Boost for Scott Walker as campaign finance probe ends

The Wisconsin Supreme Court voted to end an investigation into alleged campaign finance violations in Gov. Scott Walker's 2012 recall election campaign. Outside groups question the impartiality of some of the justices who voted in the case.

Scott Walker’s presidential campaign has just begun, but on Thursday the Wisconsin governor received a boost from the Supreme Court in his home state.

A ruling dismissed a three-year probe into alleged campaign finance violations by Governor Walker’s gubernatorial campaign and outside conservative groups. The so-called John Doe probe had launched in 2012, investigating allegations that the coordination between the organizations violated the state’s campaign finance laws.

The 4-to-2 decision came from an explicitly partisan high court that has itself been the focus of controversy over funding of the judges’ election campaigns.

The probe – which allows prosecutors to force people to give testimony and produce documents, and bars them from speaking about the investigation with anyone but their attorneys – focused on whether Walker’s campaign illegally coordinated with the Wisconsin Club for Growth and other conservative groups in the run-up to the 2012 recall election. That election was spurred by Democrats’ anger over a law Walker pushed for that effectively ended collective bargaining rights for most public workers.

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/gop-primaries/248292-trump-leads-another-2016-poll

“Businessman Donald Trump continues to lead the Republican presidential field, but a newcomer to the race is hot on his trail.

Trump took 18 percent support in a national Fox News poll released Thursday evening. Right behind him is Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker with 15 percent.

Walker officially launched his campaign Monday, declaring to supporters, “I will fight and win for you.”

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush dropped to third place, garnering 14 percent support.

In the previous edition of the Fox News poll, released June 15, Bush led the field with 15 percent, followed by Trump at 11 percent, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson at 10 percent, and Walker and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) tied at 9 percent.

Paul checked in at fourth place in the new survey at 8 percent, followed by Sen. Marco Rubio at 7 percent and Carson at 6 percent.

Following them are Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee at 4 percent, and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at 3 percent.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich and former Sen. Rick Santorum are tied for tenth at 2 percent.

Tenth place is a key spot, as Fox News’ Aug. 6 debate will be limited to the top ten candidates based on an average of polls. Candidates are pulling out all the stops to climb the polls for a shot at the stage.

Former CEO Carly Fiorina, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Sen. Lindsey Graham, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and former New York Gov. George Pataki all fell outside the top ten in the poll.

The poll surveyed 1,019 registered voters between July 13-15. The margin of error was plus or minus 3 percentage points.”

This article spends the majority of it’s space deliberating on why it’s a bad decision and quoting from those who oppose the decision. A tiny quote from the decision was printed but they conveniently left out paragraph 133, a particularly meaty paragraph:

“Our lengthy discussion of these three cases can be distilled into a few simple, but important, points. It is utterly clear that the special prosecutor has employed theories of law that do not exist in order to investigate citizens who were wholly innocent of any wrongdoing. In other words, the special prosecutor was the instigator of a “perfect storm” of wrongs that was visited upon the Innocent Unnamed Movants and those who dared to associate with them. It is fortunate, indeed, for every other citizen of this great State who is interested in the protection of fundamental liberties that the special prosecutor chose as his targets innocent citizens who had both the will and the means to fight the unlimited resources of an unjust prosecution. Further, these brave individuals played a crucial role in presenting this court with an opportunity to re-endorse its commitment to upholding the fundamental right of each and every citizen to engage in lawful political activity and to do so free from the fear of the tyrannical retribution of arbitrary or capricious governmental prosecution. Let one point be clear: our conclusion today ends this unconstitutional John Doe investigation.”

Not one word in the article about the bad acts of the “special prosecutor” and others.

It is beyond sad to see this kind of partisan reporting from a once great newspaper, The Christian Science Monitor. They couldn’t even be bothered to print the good stuff from the decision, or describe the back story with midnight raids and terrorized citizens and children, all good facts that would interest a reader. They’re not interested in interesting the reader, are they? Just furthering propaganda. Such a shame.

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