UPDATED: John Doe prosecutors allege Scott Walker at center of 'criminal scheme'

Source: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Madison — Prosecutors allege that Gov. Scott Walker was at the center of an effort to illegally coordinate fundraising among conservative groups to help his campaign and those of Republican senators fend off recall elections during 2011 and '12, according to documents unsealed Thursday.

In the documents, prosecutors lay out what they call a "criminal scheme" to bypass state election laws by Walker, his campaign and two top deputies — R.J. Johnson and Deborah Jordahl.

The governor and his close confidants helped raise money and control spending through 12 conservative groups during the recall elections, according to the prosecutors' filings.

The documents include an email in which Walker tells Karl Rove, former top adviser to President George W. Bush, that Johnson would lead the coordination campaign. Johnson is also chief adviser to Wisconsin Club for Growth, a conservative group active in the recall elections.

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Read more: http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/federal-judge-unseals-hundreds-of-documents-in-john-doe-probe-b99295017z1-263839791.html

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Prosecutors allege Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker part of ‘criminal scheme’

Newly released documents show prosecutors are alleging Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker was at the center of a nationwide “criminal scheme” to illegally coordinate with outside conservative groups.

Prosecutors say Walker, his chief of staff and others who worked for him were discussing illegal coordination with a number of national groups and prominent figures, including GOP strategist Karl Rove.

Read more at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/prosecutors-gov-walker-part-of-criminal-scheme/2014/06/19/6b8de66c-f7db-11e3-8118-eae4d5b48c7d_story.html

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UPDATE:

Prosecutors: Walker's Campaign 'Tacitly Admitted' Breaking The Law

ERIC LACH – JUNE 19, 2014, 4:32 PM EDT

In court documents unsealed on Thursday, a prosecutor accused Gov. Scott Walker's (R) campaign of "tacitly" admitting to breaking Wisconsin law.

The assertion was included in a document originally filed in state court late last year by special prosecutor Francis Schmitz, who was appointed in October to oversee a secret "John Doe" investigation of the 2011 and 2012 recall elections in Wisconsin.

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"Movants argue that 'coordination' of political activities that do not arguably involve express advocacy cannot be a crime under Wisconsin law," he wrote. "These arguments fail to recognize or misinterpret Wisconsin statutes, administrative rules, and G.A.B. formal opinions. Movants have also ignored controlling Wisconsin case law. Indeed, in their submissions, movants - FOSW, Citizens for a Strong America, Inc. (CFSA), Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, Inc. (WMC) and Wisconsin Manfacuturers & Commerce-Issues Mobilization Council (WMC-IMC), and Wisconsin Club for Growth (WiCFG) appear to have tacitly admitted to violating Wisconsin law."

Schmitz's filing was part of the documents made public Thursday in connection to a federal lawsuit against the state prosecutors that was brought by Wisconsin Club for Growth. Earlier this year, U.S. District Judge Rudolph Randa issued a sharply-worded ruling ordering the prosecutors to halt the investigation. In language that later shocked campaign finance experts, Randa wrote that Wisconsin Club for Growth had "found a way to circumvent campaign finance laws, and that circumvention should not and cannot be condemned or restricted." Schmitz and the other prosecutors involved in the John Doe investigation have appealed Randa's decision.

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http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/prosecutors-scott-walker-campaign-tacitly-dmitted