AP ran the above screen capture nationally. The investigation has been shutdown at the State and Federal Level.
Via Townhall
Welcome to a genuine phony scandal. You may have caught a glimpse of the lurid headlines this morning, which were splashed across the front pages of many of America’s leading newspapers — and, indeed, on our own website: “Prosecutors Say Scott Walker at the Center of Criminal Scheme.” The resulting impression is that the Wisconsin governor is embroiled in a serious new scandal, in which charges may be imminent. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, the media’s breathless coverage of a recent document release has largely promulgated the opposite of the truth. On that score, Gabriel Malor, an attorney and blogger, has a must-read primer at The Federalist. It lays bare the thorough dishonesty and inanity of the current press coverage.
For the uninitiated, Democratic district attorneys in Wisconsin opened a secret investigation into whether Gov. Walker’s campaign illegally coordinated with outside conservative groups during the acrimonious recall election of 2012. The sealed nature of the probe (known as a “John Doe” investigation) barred its targets from even acknowledging its existence in public. When the partisan prosecutors presented their “evidence” in a closed proceeding, they were swiftly thrown out of state court with their subpoenas quashed for lack of probable cause. Then, when a conservative activist targeted by “John Doe” sued the prosecutors for abuse of power and violating his rights, a federal judge emphatically sided with him, ordering the investigation be shut down, and paving the way for the retaliatory lawsuit to proceed.
Legal Insurrection has also been following the smear campaign.
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has been the subject of a brutal smear campaign by local district attorneys using the so-called “John Doe” procedure, as discussed in my post Media Malpractice – Report false criminal accusations against Walker, but not contrary judicial rulings.
I also encourage you to read Gabriel Malor’s column, A Basic Primer On The Scott Walker Case For Ignorant Reporters.
Since it’s obvious the media, particularly on the left, is running with the false accusations to damage Walker’s current 2014 gubernatorial campaign and possible 2016 presidential bid, it’s important that the media malpractice be exposed and the lies refuted.
As with smears against Republicans in the past, it’s not about the particularly target, in this case Walker. It’s about the media’s desire to take down potential Republican candidates early and often, without regard to the truth.