TAKING ON THE SPEECH POLICE: Fox Business Network’s John Stossel tells the story of the people silenced in Wisconsin’s John Doe probe, among others, in his special, ‘Censored In America.’ The program airs Saturday at 7 p.m. Central on Fox News.
Posted on 10/09/2015 3:38:32 PM PDT by afraidfortherepublic
MADISON, Wis. – Targets of Wisconsin’s political John Doe investigations will share their stories of government-stifled speech on an upcoming Fox News special.
“Censored in America,” as reported by John Stossel, airs at 7 p.m. Central Time Saturday.
“America is the first country to say to its people: all of you have a right to speak. But today speech is under siege,” Stossel writes in a blog promoting the special.
In it, he tells the stories of several people who have lost that right to speak, suffering varying consequences for doing so.
Stossel includes the story of John Doe targets Deborah Jordahl and her son, Adam.
RELATED: John Doe horror stories
On Oct. 3, 2013, Jordahl, a political strategist, and her family were forced to watch law enforcement root through and seize their possessions in predawn, paramilitary-style raids – all over an alleged campaign finance crime. She and the other targets of the probe were never charged with any wrongdoing, and the state Supreme Court in July found the investigation unconstitutional and ordered it shut down.
During the raid, Jordahl, her husband, and her teenage children were confined to the home’s family room, guarded by a Dane County deputy sheriff.
“At one point early on, I started to get up from the sofa,” Jordahl told Wisconsin Watchdog in July. “I told the deputy who was guarding us that I wanted to call my lawyer. She backed me down on the sofa and told me I could not call anyone.”
“I felt completely helpless in my own home.”
Stossel examines the John Doe secrecy orders, which has effectively held targets, subjects and witnesses as speech prisoners for years, prohibiting them from talking about the investigation to anyone.
“Authorities confiscated their computers and cell phones, and ordered them (and their children!) not to speak to anyone about the raids,” the Fox Business Network reporter writes in his blog.” Targets faced jail time and hefty fines for violating the gag orders.
“Recently Wisconsin’s Supreme Court revoked the speech ban, saying prosecutors ‘employed theories of law that did not exist.’ But by then, Republican activists had been silenced for 5 years,” Stossel writes.
The special also will feature Eric O’Keefe, long-time conservative activist who has fought back against the investigation and its enforced secrecy, filing lawsuits against the probe’s prosecutors and the state speech regulator integrally involved.
And “Censored in America” will tell the stories of censorship on college campuses, and of the high-profile Americans who lost their livelihoods because of the things they said – or once said.
Part 260 of 258 in the series Wisconsin's Secret War
TAKING ON THE SPEECH POLICE: Fox Business Network’s John Stossel tells the story of the people silenced in Wisconsin’s John Doe probe, among others, in his special, ‘Censored In America.’ The program airs Saturday at 7 p.m. Central on Fox News.
Heads up! John Doe victims to be featured on John Stossel’s special on free speech, Saturday night, 7 PM, Fox News. This outrage is now getting national attention.
FReep Mail me if you want on, or off, this Wisconsin interest ping list.
And where is their compensation for that?
And for depriving them of their rights, will the officers, prosecutors and members of the oversight board be charged under Section 242 of the United States Code?
If Scott Walker had taken charge of this issue a year ago he would be #2 in the polls right now.
Won’t happen under Obummer. Maybe under Trump or, possibly, Cruz
Scott Walker’s hands were tied, just like everybody elses. By some quirk in the law, only Eric O’Keefe had standing to sue. He and Matt Kittle explained that to me, but I found the explanation to be obscure and I can’t remember the details. Someting about how O’keefe avoided a direct raid on his home and offices. They accessed his records through some back door method, so he was never warned that he (under penalty of law) was not allowed to speak to anybody about the matter.
They denied to the end that Walker was a target, even though he was (as they admitted to each other in secret emails that O’Keefe’s lawsuit have bought to light.)
“And where is their compensation for that?”
Working its way through our court system. LOTS of lawsuits filed. I predict we WILL see compensation and we will see some Perp Walks. Wisconsin has thrown political hacks/thugs in prison for lesser crimes.
Also, there’s no cap on damages for civil rights violations, so some of those raided are going to be set for life. Granted, through Taxpayer Dollars, but we can blame that on the radical Leftists in our midst, so it’s a Win/Win.
When everything comes to light - and Stossel’s (God Bless Him!) report will help GREATLY (Mark Steyn is also a guest on this show!) - heads are going to roll.
Yes, The Wheels of Justice turn slowly, but they DO turn. :)
Walker should have stood up and defended the people who were being RAILROADED for defending him.
What were the facists going to do, arrest him?
If they had, he would have become a national hero for the next hundred years.
Instead he chose to be a chkn sht weasel putz.
And THAT’S why he faded so quickly.
Chkn sht reaps what chkn sht sows.
It should be automatic. These people violated Federal law in massive ways. Willful violation of civil rights under color of law? Outright contempt for their political rights?
I cannot even imagine how such a set of laws survived this long. There is no precedent in any other State that I am aware of.
These were not people in the Communist Party engaged in violent terrorism. The supposed motivation for this is what, some coordination among political groups - emails and phone calls?
The entire regime strikes at the heart of the American Republic. It's straight out of the Star Chamber.
Utterly beyond belief that an organized crime operation like the Democratic Party in Milwaukee would think they could run a game like that.
“Utterly beyond belief that an organized crime operation like the Democratic Party in Milwaukee would think they could run a game like that.”
And that is why Governor Walker scares the bejeebers out of them. FINALLY, it is not, ‘politics as usual’ in our state.
The Leftists soooooooooo overstepped their bounds that they’ve screwed themselves for many years to come.
And good! :)
Yes. Scott’s obviously a good guy. Not as aware of the national issue of utmost importance - immigration - but clearly willing to try to stop the gangster state that has owned the upper midwest for over half a century.
I figured if he ended up as President he could be educated, as Abbott did when he took him to the border.
Now he has a more important task. Expose and destroy this Bolshevik secret police state that exists entirely out of view, and restore Constitutional bounds to politics in his state.
That alone might propel him into the White House.
Thanks!!
The left would have loved that. I don’t know where you live, but Wisconsin’s John Doe law is unique in the nation in its secrecy requirement and the polce power that it gives the prosecutors. It dates back to Wisconsin’s Territoriral days. Walker would have been in jail and likely impeached.
People from other parts of the country keep saying that this was an unconstitutional action. It wasn’t unconstitutional under Wisconsin law. But now the courts have agreed. Previously all attempts to take it to court have been thrown out, or blocked. Under Shirley Abrahamson, the WI Supreme Court wouldn’t even look at it.
ANybody who missed this Sat. night missed a good program. It will be repeated Sun. night. If you don’t want to watch the whole thing, the Wisconsin part is from .22 to almost .40. The rest of it deals with Free Speech in the classroom (or lack thereof).
FReep mail me if you want on, or off, this Wisconsin interest ping list.
I don’t know where you live...
If you are saying voicing opposition to a law is itself illegal then I repeat what I said: he would have been a national hero for a hundred years.
And there is the small (to you, seemingly) matter of honor. These people were being oppressed for supporting Walker and Walker was honor-bound to find a way to help them. He didn’t even look.
You have to understand our law (if anyone does.) Thank goodness the legislature is in the process of changing it.
I didn’t understand it when I first moved here 30 years ago. As I said, it (and its penalty) is unique in the US. The prosecuters are still not abiding by the several court orders to return the confiscated materials to the victims.
When I first moved here, I knew a lady (who turned out to be a little crazy, may she RIP) who used to rant all the time about somebody in City government whom she didn’t like: “Get a John Doe after them.” I really didn’t know what she meant until now.
Is it against the law to criticize the law or question the existence of the law?
Yes or no?
If yes, then anyone fighting that law would be a National Hero. By definition.
Yes, in Wisconsin, if you are a target of a John Doe. These people were under court order to not tell anybody. One of the children (home alone during the raid) was not allowed to tell his parents (who were out of town) or tell the High School why he was late that day. They were told that they could call their attorneys. It took a couple of years for everything to come out.
In the mean time, the prosecutors kept their friends in the liberal media well informed. The newspapers would just broadly hint that “Walker is under investigation for unspecified campaign violations (or worse)”. Then they would all deny that Walker was a target.
So there was lots of buzz, but no specific facts.
You didn’t answer my question.
Under the law we are discussing:
Is it against the law for a journalist a politician or a citizen who is not being investigated to question IN GENERAL the fairness of that law?
Yes or no?
Choose one.
Thanks.
No. But itis if you are a target. That is the point.
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