The freakish series of events, which would make an excellent Lifetime movie, honestly, culminated in a ruling this morning from the Wisconsin Supreme Court who were, shall we say, not very kind to the law enforcement and local government officials who concocted the elaborate intimidation scheme.
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The legal battle largely centers on the type of political activity conducted by Wisconsin Club for Growth and other conservative groups during Walker’s recall and recalls targeting state senators in 2011 and 2012.
The court’s majority concluded the state law under which a court-appointed special prosecutor was pursuing the case was too vague to be constitutional. Howard Schweber, a University of Wisconsin-Madison political science and legal studies associate professor, said the line between issue advocacy and express advocacy is already thin and the ruling will allow political action committees to run a candidate’s campaign without disclosing their spending.
Prosecutor Francis Schmitz said in an email to The Associated Press that it’s unfortunate people won’t get a public discussion of the facts.
The decision ends a controversial, years-long inquiry that has cast a shadow over Walker’s presidential campaign, which he formally announced Monday.
The John Doe investigators targeted a number of members from throughout Wisconsin conservatives’ infrastructure in the state -an infrastructure whose operations that has been remarkably efficient and effective.
John Chisholm, the Milwaukee County district attorney and a Democrat, began the investigation but was later joined by other county prosecutors, from both political parties.
Given our previous coverage of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s (R) “John Doe” controversy, it’s only fair to note that as of yesterday, by order of the state Supreme Court, the investigation is no more.
“The decision should be appealed to the United States Supreme Court”, said Jay Heck, executive director of Common Cause.
“The majority opinion delivers a significant blow to Wisconsin campaign finance law and to its paramount objectives of … providing for ‘a better informed electorate, ‘” she wrote.
“This closes a divisive chapter in Wisconsin history, and the assertive recognition of First Amendment rights by the Wisconsin Supreme Court protects free speech for all Wisconsinites”, said state Attorney Brad Schimel.
Outlining his vision of the criminal justice system, the Republican presidential candidate cited the city of Camden as a model for rebuilding trust between law enforcement and residents while also driving down violent crime.
That last phase – “even if Walker’s campaign and the groups had worked together as prosecutors believe” – is of particular interest.
Questions about the investigation have dogged Walker for months.
Justice Michael Gableman, part of the court’s conservative majority, praised the conservative groups for challenging the investigation.
But the state’s high court said such… He survived a recall election in 2012 that stemmed from his successful efforts to curtail public employees’ collective bargaining power.
Not only do Schmitz and other state prosecutors have to “cease all activities”, but they must also “return property seized in the investigation from any individual or organization, and permanently destroy all copies of information and other material obtained through the investigation”, Justice Gableman wrote in his opinion.
Political observers say a Wisconsin Supreme Court decision ending an investigation into whether Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s 2012 recall campaign illegally coordinated with conservative groups clears the way for unregulated coordination between candidates and supporters.
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“It’s a field day for the wealthiest corporations, they can give unlimited amounts, they can give millions of dollars and no one is ever going to find out about it”, said Matt Rothschild of Wisconsin Democracy Campaign.
