Posted on 04/25/2015 11:59:28 PM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
In a swing through the crucial presidential state of Iowa this weekend,Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker took the rare step of lashing out at prosecutors who had probed his campaign by questioning whether their tactics were constitutional.
In an equally unusual turn,prosecutors fired back by calling Walker's comments inaccurate,offensive and defamatory—with Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm suggesting Walker could be criminally charged for lying. They said Walker should call for the release of sealed court records so the public could know more about the investigation and raids on people's homes,but Walker gave that notion little heed....
The state Supreme Court is now considering three pieces of litigation related to that probe. It is expected to decide this summer whether the investigation can resume or must be stopped for good.
Separately,the U.S. Supreme Court is weighing whether to accept a challenge to the probe brought by the Wisconsin Club for Growth. That lawsuit was thrown out by the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago in September.
Chisholm suggested a "false propaganda push" was being made about the raids now because of the U.S. Supreme Court's consideration of that case,comparing it to reports about how his office operated that surfaced just before the federal appeals court considered the case.
At issue..is whether Walker's campaign illegally coordinated with the Wisconsin Club for Growth and other groups. The groups contend they did nothing wrong because the ads they run don't tell people how they should vote,though they do praise conservatives and attack their opponents.
Walker said groups supporting him had focused on the benefits of the limits on collective bargaining he placed on most public workers. Those limits,known as Act 10,sparked the recall effort against Walker that he ultimately won.
Talking about such issues is a matter of free speech and prosecutors ignored that,Walker said in the radio interview....
(Excerpt) Read more at jsonline.com ...
Topics covered:
Getting power out of D.C. and back to the states
The border, citizenship, immigration, illegals, deportation
Economy, Jobs, American worker
Christian persecution around the world, Terrorism
The Wisconsin protests and Walker family
How Republicans can broaden their appeal to young voters
“with Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm suggesting Walker could be criminally charged for lying.”
I KNEW that was coming as soon as walker made a comment...and people couldnt figure out why walker didnt say anything before.
That’s why he made the comment in IOWA....I’m sure he talked to his lawyers before he made the comment.
I just do not know why.
But why does not Walker ask for the court to release the sealed records as the prosecutor proposes?
If the prosecutor was worried about the contents (or lack thereof) of the records, why would he challenge Walker to ask for the unsealing?
If Walker is certain this investigation is unwarranted, why would he not call for the unsealing of the records?
Something is not right here.
The Left keeps overreaching. Their actions in Wisconsin over the last 5 years is the perfect BILLBOARD and platform to show the country, that when you have leadership, you can defeat this tyranny.
You are incorrect. This has been an alinsky witchhunt from day 1. the teachers unions are neck deep, including chisolms union teacher wife.
What am I incorrect about? I am just asking questions.
Duh...then Chisolm can go after him for interfering with the courts and abuse of office.....Chisolm has already leaked stuff to the press on his own.
But the prosecuter challenged Walker to do so. All Walker would have to do, if he was charged with obstruction, would be to point to the prosecutor’s challenge.
The purpose of a John Doe investigation is to protect innocent people. Chisholm used that call for secrecy to keep people from getting lawyers, telling their friends and neighbors what was happening, expanding the 1st John Doe 18 times and then launching the 2nd John Doe - where 100+ subpoenas were approved during a marathon session by an activist judge.
Here are some sources where you can learn what this is about and what is going on, and what has been released:
Milwaukee County says nearly all Walker emails released
Open anyone of these articles on Wisconsin's Secret War and at the bottom of each one of the 194 investigative series entries, is an expandable list with titles, dates and links to all 194.
It will help you discover what "isn't right here."
LMAO...put it this way
If I challenge you to attack me...and you do so...you will be charged with assault....you will not be able to use the challenge as a defense in COURT.
This is political poker being played...not chess.
Chisolm should be charged by the DOJ for Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law for what he has already done to people...but the DOJ is in Obama’s pocket.
Better to let it go throught the courts for now....along with the negative PR.
http://watchdog.org/113658/judge-investigation-democrat/
$775,000 and rising — Wisconsin taxpayers’ bill to defend John Doe prosecutors
By M.D. Kittle | Wisconsin Reporter - March 4, 2015
MADISON, Wis. — Taxpayers conservatively have spent north of $775,000 defending the prosecutors of a politically charged John Doe investigation driven on a legal theory that even the prosecutors have rejected.
The state, as of Monday, had paid $368,654.60 for the legal defense of Francis Schmitz, the special prosecutor for the multi-county John Doe probe into dozens of conservative organizations and Gov. Scott Walker’s campaign, according to information obtained by Wisconsin Reporter through an open records request.
Taxpayers are on the hook for another $407,643.58 in attorney fees to defend Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm, the Democrat who launched the probe in late summer 2012, two of his assistant DAs and a special investigator contracted by the state Government Accountability Board.
“That’s an awful lot of taxpayer dollars to advance a legal theory that the state itself has already repudiated,” said Andrew M. Grossman, an attorney for political activist Eric O’Keefe and his Wisconsin Club for Growth, one of 29 conservative groups targeted in the campaign finance probe.
The expenditures were released by Walker’s legal counsel, who, under state law, is in charge of handling the legal bills of the same people who for the past few years have gone after Walker’s campaign and the Republican governor’s conservative allies. Costs reflect only money spent defending the prosecutors in federal court.
O’Keefe and the club in February 2014 sued Schmitz, Chisholm, his assistant DAs, David Robles and Bruce Landgraf, and the GAB’s Dean Nickel in federal court after presiding John Doe judge quashed several subpoenas the month before because the prosecutors had failed to show probable cause that a campaign finance crime had been committed.
The conservatives allege prosecutors grossly violated their First Amendment rights through a partisan witch hunt, political retaliation for conservative successes under Walker.
A federal judge last June issued an injunction against prosecutors, shutting down the probe, and allowed the lawsuit to move forward. O’Keefe and the club are seeking damages not only in the prosecutors’ official capacity as state agents, but in a personal capacity — meaning the defendants would have to pay out of their personal finances.
The U.S. Court of Appeals last fall overturned the lower court’s injunction and dismissed the federal lawsuit, arguing the matter should be settled in the state court system.
O’Keefe and the club in January appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, asserting the case of premeditated prosecutorial abuse is precisely the kind of constitutional abuse case federal courts should take up.
Not long after the conservatives filed with the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. District Court Judge Charles N. Clevert Jr. issued a final declaratory judgment and permanent injunction against the GAB and Chisholm, partners in the John Doe probe. The order speaks directly to Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc. v. Barland, and the appeals court ruling on it in May that says portions of Wisconsin’s campaign finance law related to issue advocacy were unconstitutional.
The judge’s declaratory judgment, however, specifically references the John Doe probe and bans the GAB from enforcing the illegal statute and Chisholm from criminally investigating individuals using the section of law.
Chisholm and the Government Accountability Board each signed off on that order, agreeing they would not pursue the probe based on the unconstitutional law. And the GAB in August voted to shut down its John Doe investigation, integrally tied to the probe conducted by Schmitz and Chisholm and crew.
Yet, the prosecutors continue to defend in state and federal court their legal theory that the conservative groups illegally coordinated with Walker’s campaign during Wisconsin’s partisan recall season basically because they all shared the same limited government, free-market principles.
That theory and the validity of the John Doe investigation is about to be tested before the state Supreme Court.
Wisconsin’s unique John Doe procedure is similar to a grand jury investigation, without a jury of peers. A single judge is vested with extraordinary power to compel witnesses to testify in determining whether a crime has been committed. The probes have included a gag order, and those subject to it can go to jail if they say anything publicly about the investigations.
Chisholm could not be reached for comment Tuesday at his Milwaukee office. Schmitz’s attorney, Randall Crocker, did not return a call seeking comment.
For now, the probe remains on hold, but O’Keefe and other conservative targets say the damage already has been done. They say the cloud of an investigation hanging over them for the past two and a half years has kept donors on the sidelines and paralyzed their ability to engage in political speech. And for the conservatives who had their homes raided before sunrise like they were drug dealers or gang members, the costs are more intangible.
Once source tells Wisconsin Reporter that $775,000 doesn’t begin to cover the actual costs to taxpayers, including the time and resources that could have been spent on investigating and prosecuting real crimes against people and property.”
[FULL LIST AND LINKS TO ALL INVESTIGATIVE ARTICLES at the “Wisconsin Watchdog” source ARE AT THE BOTTOM OF THAT LINK (scroll to the bottom of the article and expand the interactive list).
Assault and asking for the release of sealed court records is not the same thing!
Have you started to look over the material I’ve provided for you?
Do you plan to?
Ok....you are dense.
Walker will not be able to use chisolms “challenge” as a defense for meddling in a court proceeding that Walker is not personally a party to.
It’s that clear enough?
They are gunning for Walker and waiting for him to anything they can latch onto...like interject his office into a currently underway court proceeding.
There are a lot of articles there! I have quickly checked out a couple and will check out more if not all.
Great!
Walker has endured so much due to his principled stand against the unions. Meanwhile, Hillary commits all sorts of egregious acts with seeming impunity.
The contrast is striking.
The Wisc. Legislature needs to kill or severely cripple the John Doe law.
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