mails show that the Wisconsin governor may have more of a Chris Christie problem than even Chris Christie. Ruth Conniff and MSNBC have great video on the fall of a sleaze.