WI Gov. Scott Walker implicated in criminal probe

BenBurch said:
If he isn't under investigation, he committed a felony starting a defense fund.
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theprestige said:
Either that, or there's some legal nuance you're missing.
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There may be a legal nuance, but I am not a lawyer, so this is just speculation.

Kelly Rindfleisch, Walker's Deputy Chief of Staff at the county, has been charged. Obviously, the investigators are looking to see if Walker was involved with, or knew of her activities. Is that enough to trigger the under investigation clause in the law and permit the creation of the fund?

If such evidence is found, the thread title will finally be accurate. :D
 
Not over yet; http://www.thedailybeast.com/articl...ll-but-investigations-may-zero-in-on-him.html

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The D.A.’s John Doe investigation into associates of Walker during his time as the Milwaukee county executive, launched in 2010, has to date led to charges against six people, including Walker’s former deputy chief of staff. While Walker himself has not been charged with wrongdoing, the investigation is ongoing and over the past seven weeks Walker has transferred $160,000 from his campaign to a legal-defense fund that he maintains is to cover the expense of cooperating with the probe.

A John Doe investigation, similar to grand juries in many states, is a sub rosa investigation in which prosecutors can subpoena witnesses and bar them from publicly discussing the matter under investigation. Walker first met with prosecutors in Milwaukee County in February to discuss the investigation. He denied wrongdoing in a statement at the time, saying that he brought two defense lawyers to the meeting to ensure that he was “in the best position possible to continue aiding the inquiry.”

But the governor’s defense fund has raised eyebrows. Walker has said that the money in the fund will only go to legal fees incurred by himself or his campaign, and not his aides. Though he has not been personally charged with any crimes as a result of the investigation, he has said that he needs the war chest to cover the expense of providing documents to lead investigator and Milwaukee District Attorney John Chisholm, a Democrat.

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Are you implying (by posting that article) that because he has been accused and then subsequently got a lawyer that he is acting guilty for exercising his right to having a lawyer? Because is sure sounds to me like that's what the last paragraph in that article is saying in a *wink* *wink* *nudge* *nudge* sort of way.
 
It will be interesting to see how it turns out. But right now it's not clear if he was involved. I tend to think they are all dirty so he is too. But then again we should wait.
 
Sam.I.Am said:
Are you implying (by posting that article) that because he has been accused and then subsequently got a lawyer that he is acting guilty for exercising his right to having a lawyer? Because is sure sounds to me like that's what the last paragraph in that article is saying in a *wink* *wink* *nudge* *nudge* sort of way.
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No, he claims to be not under investigation, but then created a legal defense fund which WI law says is illegal unless you are under investigation. Because of the nature of the probe, he might not be ALLOWED to say he is under investigation. BUT, if he is not under investigation and has not been told he is under investigation, then he should be prosecuted for illegally creating a legal defense fund.
 
BenBurch said:
No, he claims to be not under investigation, but then created a legal defense fund which WI law says is illegal unless you are under investigation. Because of the nature of the probe, he might not be ALLOWED to say he is under investigation. BUT, if he is not under investigation and has not been told he is under investigation, then he should be prosecuted for illegally creating a legal defense fund.
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He won. Get over it.
 
It won't matter. Those who support him will say the deal was to get this stupid investigation over and done with, not that it's an admission of his guilt.

With the previous John doe, the options were he was guilty, or such an incompetent leader that he didn't notice his employees spending half their work day on separate laptops on a separate network doing illegal things. If I remember correctly there were even emails showing he knew about the separate network. Nonetheless his supporters keep supporting.

Sadly I think he will win reelection solely because it's not a presidential election year.
 
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http://www.jsonline.com/news/statep...ohn-doe-settlement-b99280210z1-261094571.html

Madison — With a carefully worded, two-sentence statement, Gov. Scott Walker sought Thursday to deflect questions about whether his campaign is in settlement talks with prosecutors in a secret John Doe probe.

The campaign for the GOP governor was responding to a letter sent Wednesday on behalf of a conservative group that questioned whether a special prosecutor in the investigation is negotiating with Walker's campaign to seek concessions that the outside group might oppose.

The Wisconsin Club for Growth and its treasurer, Eric O'Keefe, filed a federal lawsuit in February against special prosecutor Francis Schmitz and others contending their free speech rights were violated by the secret investigation into possible illegal coordination by groups involved in the 2012 recall campaigns. U.S. District Judge Rudolph Randa in Milwaukee halted the probe this month as he considers the group's claims.

The statement by Friends of Scott Walker was attributed simply to the campaign and not to any individual and appeared to deal only with the federal lawsuit, not the state investigation in which both the Club for Growth and Walker's campaign are targets.

"Neither Governor Walker nor his campaign committee are parties to the federal lawsuit. This means they have no legal standing to reach a settlement or deal in their lawsuit," the statement reads in full.

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And the long brown object has hit the spinning air turbine;

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/20/us/scott-walker-wisconsin-governor.html?_r=0

CHICAGO — Prosecutors in Wisconsin assert that Gov. Scott Walker placed himself in the middle of an elaborate effort to illegally coordinate fund-raising between his campaign and numerous conservative groups during efforts to recall him two years ago, according to records of their investigation unsealed on Thursday.

The allegations by five county district attorneys, released as part of a federal lawsuit over the investigation into Mr. Walker, his aides and the conservative groups, suggest that Mr. Walker’s campaign expressly coordinated with the outside groups, including Wisconsin Club for Growth, to the point that campaign advisers also controlled some of the groups.

Legal filings by the prosecutors provided a rare view of the inner workings of a far-flung network of conservative nonprofit groups that have come to play a decisive role in national and state elections, moving hundreds of millions of dollars into campaigns by avoiding traditional political action committees that face tougher disclosure requirements.

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Gloating is so much fun. Nice to see a governor not from Illinois heading (eventually) to slam.
 
He may still get away with it. I really hope you are right and he ends up seeing a conviction.

Ever since the fake koch brothers call in which Walker said he considered sending in fake protesters to cause damage/violence in order to turn everyone against the real protesters I've considered him shady and corrupt.

His actions since then have only confirmed he is the poster boy for corrupt crony capitalism.
 
What does this part mean- " released as part of a federal lawsuit over the investigation ".

Does not sound like an ongoing criminal investigation. Are the Desm suign hioM? Or is the FEC (?) suing Walker?

Which party are the five DAs from? Can you say "Partisan smear campaign"?

Gloat if you want. The two previous quotes seem pretty , not much criminality by the Gov involved.
 
casebro said:
What does this part mean- " released as part of a federal lawsuit over the investigation ".

Does not sound like an ongoing criminal investigation. Are the Desm suign hioM? Or is the FEC (?) suing Walker?

Which party are the five DAs from? Can you say "Partisan smear campaign"?

Gloat if you want. The two previous quotes seem pretty , not much criminality by the Gov involved.
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Now, having not researched today's news in depth, here is what I understand to have happened;

A conservative group filed a lawsuit to stop this probe and didn't realize apparently that all of these files would become public records immediately, and then a FOIA from a journalist was all it took.

The order was granted to stop the probe, but is being appealed en banc.
 
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