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On Wednesday, a Wisconsin judge unsealed an 88-page report on the state Department of Justice’s (WIDoJ) investigation into a leak of sealed evidence from the politically motivated “John Doe” investigation of Gov. Scott Walker, his supporters, and various conservative groups related to his recall election campaign. Despite concluding a crime was committed during the John Doe proceedings, WIDoJ recommends no criminal charges. Instead, the report recommends that former Government Accountability Board (GAB) lawyer Shane Falk be referred to the state judiciary’s Office of Lawyer Regulation for discipline and that contempt proceedings be initiated against John Doe special prosecutor Francis Schmitz and former...

Part 315 of 314 in the series Wisconsin's Secret War MADISON, Wis. - He walked into work Tuesday morning to find he had received an "unbelievable" notice. Opening the manila envelope, the Wisconsin conservative learned that government agents had secretly seized his emails - professional and personal - sent and received over a two-year period beginning Jan. 1, 2009. He found out he had, without his knowledge, been dragged into Wisconsin's notorious John Doe investigation, one of perhaps dozens of individuals who in recent days have received similar notices from former John Doe special prosecutor Francis D. Schmitz. Some, like...

Part 297 of 295 in the series Wisconsin's Secret War MADISON, Wis. - The special prosecutor of the politically driven probe the state Supreme Court has twice declared dead laments the conservatives he intimidated for more than two years are legally tougher than the "violent criminals and terrorists" he investigated as a federal prosecutor. "The miscalculation I made in this investigation was underestimating the power and influence special interest groups have in Wisconsin politics," Francis Schmitz, point man for the unconstitutional "John Doe II" probe said Wednesday in a press release. "My career in the military and as a federal...

MADISON, Wis. — The state Government Accountability Board has long attempted to downplay its role in the political John Doe investigation. Documents obtained by Wisconsin Watchdog, however, show just how involved the rogue agency was in assisting John Doe special prosecutor Francis Schmitz and other partners in defending the unconstitutional campaign finance probe into Gov. Scott Walker’s campaign and dozens of conservative organizations. “It’s clear that the GAB continued to defend the bogus legal theories in the John Doe long after the board voted to shut it down … and after a federal judge enjoined the agency from continuing to...

MADISON, Wis. – In January, testifying before the Legislature, Government Accountability Board director Kevin Kennedy called his agency a “Wisconsin success story.” “The Legislature should be proud of the Board, not only for its nonpartisan nature, but for its accomplishments and performance over the first seven years existence,” Kennedy said in defending the campaign finance, elections, and ethics regulator against a growing list of critics concerned that the agency was alarmingly partisan and less than accountable. SAVE MARY: An email obtained by Wisconsin Watchdog shows former GAB legal counsel Shane Falk worrying about what a prosecutor’s statement might mean for...

MADISON, Wis. – So how much has it cost Wisconsin taxpayers to defend the rogue prosecutors of a political investigation that has been ordered shut down by the state Supreme Court? More than $1.1 million and counting – $1,189,199.70 to be precise, according to information obtained by Wisconsin Watchdog through a records request. The records were provided by the state Department of Administration. And the bill continues to grow. Taxpayers spent $407,558.25 to defend special prosecutor Francis Schmitz in a federal civil rights lawsuit filed by targets of the lengthy John Doe investigation into 29 conservative organizations and the campaign...

MADISON, Wisconsin — This is what an abusive, politically motivated investigation looks like: The sun had yet to rise when deputies pounded on the door of Deborah Jordahl’s home in a quiet suburb of Madison. They had a warrant, and they were coming in. Armed law enforcement officers, led by Milwaukee County District Attorney investigator Anna Linden, proceeded to root through the home. They hauled out computers, smartphones, paper records and an array of “evidence” that had nothing to do with the investigation, private possessions that weren’t listed on the sweeping warrants. Through it all, Jordahl, her husband, and her...

Gov. Scott Walker won't say whether he, his attorneys or any staff members have been contacted in a growing, secret criminal investigation into a variety of state issues. Pressed three times on the matter, Walker said Monday that he wouldn't be distracted by questions on the John Doe investigation, which he called a "sidebar issue.""In terms of a lot of the questions regarding that issue, I really don't have a lot to say," Walker said during a visit to Beechwood Sales and Service in New Berlin. "I'm going to stay focused, as I am today, on helping the people of...