Submitted by Lawrence E. Rafferty (rafflaw)-Weekend Contributor
This past week, thousands of emails from within Wisconsin Governor, Scott Walker’s inner circle were released as part of an appeal by his former Deputy Chief of Staff, Kelly Rindfleisch. Ms. Rindfleisch is appealing her conviction on illegal campaign activities during the 2010 Lt. Governor’s race.
“Kelly Rindfleisch was convicted of illegal campaign activity for working on the 2010 lieutenant governor’s campaign of then-Rep. Brett Davis while serving as Walker’s deputy chief of staff during his time as Milwaukee county executive. In Wisconsin, it is illegal for public employees to work on campaigns while on the clock and being paid to administer state services.
Prosecutors found that Rindfleisch traded more than 3,000 emails with Walker campaign staffers, most of which were sent on county time from a secret email system in Walker’s office. Davis, who was Walker’s favored candidate, lost the race but was later appointed by the governor as head of Wisconsin’s Medicaid program.
Rindfleisch was sentenced in 2012 to six months in jail, but her sentence has been stayed as she appeals. She unsuccessfully requested to keep her emails secret while attempting to have her conviction overturned.” Readersupportednews
Ms. Rindfleisch and five other Walker employees were convicted on various illegal campaign activity charges and the emails that were released this week laid bare the mentality of the Walker associates and their actions to work on political campaigns while being paid as state workers. It is a bit amazing that Governor Walker has remained untouched by the prosecutors even though many of these emails that detail not only illegal campaign activities, but some alarming racist and sexist comments, were also sent to him.
This treasure trove of email evidence also disclosed that Walker staffers were deeply involved in illegal voter caging. “Emails released this week appear to show Governor Scott Walker’s top aides possibly engaging in an illegal scheme to “cage” Wisconsin voters in the weeks ahead of the 2010 gubernatorial election.
Voter caging is an illegal campaign practice used to purge voters from the rolls. Neighborhoods with large minority concentrations are most typically targeted by caging operations.
On page 15,037 of WalkerDocs 1, an email exchange between Walker staffers Kelly Rindfleisch and Nicole Simmons spells it out pretty plainly. “If you come this Saturday I can show you how to cage,” Simmons writes. “That will be priority on the weekend.”‘ The Progressive
How did Governor Walker not know about this caging operation when it involved multiple staffers? Especially in light of who was involved in the caging enterprise.
“Another email, on page 1,321 of WalkerDocs 2, shows Walker’s chief of staff Keith Gilkes ordering Rindfleisch, Fran McLaughlin and Dorothy Moore to bring friends who can help with the caging effort. Here’s a screenshot.
“We need cagers for this Saturday, we will have plenty to get caught up on,” he wrote in an email sent Oct. 21, 2010. “Please bring friends that are detail oriented and can put in some solid hours.” ‘ The Progressive These staffers were obviously not shy in their illegal efforts on behalf of Scott Walker and his political friends.
It is surprising how Gov. Walker has remained untouched in light of the convictions of the six staffers. However, because of the recent disclosure that a second “John Doe” investigation is currently looking at Governor Walker’s campaign activities during the 2012 recall, he may not be sleeping too well.
“John Doe probes are conducted in secret so the public can’t know all the details, but leaked documents suggest investigators are looking at possible illegal coordination between Walker’s recall campaign and independent groups that spent millions of dollars to keep him in office. Here’s how the progressive Center for Media and Democracy wrote about the investigation recently:
The John Doe probe began in August of 2012 and is examining possible “illegal campaign coordination between (name redacted), a campaign committee, and certain special interest groups,” according to an unsealed filing in the case. Sources told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel the redacted committee is the Walker campaign, Friends of Scott Walker. Campaign filings show that Walker spent $86,000 on legal fees in the second half of 2013.
A John Doe is similar to a grand jury investigation, but in front of a judge rather than a jury, and is conducted under strict secrecy orders. Wisconsin’s 4th Circuit Court of Appeals unsealed some documents last week as it rejected a challenge to the probe filed by three of the unnamed “special interest groups” that had received subpoenas in the investigation and issued a ruling allowing the investigation to move forward.” Mother Jones
I highly recommend a full reading of the Mother Jones article linked above. The cast of characters currently involved in the second John Doe investigation read like a Koch Brothers Who’s Who. Governor Walker has remained somewhat above the fray so far, but the second investigation seems to be aimed squarely at the Governor.
Do you think Governor Walker will survive the second investigation? In light of the racist tenor of many of the emails disclosed this week and the caging details, should Wisconsin citizens of color be concerned on the fairness of elections in their communities?
When a campaign resorts to illegal tactics like caging, what does it say about the candidate and his/her platform? Governor Walker has some explaining to do to the people of Wisconsin. So far he has laughed off the racist comments in the thousands of email recently released. I will continue to follow the second John Doe investigation. I can only hope that the main stream media will do the same.
Respectfully submitted by Lawrence E. Rafferty-Weekend Contributor
“The views expressed in this posting are the author’s alone and not those of the blog, the host, or other weekend bloggers. As an open forum, weekend bloggers post independently without pre-approval or review. Content and any displays or art are solely their decision and responsibility.”
Alcoholism, obesity, and choosing to work for nothing is why this continues to be a flyover state. Hint: It isn’t the gov’t ELECTED officials.
Nice catch annie!
“Private account to communicate”, I wish there was an edit function! Or I should proof read. Or I could blame my iPad.
me:
“Do you think Governor Walker will survive the second investigation?” – rafflaw
Not enough factual data yet to know for sure.
I would like to see the textbooks that teach how to do these things in secret.
Must have been written by lawyers and campaign people.
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rafflaw on 1, February 23, 2014 at 3:10 pm
Dredd,
They obviously were not secret enough if 6 actually were convicted as a result of the first John Doe investigation.
=================
That raises a good point and will probably have an impact on the next iteration of “the textbook.”
I use the word “textbook” to mean the scripts that inform this activity in the sense of ALEC et al.
The similarities between attacks on voter rights across the land, informed by ALEC “textbooks”, is not ver controversial.
That they may have been involved in scripts that lay out activities as well as “what to do when breaches occur”, implicate the many similarites between the Christie governorship and the Walker governorship.
Both ships are too close to the rocks and reefs for epigovernment comfort.
And the responses (“right rudder to 45 degrees north”) seem to be choreographed.
http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/court-set-to-release-emails-documents-tied-to-ex-aide-to-scott-walker-b99208267z1-246128301.html?ipad=y
” I use this private accord communicate quite often withSKW…”
Kelly Rindfleisch, convicted of illegal campaigning.
Why is it so hard to believe that an individual engaged in illegal activity would not tell his/her boss?
I can well imagine that if republicans start looking into democrat’s poitical activities, there would be plenty of illegal shenanigans going on.
Nick,
The court may not want the governor to leave the jurisdiction.
Wait, maybe he needs to go to Iowa. He’d be tarred and feathered in Illinois.
raff, Maybe Walker can flee to Illinois like all those Dem senators did 3 years ago.
Walker got 200k more votes on the recall. It was a government union hissy fit and hard working people in the private sector saw it just as that. I think Walker may have a battle on his hands w/ the Dem candidate, Mary Burke. She is not a career politician. She is not liked by government unions, particularly the teacher’s union. Ms. Burke is an iconoclast and hopefully will put together a good political team. I want to vote for her if she earns my vote. I think Walker is not Satan nor the Messiah. I certainly don’t see him as presidential material. The Hillary machine is working on softening up all the Republican front runners. This Walker stuff seems to be a tempest in a teapot for regular folks. But, it’s red meat for Dems.
I’m with Bankster on this…I was very surprised Walker survived the recall and he will probably skate through this as well. Although I do think this current kerfuffle will probably derail any presidential ambitions Walker may have for 2016.
Rafflaw,
We Wisconsinites are waiting and hoping this one does it. At any rate, the racist, misogynistic, bigoted remarks by his aides wirh his knowlege, will come back to bit him, time after time.
That last line should end like this: “who he is in bed with”.
annie,
As I suggested, the second John Doe investigation is aimed at Walker so he may not get off as lucky this time. Time will tell, but the groups that are also being investigated are telling who he is bed with.
Also he knew of this secret email system, why he wasn’t indicted along with his 6 aides I do not understand.
I certainly hope not. He has sent our wonderful state back years in many ways. Women’s issues, health care issues, worker’s rights issues, and that is not even hitting on those he has surrounded himself with. The secret email system was to circumvent FOI request, plain and simple. He was campaigning on the state taxpayer’s time and dime, illegal and unethical in Wisconsin.
Amazingly, Walker survived the recall, so I am doubtful that WI voters have wised up to the scamming and illegal activities of their conservative republican governor. Walker will blame the investigation on some Obama witch hunt and the mindless will simply buy the nonsense and ignore the Walker crimes.
As long as Koch Bros type money is in the political theater, the GOP base voter can be manipulated to support GOP criminal activities The Dem base isn’t much better having supported the Obama hope and change scam, but the GOP voter is much more easily convinced of their candidates being pure that they ignore the obvious. GOP Sen. David Vitter was a prostitute john and LA voters just said ‘so what’. Walker would have to go as far as leaving his wife to shack up with a woman of color who belongs to a union for the GOP voter to get angry enough to demand his removal. Until then, Walker will walk….
Dredd,
They obviously were not secret enough if 6 actually were convicted as a result of the first John Doe investigation.
“Do you think Governor Walker will survive the second investigation?” – rafflaw
Not enough factual data yet to know for sure.
I would like to see the textbooks that teach how to do these things in secret.
Must have been written by lawyers and campaign people.