Posted on 04/26/2015 4:36:19 PM PDT by markomalley
If a prosecutor wants to assure the public he’s not out of control, perhaps he shouldn’t suggest that critics could be prosecuted. On Saturday, Wisconsin governor Scott Walker commented on Milwaukee District Attorney John Chisholm’s use of armed, pre-dawned raids against conservative targets of his extraordinarily expansive “John Doe” investigations:
“I said even if you’re a liberal Democrat, you should look at (the raids) and be frightened to think that if the government can do that against people of one political persuasion, they can do it against anybody, and more often than not we need protection against the government itself,” Walker told the radio station.
“As [National Review] pointed out, there were real questions about the constitutionality of much of what they did, but it was really about people trying to intimidate people…” Walker said.
“They were looking for just about anything. As I pointed out at the time, it was largely a political witch hunt.”
As public criticism goes, this statement is mild — especially when the criticized conduct included officers swarming into homes, taunting, yelling, denying access to lawyers, barging into sleeping kids’ rooms, threatening to batter down doors, and then demanding silence from the victims. And keep in mind that not one of the women who came forward to describe these raids has ever been charged with any crimes (#WarOnWomen?) In fact, Walker’s critique is milder even than Heather Digby Parton’s at the very left Salon. She called the raids “intimidation, pure and simple.”
But Walker’s comment was apparently too much for Chisholm, who broke his own (official) silence about the John Doe investigations with this remarkable statement:
“As to defamatory remarks, I strongly suspect the Iowa criminal code, like Wisconsin’s, has provisions for intentionally making false statements intended to harm the reputation of others,” Chisholm said in a statement Saturday responding to Walker’s comments.
Francis Schmitz — a “self-described” Republican who acted as a special prosecutor in the second John Doe investigation said this:
“His description of the investigation as a ‘political witch hunt’ is offensive when he knows that the investigation was authorized by a bipartisan group of judges and is directed by a Republican special prosecutor appointed at the request of a bipartisan group of district attorneys,” Schmitz’s statement said.
He called Walker’s comments inaccurate but didn’t detail why.
“I invite the governor to join me in seeking judicial approval to lawfully release information now under seal which would be responsive to the allegations that have been made,” his statement said. “Such information, when lawfully released, will show that these recent allegations are patently false.” (Emphasis added.)
Considering it was the prosecution that launched years-long secret investigations and then placed gag orders — on pain of criminal punishment — on the targets, Schmitz’s call to “release information” is almost comical. Chisholm’s response, however, is especially revealing. The excesses of the John Doe investigations raise concerns that Wisconsin prosecutors are trying to criminalize political speech, and in response the lead prosecutor . . . threatens to criminalize political speech. As my friend Ken White at Popehat tweeted:
Exactly so. Yet if Chisholm thinks threats can deter future comment or further investigation of his actions and motivations, he’s sadly mistaken.
The big deal is when people take it on themselves to punish outside of God’s specific prescribed means.
Why when he can get rich and powerful right where he is! Mental institutes? That’s for those crazy freedom loving tea-party types!
Hi,
I wonder what percentage of cops are liberals vs. Conservatives? With them being heavily unionized,you would normally think liberals out number conservatives by a large percentage. But the military on the other hand,has always struck me as being vastly more conservative. Except that leaders have been replaced with rabidly liberal progressives over the last six years.
“Nazi boy needs a check up from the neck up.”
An ISIS maneuver would enable the check up sans body...
“What did any fast moving train do to deserve that?”
The train won’t feel a thing!
He looks Aryan doesn’t he?
That’s just what the lefties are saying. Kind of surprised to hear it here.
Its totally different from SWAT teams at drug houses. The houses raided here belonged to law abiding citizens who were exercising their rights to speech and assembly.
If you can’t see the difference you need to study up on Hitler and the police state.
Not until more people in other parts of the country learn more about him.
“Stay out there in a utility van until the guy comes out to pick up the paper and then nab him in his PJ’s??”
Right, just like Holder and company did with David Koresh in Waco...he was out and about daily, into town, etc. No, Janet Reno and Eric Holder had other plans for the peaceable commune and the women and children residing there.
Eventually, Evil gets Got! God is still in charge! Men do their deeds...there is Hell to pay! Burning sulfur hurts! Especially when you still ain’t dead!
David Clarke is a ‘good guy’.
Alright, so where in any of my posts did I say I was going to do so?
bump
What is of great concern to me is that, to the best of my knowledge, Gov. Walker has not gone all in to pass legislation ending the “John Doe” investigations.
He has been governor for several years, Wisconsin FReepers. Why is the law still on the books?
Walker reinforces his image of cleanliness from the John Doe travesty by not protesting too much. He was also subject to the ‘gag order’. He was never formally designated as the ’target’ of the investigation in fact this was denied a couple of times. He’s going to let the legislature address this (#***&
This week the Wisconsin Supreme Court will FINALLY decide on taking up the legal issues involved. Especially if they were to allow civil rights suits against Chisolm, this will change the battlefield.
The Wisconsin legislature has indicated they are going to reform John Doe and the partisan corrupt elections board. We’ll be watching to hold their feet to the fire.
Fascist pig needing an instant zebbibah.
SWAT teams in the USA have raided a lot of “wrong” houses of law abiding citizens that had done nothing wrong. A baby with half her face blown off is just one instance.
‘Under the Sedition Act, even the rights of American citizens were curtailed by prohibiting assembly ‘with intent to oppose any measure … of the government’ and made it illegal for any person to ‘print, utter, or publish … any false, scandalous, and malicious writing’ against the government.’
Fortunately this clause had a sunset provision and expired in 1920. I am sure the Mahdi and indeed the Inside the Beltway Establishment wish it were not so and would like to see such language slipped into the ludicrously misnamed ‘Patriot Act’.
His wife is a Teachers Union shop steward and is one of those beside themselves with self righteous rage over the Walker Administration's ‘assault on the rights of educators’ (read you are threatening to break my rice bowl).
Mr. Chisholm's mentality is unfortunately all to common among so-called lawyers who are career bureaucrats and state employees. It was my experience that the group who found the strong protections the Constitution and the BOR contains for natural rights of citizens the most repugnant were senior JAG officers. I once almost induced a seizure of rage on the part of the HQ AMC JAG ( a runty 0-6) by stating an American citizen did not have to tell any agent of the government anything other than possibly his name and by the 5th Amendment was not obliged to cooperate with the government (US government employees have some lesser protections or they can lose their jobs and military members can face disciplinary proceeding for being ‘uncooperative’ with an agent of the state). It just enraged him that anyone who worked for the government would adhere to such views. Folks our government at all levels and the armed forces are well seeded with statist power worshipers and we can count on those institutions to trample our rights anytime they choose.
When did he shave off his short moustache ?
David French should get the Pulitzer for this coverage.
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