Federal court gives governor big win (UPDATE)

By: Associated Press//May 7, 2014//

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By SCOTT BAUER
Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker emerged with a major victory this week when a federal court halted a secret investigation into his 2012 recall campaign and conservative groups that supported him, ruling the probe was a breach of free-speech rights.

The decision could boost Walker’s re-election campaign and remove a potential obstacle as he eyes a possible 2016 presidential run.

While prosecutors quickly filed an appeal Wednesday to overturn the preliminary injunction issued Tuesday night, those who have followed this case and an earlier probe that focused on former Walker aides and associates said the ruling is a clear victory for the Republican and his allies.

5 things to know about the Walker court ruling

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A federal court ruling that halted an investigation into Gov. Scott Walker’s campaign and other conservative groups has wide-ranging implications. Here are five things to know about the ruling:

1. THE RULING: U.S. District Judge Rudolph Randa ruled that a secret investigation into possible illegal coordination between the governor’s 2012 recall campaign and conservative groups supporting him was a breach of free-speech rights. He also ordered prosecutors to return all property seized in the investigation and to destroy all copies of information obtained in the probe. The judge, who was appointed by George W. Bush, made the ruling in a lawsuit filed by the Wisconsin Club for Growth, a conservative group that said the so-called John Doe investigation amounted to harassment.

2. WHAT’S NEXT: Prosecutors leading the investigation have asked the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to stay the ruling. They argue that the judge had no authority to issue the decision because they are currently appealing Randa’s earlier ruling that said prosecutors weren’t immune from the lawsuit. The attorneys say evidence needs to be protected and that the judge denied them an opportunity to present evidence.

3. CAMPAIGN FINANCE IMPLICATIONS: Prosecutors argue that the Wisconsin Club for Growth was working as a subcommittee for Walker’s campaign, and therefore had to report its spending and follow fundraising limits — but the judge rejected that argument, saying the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that issue-advocacy work is protected free speech and not subject to regulation. Experts say that left unclarified, the ruling could reverse current campaign finance laws by allowing independent groups that don’t disclose donors to work in conjunction with candidates.

4. THE REACTION: Republican allies of Gov. Scott Walker said Randa’s ruling vindicated their belief that the investigation was unjustified and more about political agenda than fact finding; GOP strategist Mark Graul called the probe a “witch hunt.” But state Democratic Party chairman Mike Tate said the ruling isn’t an exoneration of Walker, just a way to evade campaign finance laws. Tate and other Walker opponents were hoping the ruling would be overturned on appeal.

5. OTHER CASES: Three other lawsuits pending in state court are connected to the secret investigation, which was allowed under a state law that grants prosecutors power to compel people to testify and produce documents in secret. The special prosecutor leading the investigation, Francis Schmitz, has asked an appeals court to reverse a judge’s decision in one lawsuit to quash subpoenas in the case. A second lawsuit involves two unnamed parties asking the Wisconsin Supreme Court to challenge the investigation, and three other unnamed parties argue that Peterson lacks authority to run such a probe.

— SCOTT BAUER and TODD RICHMOND, Associated Press

“Obviously the reason this witch hunt was launched was to impugn the integrity of the governor and he has been completely vindicated,” said Mark Graul, a Republican strategist who ran President George W. Bush’s re-election campaign in Wisconsin.

The ruling will help to silence Walker’s critics who tried to use the investigations against him, said Mike Maistelman, a Milwaukee attorney who represented Democratic and Republican elected officials in a variety of cases.

“Walker and his spin doctors around him are going to say this was a political endeavor, and that argument was backed up by the federal court,” Maistelman said.

Walker, speaking to reporters following an event in Milwaukee, said he hadn’t read the judge’s ruling and didn’t have much to say about it. He said he expected the case would continue on appeal and he’d do his best not to let it distract him.

“I don’t think there’s any elected official in America who’s been more scrutinized than I have,” Walker said. “This is just another stage in that. But we tried not to lose sight of our larger charge.”

His expected Democratic opponent for re-election, former Trek Bicycle Corp. executive Mary Burke, had no immediate comment.

Walker made a national name for himself by taking on public sector union collective bargaining in 2011. The following year, he became the first governor in U.S. history to win a recall election — despite the first investigation being an issue during the campaign.

That investigation lasted three years and ended in 2013 with six convictions, including three of his former aides. Walker was interviewed but never charged.

Under Wisconsin law, prosecutors can launch John Doe investigations that are overseen by judges and conducted largely in secret. Prosecutors can compel people to produce documents and give testimony, as well as forbid them from talking about the investigation.

Walker’s political opponents have been keeping a close watch on the second probe, at the heart of which was political fundraising and spending during the 2011 and 2012 recall elections. And it’s taken on even greater significance as Walker considers a 2016 presidential run. Foes, including American Bridge 21st Century, a political action committee funded by liberal billionaire George Soros, have tried to paint Walker as too scandal-ridden to be trusted.

The investigation focused on alleged illegal coordination between and among Walker’s recall committee and “all or nearly all right-of-center groups and individuals in Wisconsin who have engaged in issue advocacy from 2010 to the present,” according to Tuesday’s ruling by U.S. District Judge Rudolph Randa.

Randa issued a preliminary injunction in favor of the conservative Wisconsin Club for Growth, finding that the investigation into alleged illegal campaign coordination was an infringement on the conservative group’s free speech rights.

“The plaintiffs have been shut out of the political process merely by association with conservative politicians. This cannot square with the First Amendment and what it was meant to protect,” wrote Randa, who is based in Milwaukee and was appointed by President George H.W. Bush in 1992.

One of the targets of the investigation is Walker campaign adviser R.J. Johnson, who allegedly controlled a “hub” of issue-ad groups in 2011 and 2012 in coordination with Walker’s campaign. Johnson did not immediately return an email or message left on his cellphone Wednesday.

The ruling left Walker allies jubilant, and if it stands, will remove a liability for Walker’s re-election campaign and as he looks ahead to 2016.

Republican state Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said the ruling proved the investigation was “much more about a political agenda as opposed to fact-finding and looking for some sort of smoking gun.”

Despite the ruling, Democrats won’t necessarily stop trying to use the investigations to taint Walker, said Patrick Guarasci, a Democratic consultant and fundraiser.

“There is enough for both sides to make use of the investigation for their own political ends, but the everyday person is going to be very confused by the back and forth on this issue,” Guarasci said. “Maybe that was the objective of the Walker side all along — to cause confusion.” Follow @sbauerAP

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