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State GAB vote launched probe into Walker recall
By Patrick Marley and Daniel Bice of the Journal Sentinel Updated: 7:03 p.m.

Madison — The six judges on the state Government Accountability Board voted unanimously to authorize the investigation of fundraising and spending by Gov. Scott Walker's campaign and his allies during the recent recall elections, according to a Tuesday court filing.

Dean Nickel, an investigator hired by the accountability board to assist with the investigation, said in the 10-page filing that he believes the substantial evidence gathered in the probe "coupled with the GAB's unanimous approval of the investigation directly refutes plaintiffs' witch-hunt theory."

Nickel's brief is one of a series filed with the federal court on Tuesday in a bid by Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm and his aides to get a federal appeals court to intervene in the high-profile John Doe probe.

Chisholm and two other prosecutors filed paperwork Tuesday to have the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals review a decision last week by U.S. District Judge Rudolph T. Randa in Milwaukee refusing to dismiss the lawsuit against them. The prosecutors need Randa's approval to get their case before the appeals court.

They are also asking Randa to halt the case until the appeals court rules — a move that would prevent prosecutors from getting deposed by the targets of the investigation.

Chisholm and others have been conducting a secret John Doe investigation to look into whether the Wisconsin Club for Growth or others illegally coordinated with any candidates during the recalls. In the most prominent race, Walker defeated an attempt in June 2012 to oust him from office.

John Doe probes are overseen by judges and allow prosecutors to compel people to produce documents and give testimony, as well as bar them from talking publicly about the investigation.

The Club for Growth and one of its directors, Eric O'Keefe, in February sued prosecutors, investigators and the state judge overseeing the probe into their activities. They contend the investigation violates their rights to free speech, free assembly and equal protection.

The prosecutors argue the federal civil rights lawsuit should be dropped because prosecutors are generally immune from lawsuits and federal courts often are not allowed to get involved in state proceedings. Randa rejected those arguments, and Chisholm and the others now want to take it to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.

In filings last week, O'Keefe and the Club for Growth indicated the group wanted to start running television ads as the 2014 campaign season ramps up. They are seeking an injunction to shut the investigation down.

"Defendants' conduct has had its intended effect, pushing the Club and its allies off the air and out of the public square in Wisconsin," wrote their attorney, David Rivkin. "This court's immediate action is necessary and appropriate to vindicate plaintiffs' federal rights against Defendants' continuing abuse."

The club is also trying to use a recent major campaign finance decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to its advantage. Earlier this month, the court ruled 5-4 that a federal law limiting the total amount donors can give to congressional candidates and political funds is unconstitutional.

The court determined those limits could not stand because they did not uphold the government's interest in fighting corruption. The same logic means Wisconsin's prosecutors cannot continue their ongoing probe, the Wisconsin Club for Growth argues.

Prosecutors say such a finding would undermine key portions of Wisconsin's campaign finance law aimed at letting the public know who is bankrolling campaigns.

If Club for Growth prevails, a candidate "could solicit millions of dollars in funds from individual and corporate donors, direct those funds to a 501(c)(4) (nonprofit) organization and then direct the expenditure of those funds to benefit the candidate's campaign — all without the electorate's knowledge," special prosecutor Francis Schmitz wrote in a filing last week.

Walker's campaign last week asked the state Supreme Court to take from the Court of Appeals the challenge over the subpoenas. That puts at least some aspect of all three cases in state court before Wisconsin's high court, and the justices must decide whether to take any of them.

In separate filings in the federal case, officials with the accountability board — which oversees state election and ethics laws — tried to make the point that they are not partisan in matters they pursue. The agency has been working with prosecutors on the John Doe investigation.

"The board, employees and contractors of the GAB must be nonpartisan and remain nonpartisan at all times when associated with the GAB," wrote Kevin Kennedy, executive director of the agency.

A staffer provided the federal court with an extensive list of its election-related cases. Among them are 11 complaints filed by Democrats and liberal groups against Walker in connection with Act 10, which restricts collective bargaining rights for public employees.

The board dismissed all of the complaints.

The accountability board consists of six members who former judges, including liberals and conservatives.

Read more from Journal Sentinel: http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/john-doe-prosecutors-ask-federal-appeals-court-to-intervene-b99248930z1-255409721.html#ixzz2z0XmcoTW
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