Scott Walker Lied, Hid and Misused Personal Email System, WKOW-TV Reports

Scott Walker lied again, concealed official communications again, apparently criminally broke Wisconsin's Open Records law again, and now is running away from comment to the press again.

Wisconsin Capitol Bureau Chief Greg Neumann of WKOW-TV broke an investigative piece updated today demonstrating Scott Walker knew of and concealed official public records on a series of private email accounts as well as conducting political business between public and private email systems.

This is an echo of Walker's email scandal during his tenure as Milwaukee County Executive when he and his staff installed a secret router and email system in the County Executive's office, (the 'inner circle'), and points to repeated violations as governor of the clear language of Wisconsin's Open Records law.

"According to a 'compliance outline' written by [former] Wisconsin attorney General JB Van Hollen, a Republican, public records include "e-mail sent or received on an authority's computer system" and "personal e-mail sent by officers or employees of the authority," as well as "e-mail conducting government business sent or received on the personal e-mail account of an authority's officer or employee," [noted John Weishan, a Democrat and a critic of Walker on the Milwaukee County board]

It is a felony to violate Wisconsin's Open Records law. 'Whoever with intent to injure or defraud destroys, damages, removes or conceals any public record is guilty of a Class H felony,' the Wisconsin statutes say. And the penalty for a Class H felony is 'a fine not to exceed $10,000 or imprisonment not to exceed 6 years, or both.' (Rothschild, The Progressive).

The Wisocnsin DoJ compliance outline also notes:

e. Electronic records and communications.  ...
ii. E-mail sent or received on an authority’s computer system is a record.  This includes personal e-mail sent by officers or employees of the authority.  Schill, 2010 WI 86, ¶ 152, 327 Wis. 2d 572, ¶ 152, 786 N.W.2d 177, ¶ 152 (Bradley, J., concurring); Id., ¶ 173 (Gableman, J., concurring); Id., ¶ 188 (Roggensack, J., dissenting). 
iii. E-mail conducting government business sent or received on the personal e-mail account of an authority’s officer or employee also constitutes a record. (Wisconsin Public Records Law Wis. Stat. 19.31-19.39 COMPLIANCE OUTLINE September 2012 DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ATTORNEY GENERAL J.B. VAN HOLLEN.)

Political-campaign work done on state time to coordinate public policy also appears to present Walker and top staff in violation of misconduct in public office.

Writes WKOW-TV's Neumann:

[A] 27 News investigation into the use and disclosure of personal emails by the Governor's office is raising questions about just how those records are handled.

On May 28, 27 News asked Gov. Walker if he knew whether former Chief of Staff Keith Gilkes, former Department of Administration Secretary Mike Huebsch or other members of his administration had used personal email for government business.

'I don't know,' said Gov. Walker. 'I mean, not that I'm aware of.'

But we now know the Governor was aware of it at the time that exchange took place.

Just a few days before we asked those questions, 27 News requested all of the emails sent to or from the personal email addresses of Gilkes, Huebsch, and Walker's second Chief of Staff Eric Schutt - that contained official state business communications.

Their personal email addresses were provided to 27 News by a tipster. ...

Much of it [the emails] dealt with planning and strategy. A March 2011 email sent from from Gilkes to other senior staffers, included a memo detailing the self-prescribed weaknesses of the Walker administration's first 100 days in office - mentioning Gov. Walker's overexposure to the media and long winded speeches.

Personal email was used to discuss big policy moments as well. One thread showed a discussion among senior staffers on the day after the State Senate passed Act 10. It includes the statement Secretary Huebsch ultimately released to the media on it being published and becoming law.

Others dealt directly with the strategy surrounding Act 10 and the concern caused after Judge Mary Ann Sumi blocked the law. ...

But dozens of the emails 27 News received were never sent to an official state account until they were forwarded to the government email address of Gov. Walker's Chief Legal Counsel Brian Hagedorn on July 31, 2015. That date comes four years after the emails were originally written and two months after our open records request.

'Yeah, I think it's an issue to be sure and apparently and potentially a serious one,' said [director of the UW-Madison Center for Journalism Ethics,] who believes that delay and lag time raises questions about whether 27 News even got all of the personal emails that ever existed, or if some were permanently deleted from personal accounts long ago.'

As for the identity of the tipster helping Neumann's piece, it is likely should a criminal probe and prosecution follow, Wisconsin will be hearing more about this tipster.

WKOW 27: Madison, WI Breaking News, Weather and Sports

Scott Walker Lied, Was Key Player in Aborted Open Records Scheme

The scheme to gut Wisconsin's Open Records law came from Scott Walker's office, contradicting an earlier denial from Walker that the aborted move "didn't come from us," new records show (Marley and Spicuzza, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) (Beck, Wisconsin State Journal).

Scott Walker lied again.

Will the national press get the story that Walker is a pathological liar, and an empty suit?

As late as July 7, Walker refused comment, (Mal Contends) before Walker issued a flat denial on the rightwing Milwaukee talk radio Charlie Sykes Show on July 10. (Spicuzza, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)

Said Walker on July 10: "That was brought to us by the Legislature, and said they wanted to look at it and wanted our input. And we brought up some things that we still think are legitimate in terms of records that involve things like having our staff giving you options on briefings and things like that. Not anything that's external in that regard. ... In the end, I think it was a mistake to even think about it in the budget, even though it didn't come from us. It's a complicated process, and it's one that I think will be best suited in a Legislative Council committee."

Scott Walker Lies and Stumbles His Way to Presidential Kick-off

CNN: Washington (CNN) "America's Best Eyeglasses is reminding people that their logo may look like Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's new campaign logo, but they're not endorsing him, or any other candidate for that matter."
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Scott Walker lies, pathologically.

This is why Walker avoids the people and the press, except for rightwing talk radio.

Walker's latest lie is his denial on rightwing radio in which Scott Walker claims, "I think it was a mistake to even think about [gutting Wisconsin's Open Records law] in the budget, even though it didn't come from us," (Sommerhauser, Wisconsin State Journal).

This lie is disconfirmed days earlier by Walker's own spokesperson and Republican legislative leaders.

Writes Molly Beck in the Wisconsin State Journal:

Gov. Scott Walker’s office was involved in drafting dramatic changes to the state’s open records law that would have made it harder for the public to monitor how its government works, a spokeswoman confirmed Tuesday.

Spokeswoman Laurel Patrick’s statement came after numerous inquiries from the State Journal in recent days and after Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald said Tuesday that Walker’s office collaborated with Assembly and Senate leaders to draft the changes. 

If Walker says eviscerating Wisconsin Open Records law is a mistake to "even think about," why were Walker and Joint Finance Committee (JFC) working on it and passing it on the days before the July 4th holiday?

This radical change in Wisconsin law, since disavowed and rescinded, just happened without Walker's approval?

As already widely noted outside WalkerWorld, Scott Walker signed off on the secrecy provisions in motion 999—the Republican-authored proposal to sneak in legislation in the budget—as confirmed by JFC member, State Sen. Jon Erpenbach (D-Middleton). All 12 Republican members of the JFC voted for motion 999 (Punzel, Wisconsin State Journal).

Meanwhile Walker's campaign is stumbling out of the blocks, accidentally sending out a presidential campaign communication and a logo that appears a trademark infringement. (CognitiveDissidence) (Blue Cheddar)

No comment from the Scott Walker administration.

The nation is about to learn what most of the Wisconsin electorate, some 74 percent, who didn't vote for Scott Walker already know well: Scott Walker lies, cheats and lies some more.

Scott Walker campaign infringed on a trademark logo below

America's Best Contacts and Eyeglasses;
© 1999-2015 America's Best Contacts & Eyeglasses

Corrupt, Callow and Dogmatic Is No Way to Go Through Life

Hiding in the USA

Updated - Modern Wisconsin history has never seen a governor as fearful, even phobic, as seen in Scott Walker's adamant refusal to face the Wisconsin people, or hold extended press conferences.

This explains in part Walker's penchant for secrecy and Walker's belated acknowledgement through his flack that his staff helped craft the aborted Open Records fiasco. (Opoien, The Capital Times)

"I will call on Governor Walker to do what he promised Wisconsin he would do five years ago; make Wisconsin government more transparent and accountable," said State Sen. Jon Erpenbach (D-Middleton) in a statement.

Not going to happen. Secrecy is to corruption what violence is to assault and battery. And Walker does not want the American people examining his record too closely.

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel kept up the pressure on Walker to come clean, noting in another editorial yesterday, "Gov. Scott Walker and state legislators have scrapped — at least for now — a brazen attempt to limit access to state public records. But that by no means is an end to the issue; there are still questions that need to be answered. ... To borrow a phrase: What did Gov. Scott Walker know and when did he know it?"

Other leading Wisconsin politicos—Sen. Tammy Baldwin, Rep. Mark Pocan and Russ Feingold for example—hype their listening sessions and open, accessible offices, though no one has approached Feingold's mark of holding a listening session in all of Wisconsin's 72 counties each year of his six-year senate term.

Can you imagine Scott Walker doing that?

Walker governs in secret, by "bomb" in his own description, and at the whim of campaign donors (Isikoff, Yahoo News), prompting the well-regarded John Torinus Jr. to ask if campaigns even matter "when almost none of the major policy departures contained in the [Walker] budget were proposed" by Walker during the 2014 gubernatorial campaign.

Selling out the Wisconsin people for special interest money does not a policy wonk make.

Even Republican national politicos know Walker is in over his head, advising him to get more experience as Walker's ignorance became apparent to the national political audience this spring (Hoffman, Politico).

"Walker's diplomatic experience is limited to settling disputes with Minnesota during football season," sneered Ruben Navarrette in February (CNN). Walker "needs a better tutor on jobs and immigration," scolded the Wall Street Journal in April.

C'mon Scott, corrupt, callow and dogmatic is no way to go through life, kid.

Of course, neither is neo-Confederate, racist and misogynistic, but Scott Walker has trouble comprehending why in the radicalized Republican presidential primary.

Factor in petty and vindictive, with a self-proclaimed warrant from God, and even Republicans should worry what Walker would wrought onto the nation.

Scott Walker Busted, Legislators Say Walker Aides Developed Open Records Scheme

Scott Walker refused for days to acknowledge his administration's role in the Open Records fiasco that would have destroyed open government in Wisconsin.

Today, Republican legislators finally admitted the Walker administration was hip-deep in the last-minute scheme to gut Wisconsin's Open Records law before the July 4 holiday weekend.

Patrick Marley and Mary Spicuzza report:

GOP leaders in the state Legislature disclosed Tuesday that Gov. Scott Walker's office helped develop plans to dramatically roll back the state's open records law.

Walker and his aides have refused for days to explain their role in the plan, which was abandoned Saturday after intense public outcry. Walker's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

The GOP governor's help with the plan came to light as the Senate prepared to approve the state budget Tuesday and less than a week before he is to formally announce he is running for president. (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)

Scott Walker and his office remained evasive on Saturday, saying, "When asked on Saturday if he knew the measure was included in Motion #999 before it passed, Walker avoided giving a yes or no answer while acknowledging that he was aware of the tide of public opinion opposed to it. (Jessie Opoien, The Capital Times)

An honest man would have owned up to his work. Not Scott Walker.

This is the way Scott Walker governs: Evade, run away, and obfuscate when caught.

Meanwhile, Scott Walker's office continues to operate as if his proposed open records gutting is law (Marley, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel).

Scott Walker Concealing Role in Open Records Debacle, Pres Candidacy Speech Is Next Week

A secretive, fundamentalist, and uncompromising Scott Walker claiming a political warrant from God is maintaining his silence over his role in the Republican Open Records fiasco. (Bauer, AP, Minneapolis Star-Tribune)

A watchdog journalistic organ ran a piece today indicating that Walker's silence on the GOP attack on open government won't wash, as Walker prepares his formal announcement for president next week.

By Tim Morrissey, Public News Service:

"Bill Lueders, president of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council, says his organization wants to know exactly who was behind last week's move to gut the state's Open Records law – something he will aggressively pursue.

Lueders says the measure, inserted in the state budget bill late at night just before the long Independence Day weekend, brought immediate, harsh, and nearly "universal" pushback.

The item was approved by the 12 Republican members of the powerful Joint Finance Committee, over the protests of the committee's four Democrats. Lueders says no one has said where the initiative for the proposal originated.

"The responsibility for this, we know, goes much deeper than just the people who came up with these horrible ideas," he says. "My intention will be to litigate this. I will sue them if they deny me access to that information." ...

Governor Walker has said the proposal will be discussed as a separate measure outside the budget bill.

Lueders, who adds he was gratified by the swift public response to the proposal, describes it as a "frontal attack on Wisconsin's history of open government." He says his organization will continue to delve for details.

"We know that 12 members of the Joint Finance Committee did vote for these changes, knowing full well how devastating they would be to Wisconsin's tradition of open government," he says. "I think all 12 of those people really ought to be held accountable."

Scott Walker Should Explain His Role in Open Records Scandal

Scott Walker refuses to acknowledge role after Walker and Republicans back down on killing Open Records Law

Updated - Scott Walker's office operating as if proposed open records gutting is law (Marley, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel).
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Scott Walker should release all papers, memos, emails and other communications and chronicle all of his and his administration's communications with Republican members of the Joint Finance Committee regarding the Republican effort to gut Wisconsin's Open Records law.

Following an unconvincing prepared statement, Scott Walker is offering silence to the Wisconsin people on his and the Republican effort to gut the Open Records law just before the July 4 holiday weekend (Hall, WisconsinWatch).

Walker's and Republican legislators' proposed evisceration of the Open Records law, [through a motion by the Wisconsin legislature's Joint Finance Committee (JFC)], provoked broad and blistering criticism of Walker and the Republican Party, including a front page editorial by Wisconsin's right-leaning and largest daily on July 4th (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) (Caffeinated Politics).

The right-leaning Wisconsin State Journal writes of this appalling Republican attempt to codify corruption and secrecy: "Any politician who continues to support similar attacks on Wisconsin’s open records law in the future will never receive the endorsement of the State Journal."

Moreover, this newspaper will use every investigative mechanism and journalistic capability possible, including seeking opinions of the court, to shine an even brighter light on legislative action. Our readers should expect no less of a free press."

Walker backed down, declining to shed light on any authorship and raising more questions than he and the Republicans answered, as legislative Republicans and Walker issued a joint statement (Spicuzza, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel).

Wisconsin's Open Records law helps citizens track legislation and special interests, shining a light on campaign donors who push for public law for their own benefit, against public interest.

So who was the culprit? JFC member, State Sen. Leah Vukmir (R-White People). A PRWatch piece certainly has her as a suspect. Scott Walker signed off the secrecy provisions, as noted by State Sen. Jon Erpenbach (D-Middleton), as did all 12 Republican members of the JFC. (Punzel, Wisconsin State Journal)

Leah Vukmir

The Open Records law has been a thorn in the side of Scott Walker and Republicans who have taken a sledge hammer to openness in government, impartial watchdogs, academic freedom and non-partisan state services.

"Public access to governmental records is a key component of an open government. Most of our contact with government decision-making comes in the form of governmental records. The public has a right and responsibility to monitor these decisions and hold government accountable for their decisions," notes Midwest Environmental Advocates (p.2).

Public access is even more important when legislative Republicans hold no committee hearings and slip in radical changes to state government with no debate or public notice.

Walker said in a statement that the Joint Finance Committee's effort to enshrine secrecy "was never intended to inhibit transparent government in any way."

Scott Walker isn't fooling anyone, but a town hall-style, question-and-answer session (which would be Walker's first in Wisconsin) is surely called for to explain why this proposed destruction of government transparency was even contemplated, when and by whom.

Wisconsin Pays, Scott Walker Spends

Scott Walker on tape making pledges to billionaire, Diane Hendricks
Hendricks is Walker's largest donor, along with the Koch brothers

In March 2011, Scott Walker pushed and signed a law in which he gives himself the power to mandate Wisconsin taxpayers pay up cash for 37 new Walker political appointments. (See Stein, Marley. Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, March 17, 2011; and Walker power grabs)

This was only the first in the train wrecks that do everything from paying off cronies with taxpayer money, to giving Scott Walker the power to sell off virtually any public land or facility to moneyed interests.

No consultations with the Wisconsin people, no campaigning on these radical policies; Walker is selling out Wisconsin and I would not be surprised to see Walker put the state capitol, what used to be known as the people's house, on the chopping block.

The examples of Walker's public corruption are legion.

The latest spend-thrift spree of Walker's is his tax-payer subsidy to Scott Suder, Walker's co-conspirator with ALEC and the Koch front group, Americans for Prosperity.

"In his new (Wisconsin Public Service Commission) job, Suder will earn $94,000 a year — an 88 percent increase over the $49,943 he made as a legislator. He'll be in charge of the agency divisions responsible for water compliance and consumer affairs," reports Uppity Wisconsinn.

All the while Suder and other Republicans continue to illegally ignore Open Records requests.

In the latest outrage, "Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen has taken the unprecedented step of asserting that a state legislator cannot be held accountable for refusing to disclose public records in response to a lawful open records request by the Center for Media and Democracy."

It's Republican rule; and the people for whom they work are not the Wisconsin people so Republicans and Walker keep their business secret from the people.

With disdain for the Wisconsin people, in favor of a small groups of moneyed interests and cronies, is it any wonder Scott Walker has created a structural (built in) deficit and ruined the state budget by amassing a state debt that reaches record levels in the 2013-15 budget, as noted by State Senator Kathleen Vinehout (D-Alma).

See also RE Sen. Vinehout's budget-deficit analysis, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel simply refuses to take "yes" for an answer.

Schools, lakes, cemeteries for military veterans, the environment and people take huge hits while Walker and Republicans pocket huge pay-outs. The list of what Scott Walker is selling out is too long to fully note here.

As for that 250,000 new jobs promise Scott Walker campaigned on, Walker now says "it's really not about jobs."

The only people making out are Walker cronies getting paid by you.