Walker calls Kluka's John Doe probe a "sidebar issue," though the probe is reported to include investigation of possible criminal violations during the Recall elections, including looking at possible criminal fundraising, as the Wall Street Journal helpfully pointed out.
Such is Walker's prerogative, though Walker and Republicans often say they are committed to election integrity, and surely possible criminal campaign violations merit investigation for subverting democracy and betraying our fellows.
What is God telling Scott Walker right this moment, one wonders.
"I looked up and said, ‘I hear you, Lord,’” writes Walker in his new book. "God was sending me a clear message to not do things for personal glory or fame. It was a turning point that helped me in future challenges, helped me stay focused on the people I was elected to serve, and reminded me of God’s abundant grace and the paramount need to stay humble." (David Weigel. Slate Magazine; October 25, 2013)
Christian Schneider, a commissar for the Wisconsin Republican Party, says the timing of the "partisan" probe is suspect, while criticizing Walker's opponents of engaging in innuendo.
If Schneider really finds innuendo distasteful, how about facts to back up why he calls the probe a "specious review"?
If Judge Kluka and special prosecutor Francis Schmitz are engaged in a partisan witchhunt, Schneider and other Republicans should make public their evidence supporting their conclusion.
Otherwise, their words are not serious commentary.
Recall that Republicans said the same thing, and made wild accusations about the 2010-13 John Doe probe that resulted in six criminal convictions.
Are we to believe that six innocents were wrongfully convicted? Did prosecutor Bruce Landgraf, and supervising Judge Neal Nettesheim engage in malicious prosecutions?
"It appears the state-related case opened in February 2012," Bice wrote in October in his piece breaking the John Doe story.
The John Doe 2010-13 is over and Scott Walker has refused to hold one listening session with the Wisconsin people answering questions about what happened.
I doubt Walker will hold one listening session with the people he was elected to serve on the new John Doe probe, or least make a public appeal for all GOP contributors and politicians to tell the probe the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, and give their full cooperation.
Here's speculation on why Scott Walker won't take questions from the public, as some speculate Walker wants to be president and commander in chief, even with God as his side:
(Scott) Walker set up the annual Operation Freedom as a military appreciation day at the zoo for veterans, who got free admission and food. It was run through the county executive's office. (Walker was Milwaukee County Executive 2002-2010)Wisconsin statute 968.26 on John Doe proceedings is the statutory authority for conducting John Doe probes in Wisconsin.
(Tim) Russell (multiple felon and embezzler from veterans) was the coordinator of the event and worked on it with Darlene Wink (convicted criminal), another former Walker aide at the county who has been under investigation in the John Doe probe. ...
Later, in 2010, the financial end of the event was transferred to an entity known as the Heritage Guard Preservation Society, Russell told the newspaper [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel] in 2010. ...
The Heritage Guard Preservation Society was incorporated for a different purpose as a nonprofit in 2004. But Russell said in 2010 that the dormant firm was shifted to Operation Freedom.
The financing setup for the event drew ethics scrutiny in 2006, when two county Ethics Board members questioned the practice of county officials asking private companies for money for public programs, saying it raised conflict-of-interest questions. Walker said then that he was trying to save taxpayer dollars and that he'd resolve ethics concerns by asking a veterans organization to solicit funds for the event. ...
"Nobody's making accusations about anything here," Russell said then. Bookkeeping errors could ultimately explain the shortfall, he said.
Wink quit her job as Walker's constituent relations director in 2010 after she acknowledged posting political comments on the Journal Sentinel website while at work. She monitored the finances for the program in 2007, but did not collect checks or pay the bills, Russell said. That was Purple Heart's job.
In a May 26, 2010 posting on his county website, Walker said Operation Freedom was a way to thank military personnel and families.
"The picnic, patriotic program and Supermarket of Veterans Benefits are a small way for us to show our appreciation and give back for all our military has done for us," Walker wrote. (Bice. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, January 5, 2012)
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