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Earlier this month, more than 1 million signatures were collected on petitions calling for a recall election against Wisconsin’s Gov. Scott Walker, but that’s not the only bad news he’s received.
Two new criminal complaints filed by the Milwaukee County DA against two aids who worked for Walker while he was with the county allege a pattern of illegal fundraising and what appears to be a systemic violation of campaign laws by Walker’s inner circle.
Both of the aids are accused of doing political work on county time. One is being charged with four felonies while the other is facing two misdemeanors. One of the two cut a deal with prosecutors under which she agreed to provide information in a related investigation about the destruction of digital evidence and to aid in further prosecutions. This is the first indication that the multifaceted John Doe investigation may be pursuing charges of evidence tampering. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that the probe was focusing on possible bid rigging and other misconduct in the competition to house the county Department on Aging in private office space.
The charges are the latest in a 20-month John Doe investigation into the activities of Walker’s former and current staffers. A John Doe is a secret probe in which prosecutors can compel testimony and subpoena documents while looking into possible criminal activity.
The new allegations bring the total number of people criminally charged in the John Doe investigation to six. Earlier this month, the District Attorney charged a former Walker deputy chief of staff and former county veterans official with stealing more than $60,000 in donations intended for Operation Freedom, an annual event honoring veterans at the county zoo. Both are facing multiple felonies.
The probe already has netted one conviction: the president of Wisconsin & Southern Railroad was sentenced to two years of probation after acknowledging funneling at least $72,800 in illegal and excessive campaign contributions to Walker and other candidates.
According to the new complaints, Walker’s deputy established a USB device and router to create a wireless Internet connection. “Select, ‘insider’ staffers” used this secret e-mail system for both official and unofficial business, the complaint alleges. It was never disclosed to county employees outside of a closely knit group within the Walker administration.
The complaint includes information about fundraising activities for at least two Republican candidates, including Walker, by county workers on the job. The DA found that one worker exchanged some 300 emails with the candidate during office hours. “These email contacts were almost always, if not exclusively, related to fundraising efforts,” the complaint states. Also according to the complaint, county workers were involved in more than 1,380 fundraising emails and more than 1,000 with members of Walker’s campaign staff – all during normal work hours.
In one 2009 chat with a fellow Walker aide, one of the two recently charged workers asked how she could clear a document from her chat session. She was told it would disappear when she logged out. “I just am afraid of going to jail – ha! ha!” she wrote.
One worker frequently emailed Cullen Werwie who was working for the campaign at the time, who later worked for the Walker gubernatorial campaign, and who became Governor Walker’s spokesman after the election.
The criminal complaint said Walker’s county constituent services manager exchanged numerous campaign-related messages with top Walker gubernatorial campaign staffers, including Reince Preibus, then Republican Party of Wisconsin chairman and now head of the Republican National Committee.
According to the criminal complaint, another county worker planned two fundraisers for Walker, organized phone banks, sent out press releases and discussed political matters while on county time.
The investigation is on-going, so stay tuned for further reports as the plot thickens.
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