April 27, 2015

"What did the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel know, and when did it know it?"

Asks Elizabeth Price Foley.
The question relates to the Journal-Sentinel reporters’ knowledge of a pre-dawn paramilitary-style raid of the home of Cindy Archer, a fo[r]mer aide to Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and one of the architects of Wisconsin’s Act 10, which reformed that State’s public sector unions....

Someone had to tip the Journal-Sentinel off.  But under Wisconsin law, disclosure of a search warrant’s issuance, prior to its execution, is a Class I felony and could also violate the judge’s secrecy order of the John Doe investigation itself....

But regardless of Stein’s possible privilege, it seems evident that there is a serious and continuing leak in the Wisconsin John Doe investigation, and that it warrants an investigation of its own.

Indeed, if it hadn’t been for the courage of Eric O’Keefe of the Wisconsin Club for Growth–who has defied the ridiculous gag order imposed on John Doe targets–the only knowledge the public would have today about the investigation would come from these one-sided, pro-investigation leaks.
 Much more, including links at the link.

103 comments:

damikesc said...

This is going to get ugly. I cannot fathom any way that this law can hold up to serious scrutiny (and why has nobody tried before now?). Her questions are all on-point and I doubt any supporters of this travesty will be able to answer them.

Chisholm's comments about possibly prosecuting Walker for criticizing the investigation is even more amusing.

But, there will be investigation of the leaks.

Also, to Francis --- constantly saying that you're a Republican tends to make believability in your claim difficult.

Mike Sylwester said...

When did the FBI begin to participate in the John Doe investigations?

What function did the FBI officials perform in the raids into the homes?

To which FBI unit did those FBI officials belong?

Did the FBI take possession of any of the materials seized in the homes?

If so, what has the FBI done with those materials?

What considerations give the FBI any jurisdiction in Wisconsin's John Doe investigations?

Alex said...

Garage - nothing to say?

Alex said...

I'm getting the sense of creeping fascism in the West.

damikesc said...

When did the FBI begin to participate in the John Doe investigations?

What function did the FBI officials perform in the raids into the homes?

To which FBI unit did those FBI officials belong?

Did the FBI take possession of any of the materials seized in the homes?

If so, what has the FBI done with those materials?

What considerations give the FBI any jurisdiction in Wisconsin's John Doe investigations?


That's the odd part. Why is the FBI involved in a purely state issue? It's not their jurisdiction.

I'd say somebody should ask Obama, but he'll either not answer the question or tell them to ask Holder --- who won't answer questions.

Alex said...

because Obama believes the state is federal and so on. He hates Scott Walker and will do any evil thing to destroy him.

That includes abusing federal power. Easily the worst President since Nixon.

damikesc said...

Didn't a federal judge refuse to get involved because it is a state matter?

If the FBI involvement was known, would that decision have changed?

damikesc said...

Easily the worst President since Nixon.

He's levels worse than Nixon.

Nixon TRIED to use the IRS on his enemies. Obama did so.

Mike Sylwester said...

From the Instapundit article:

-----

The Journal Sentinel ran a story on the Archer raid on the same day that the raid occurred (Sept. 14, 2011), authored by reporter Jason Stein. ....

[an excerpt from Stein's article:]

.... Sources indicated that Chisholm’s office continues to take the lead in the case of Walker’s former county staffers, with federal authorities providing assistance with computers and other digital technology.

-----

Why does Chisolm need federal authorities to provide assistance with computes and other digital technology?

Exactly what is the "other digital technology"?

Michael K said...

"What function did the FBI officials perform in the raids into the homes?"

This whole story stinks to high heaven. The FBI has not been clean for a long time and was heavily involved in the Nixon coup.

YoungHegelian said...

This is truly one of those stories, if the details presented in the various right-wing sources are correct, that it's difficult to believe this happened in the US. The levels of malfeasance go so deep & are so profound.

If this stuff is true, we're past "fire these guys" or "sue 'em". We're heading into the proper response being Bakunist propaganda of the deed territory.



Anonymous said...

Why does Chisolm need federal authorities to provide assistance with computes and other digital technology?

He's probably got some hard drives that need to fail. The Feds are pretty good at making that happen lately.

buwaya said...

IIRC this was possible in Wisconsin because of peculiarities of the state laws. I doubt that something quite like this is likely to fly in California, say, though there would certainly be plenty of people willing to do it.
Not that tbere arent other loopholes here that someone could exploit. We'll know it when it happens I suppose.
Since Walker has a Republican legislature I'd think the simplest fix would be to amend the law.

SteveR said...

You guys are acting like there is some distinction between state and federal is these matters. Maybe there should be, but really?

lemondog said...

..or tell them to ask Holder --- who won't answer questions.

Eric is busy.....


Eric Holder Takes $77 Million Job With JPMorgan Chase

garage mahal said...

Indeed, if it hadn’t been for the courage of Eric O’Keefe of the Wisconsin Club for Growth–who has defied the ridiculous gag order imposed on John Doe targets–the only knowledge the public would have today about the investigation would come from these one-sided, pro-investigation leaks.

Tell the governor and O'Keefe to open up the all files so we can all see. Seems pretty simple, yet, they don't want to do that for some reason.

Ignorance is Bliss said...

buwaya said...

Since Walker has a Republican legislature I'd think the simplest fix would be to amend the law.

If they do so at a time when the law is being used to investigate them it will be portrayed as a cover-up, interfering with the investigation because it was about to find something.

Mike Sylwester said...

From WisconsinWatchdog.org

.... on Sept. 14, 2011, ... the Journal Sentinel published its story on the raid at Archer’s home. That story, attributed to Marley, Stein and two other reporters at the paper, indicated that one of them arrived in time to see “about a dozen law enforcement officers, including FBI agents” raid Archer’s home.

“Around 9 a.m., a reporter saw four FBI agents – two of them wearing latex gloves – talking in Archer’s backyard before going into her house. Later, one removed a large box and put it in the trunk of an FBI car. They left about 10 a.m,” the Journal Sentinel story reported.

“The FBI also seized the hard drive from a computer that a neighbor had bought from Archer six to eight weeks ago at a garage sale.”

FBI agents “told a reporter” that the agency was involved in a “law enforcement action.”

------------

My guess:

Two of the FBI agents seized the computers.

The other two FBI agents planted the "other digital technology" in the homes.

Anonymous said...

sounded to me like the FBI had the lead in the raid. one sheriff, maybe one DA type.

garage mahal said...

Indeed. Here is Republican Special Prosecutor Francis Schmitz:

"I invite the governor to join me in seeking judicial approval to lawfully release information now under seal which would be responsive to the allegations that have been made," his statement said. "Such information, when lawfully released, will show that these recent allegations are patently false."

""His description of the investigation as a 'political witch hunt' is offensive when he knows that the investigation was authorized by a bipartisan group of judges and is directed by a Republican special prosecutor appointed at the request of a bipartisan group of district attorneys," Schmitz's statement said."

Ignorance is Bliss said...

garage mahal said...

Tell the governor and O'Keefe to open up the all files so we can all see. Seems pretty simple, yet, they don't want to do that for some reason.

Maybe because they don't want their donors and supporters harassed by union thugs. That sort of harassment is of course exactly why you want the records opened.

buwaya said...

Propaganda of the deed is difficult for a political side that has something to lose. Its not the the assassin or suicide-bomber that would be available for retribution, but his sympathizers.
In this case they will have assets, property, businesses, jobs, and relatives with the same, children and employees. Anyone on the same political side would be open for harassment.
There is precedent. The KKK/Metzger group was successfully sued for acts inspired by their propaganda.

Anonymous said...

leave it to garage to come up with the ol' "do-what-we-tell-you-to do-and-no-one-will-get-hurt" line.
And he calls others fascist?

Mark said...

So Eric O'Keefe can ignore the rules, but everyone else has to follow them and should be prosecuted?

Where did he get a 'break the law with no consequences' card?

Plenty of leaks from Club for Growth ...

YoungHegelian said...

His description of the investigation as a 'political witch hunt' is offensive when he knows that the investigation was authorized by a bipartisan group of judges and is directed by a Republican special prosecutor appointed at the request of a bipartisan group of district attorneys," Schmitz's statement said."

How about let's start with the prosecutor's office telling us who directed the arresting officers to give the defendants a gag order, including telling them not to talk to counsel.

If the prosecutors are so willing to come clean, let them turn over their documentation to a third party, and let the third party release it. If not, they'll just release what bolsters their case & squelch the rest.

buwaya said...

Garage,
You very much do not want to go there. Or you won't when you understand the likely consequences. The US is quite far along the road as it is.
There are decent limits in political warfare for good reasons.
I suggest a book for perspective, Beevor's chatty and anecdotal history of the Spanish Civil War. Partisan and ideological conflict, legal and illegal, trumped all limits, beyond any rational interests of any of the parties involved.

Sammy Finkelman said...

YoungHegelian said...

This is truly one of those stories, if the details presented in the various right-wing sources are correct, that it's difficult to believe this happened in the US

Difficult to believe this happened in the US, but not so difficult to believe this happened in Wisconsin.

The BubFather said...

Mark,

You think O'Keefe told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel about the raid at Ann Archer's house? This story is about how the media (2 people in fact) was sitting on her front lawn, when it is a felony to let anyone know there's a John Doe raid taking place. Try all you wish to change the topic, but it's not what the article is all about.

Anonymous said...

Mark said...
So Eric O'Keefe can ignore the rules, but everyone else has to follow them and should be prosecuted?


There is a big difference between a citizen victim announcing that the Government using a law to deny private citizens their 1st, 4th, and 6th amendment rights,

and the Government, using leaks to inflict irreparable harm of people who have not been convicted of anything, and for which at the time of the leak, not even any evidence had been collected.

Mark said...

Yes, this partisan story doesn't mention the full picture. Does that mean we should all stick our heads in the sand and ignore it?

Mr. D said...

SteveR said...
You guys are acting like there is some distinction between state and federal is these matters. Maybe there should be, but really?


It would make the case in federal court more relevant.

MadisonMan said...

Tell the governor and O'Keefe to open up the all files so we can all see. Seems pretty simple, yet, they don't want to do that for some reason.

Prove you're innocent and we'll leave you alone.

Thorley Winston said...

That's the odd part. Why is the FBI involved in a purely state issue? It's not their jurisdiction.

I believe the FBI can get involved if the investigation concerns allegations of Public Corruption.

gerry said...

Eric Holder Takes $77 Million Job With JPMorgan Chase

I think that's a spoof.

Anonymous said...

gerry, it is, using the type font of the daily Caller, but not DC

garage mahal said...

Prove you're innocent and we'll leave you alone.

I think it was you that has previously suggested that sunlight is the best disinfectant. But thinking back, we must have been discussing something about a Democrat. You have high tolerance for bribery and corruption if it's in your home state.

Lewis Wetzel said...

Buwaya wrote:
I suggest a book for perspective, Beevor's chatty and anecdotal history of the Spanish Civil War. Partisan and ideological conflict, legal and illegal, trumped all limits, beyond any rational interests of any of the parties involved.
Or you can try Federalist #10. It's all about factionalism and how, to avoid factional warfare, the power of the Federal government must be limited.

Big Mike said...

Stein denies that his source was a prosecutor or law enforcement officer.

Could it have been Chisholm's wife?

lemondog said...

Eric Holder Takes $77 Million Job With JPMorgan Chase

I think that's a spoof.


Ooops.... sorry, you are correct :-O

Quaestor said...

Chisholm is paid by people who work for a living and elected by people who vote for a living.

buwaya said...

The difference with the SCW as an example is that in so many ways directly parallels whats happening in the US.
And it really did happen, it was not theoretical.
They had a mass media - newspapers and radio, though new, was widespread.
Beevors' anecdotes are interesting. He quotes a journalist, who realized the moment war was inevitable - when he saw the reaction of a streetcar conductor as a beautiful woman, expensively dressed, got on. Instead of a healthy smile of appreciation, he saw a look of hate. Politics, the newspapers, and the radio had trumped healthy human nature. The conductor certainly didn't know the woman. He did not see a woman, he saw something he had only read about or heard of.

This is happening now, in the US, in modern forms, all the time. And on both sides. Tribal war drummed up through communications technology trumps healthy human nature.

And then what ? They raid you (on specious legal grounds), you raid them back on even weaker grounds, they break your ricebowl, you break theirs. You kill one of them, they kill three of you. And then what ?

Michael K said...

"Tell the governor and O'Keefe to open up the all files so we can all see."

You first, garage. I want to see how much money you make and what you have saved.

damikesc said...

lemondog, that site is a parody site.

So Eric O'Keefe can ignore the rules, but everyone else has to follow them and should be prosecuted?

Eric took a risk coming forward.

Where did he get a 'break the law with no consequences' card?

He could've had very negative repurcussions. But given that his speaking out is showing how blatantly unconstitutional this law is, he's safe. No way this law holds up.

Plenty of leaks from Club for Growth ...

...such as?

The leaks in the press almost always favored the prosecution (I say "almost always" because I may have missed one that wasn't)

His description of the investigation as a 'political witch hunt' is offensive when he knows that the investigation was authorized by a bipartisan group of judges and is directed by a Republican special prosecutor appointed at the request of a bipartisan group of district attorneys," Schmitz's statement said."

This is what I mean. Schmitz has to constantly repeat "I'm a Republican". Makes the claim less and less believable every time.

Yes, this partisan story doesn't mention the full picture. Does that mean we should all stick our heads in the sand and ignore it?

I'm intrigued --- how would you justify what happened?

damikesc said...

You first, garage. I want to see how much money you make and what you have saved.

You're entering the realm of theoretical math with that request.

The same Left that upset that the government might look at your library records are up in arms that somebody might oppose revealing everything the prosecutors took in violation of their Constitutional rights.

Curious George said...

"garage mahal said...
Indeed. Here is Republican Special Prosecutor Francis Schmitz:"

garage again dropping this steaming pile on the blog.

Francis Schmitz has never run as a Republican for any office.

He has never worked for the Republican party anywhere.

He has never donated money to any Republican candidate.

He did claim to vote for Walker...after the corrupt fucktard John Chisholm gave his a plum assignment and rescued his career.

garage mahal said...

garage again dropping this steaming pile on the blog.

The GAB is a bipartisan panel of judges. They approved the prove unanimously. The Special Prosecutor is a self-proclaimed life-long Republican. He was appointed Special Prosecutor after a bipartisan set of County DAs requested it.

Do I believe Schmitz, who has impeccable credentials, a guy that chased down terrorist networks, or do I believe rabidly partisan bootlicking Walker hack like you?

Mark said...

"Asked Thursday if he was defying the secrecy order by Fox host Megyn Kelly, the Wisconsin Club for Growth’s Eric O’Keefe said: “Yes. An unconstitutional secrecy order. And I'm defying the secrecy order.”

O'Keefe openly admits to violating this same secrecy order.

No outrage here about that, just that the DA might have done the same thing.

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/301469901.html

Mark said...

Mike, every one of those WSJ editorials about this every few months provided additional details from Eric O'Keefe who was violating the secrecy order by providing them.

Curious George said...

"garage mahal said...

"The GAB is a bipartisan panel of judges. They approved the prove unanimously. "

Being led by liberal hack Kevin Kennedy, who continued the investigation even after being told to stop.


"The Special Prosecutor is a self-proclaimed life-long Republican."

Who has never proclaimed anything to that effect prior to his being named to become the special prosecutor.

Zero. Zilch. Nada.

Failure. Your state of life.

FullMoon said...

damikesc said... [hush]​[hide comment]

Easily the worst President since Nixon.

He's levels worse than Nixon.

Nixon TRIED to use the IRS on his enemies. Obama did so.

Who said Nixon tried? Oh, the mainstream media? Must have been true, 'cause they were impartial back in the day.

Be said...

tl;dr

I find her posts on Instapundit pretty off putting. I am not even sure that she reads many of the links she's citing.

Why doesn't Mr Reynolds just promote a link to her independent blog. (He seems to have no problem with that for other folks.)

damikesc said...

Mike, every one of those WSJ editorials about this every few months provided additional details from Eric O'Keefe who was violating the secrecy order by providing them.

And?

He took a risk.

Let's them prosecute him under this illegal law.

No outrage here about that, just that the DA might have done the same thing.

O'Keefe faced jail time. Chisholm...did not.

Can YOU explain why a reporter was at the scene of a John Doe raid and was aware it was likely a John Doe raid?

Being led by liberal hack Kevin Kennedy, who continued the investigation even after being told to stop.

Didn't they use email accounts to avoid government oversight as well?

buwaya said...

I think Mr. O'Keefe is daring the judges to charge him.

And the point of the prosecutors breaking the gag order, is, of course, that they don't respect the law, apparently it is only a political weapon as far as they are concerned, which they will enforce against their opponents and disregard themselves.

buwaya said...

IIRC Nixon spoke privately about wanting to.
Thats some distance from doing it.

JackWayne said...

Terry, Fed 10 does not say what you think it says. Madison is saying that just the structure of the national government will control faction. Considering we had a Civil War, Madison has been shown conclusively to be short a card in his deck. He, Jay and Hamilton were as shameless as the Shamwow guy in selling their product!

garage mahal said...

Free the files! Let's see how this witch hunt really went down. Man, just think of all the fodder Walker & Co could show the public. And it would show everyone how innocent Walker and O'Keefe are.

Of course they won't. Because they aren't innocent and prosecutors have the goods on all these rats.

damikesc said...

I think Mr. O'Keefe is daring the judges to charge him.

Makes sense. I think he'd like to make it really personal at this point.

IIRC Nixon spoke privately about wanting to.
Thats some distance from doing it.


Thought he tried and they refused.

Michael The Magnificent said...

In his declaration, Schmitz acknowledged that he was once a member of the Republican Party. He said he took the step of joining the GOP "in connection with seeking the Presidential appointment as the United States Attorney" for the Milwaukee area after the 2002 election.

President George W. Bush eventually chose Steven Biskupic over Schmitz and another finalist. Biskupic now represents Walker's campaign in the current investigation. Schmitz said he now doesn't belong to any political party.


Wish, wash.

Curious George said...

"garage mahal said...

Of course they won't. Because they aren't innocent and prosecutors have the goods on all these rats."

LOL Millions of dollars and thousands of man hours spent, and zero charges.



Be said...

tl;dr

She seems the antithesis of the normal Instapundit Pithy quips. Why isn't he just promoting her own blog?

garage mahal said...

LOL Millions of dollars and thousands of man hours spent, and zero charges.

And as soon as it hits the Supreme Court in Wisconsin it will get quashed. They were purchased by the same people that are under investigation. The same people that rewrote the rules for the Supreme Court whereby that could rule on cases involving the groups that sent them millions of dollars. All one big incestuous family. Hooray!

Rose said...

Why were they told they could not talk? Why did they obey that order? How in the world did such a law EVER get passed?

paminwi said...

Free the files! Let's see how this witch hunt really went down. Man, just think of all the fodder Walker & Co could show the public. And it would show everyone how innocent Walker and O'Keefe are.

I say "Free the Files" about who is actually paying this "Repubican" Schmitz character. That will tell all of us who is driving this ship. Schmitz is doing the bidding of whoever is helping him have a good life. There has been NO release of that information as far as I know!

Big Mike said...

@garage, your Walker hatred has driven you over the edge. You need to move to a deep blue state. Try Rhode Island or Connecticut.

Bruce Hayden said...

What O'Keefe did was to engage in civil disobedience. Maybe he figured that he wouldn't be charged. Or, maybe not. What he was doing was exposing one of the most egregious examples of political prosecution in the last couple years (maybe even exceeding what has come out of Travis County, TX).

He did/does have an excellent 1st Amdt. defense here - there is no question that the raids and secrecy orders constitute important news, that the prosecutor was trying to hide, likely because he knew that they were illegal. So, in the end, it is unlikely that he would have spent much, if any, time in jail. And, even less likely that this would be permanently on his record, since it is highly unlikely that both state and federal appeals courts would have accepted the gag order. Still, civil disobedience impliedly requires being willing to do the time, should it be necessary.

The reporters too are unlikely to ever be prosecuted on similar grounds - the raids were very newsworthy, and, thus, squarely within the ambit of the 1st Amdt. The issue though is the person who disclosed the raids to the reporters. Someone on the inside tipped off the reporters. It could have been Chisholm's very political wife (which means that he would have committed a felony telling her), or it could have been an FBI agent, someone in his office, etc. In any case, the 1st Amdt. is of much less import there, since it is less likely that they were violating the (illegal) gag order to provide the public with this newsworthy story. Maybe that was their reasoning, but less likely. Notably though, it is unlikely that the initial leaker ever expected to be caught out on his leak, and, that alone probably distinguishes him/her from O'Keefe.

Which gets me to Garbage and his moral equivalencing here. It is a tactic that we see a lot of from the left, and, in particular, when they try to justify the various shenanigans of the Clinton family. But, we also have seen it with a lot of the other Dem scandals during the Obama Administration. And, usually with about as little success has Garbage has garnered here.

Brent said...

What goods do the prosecutors have Garage?


(Crickets)


(Crickets)


This is how the left thinks: Reward your friends and seek to put in jail - or short of that, completely and actively silence - your enemies using the power of government in your control. THAT's why the left loves government . . . the eternal struggle in their mind is only about who gets to be on top, who gets to rule over and control the daily lives of others. You guys are determined to destroy the Bill of Rights and turn Wisconsin into a Banana Republic for sure.

So many dictatorships still in the world to choose from, and yet the Wisconsin left experiment won't go there --- they have to convert American freedoms into Venezuelan/Cuban-like controlled lives and poverty.

Please . . . leave America and join your cohorts in the Banana Republics and take your leftist Wisconsin government comrades with you. That way Everybody's happy!

Bruce Hayden said...

And as soon as it hits the Supreme Court in Wisconsin it will get quashed.

Or, maybe the reason that they would get quashed is that the gag orders were so obviously violative of the 1st, 4th, 5th, 14th, etc. Amdts.

Curious George said...

"garage mahal said...
LOL Millions of dollars and thousands of man hours spent, and zero charges.

And as soon as it hits the Supreme Court in Wisconsin it will get quashed. They were purchased by the same people that are under investigation. The same people that rewrote the rules for the Supreme Court whereby that could rule on cases involving the groups that sent them millions of dollars. All one big incestuous family. Hooray!"

LOL Hang on tight garage. hand on tight.

Michael K said...

"Of course they won't. Because they aren't innocent and prosecutors have the goods on all these rats."

"Comrade, you have been accused of insufficient support of the state."

FleetUSA said...

FBI = ValJar fingerprints

Drago said...

garage mahal: "Indeed. Here is Republican Special Prosecutor Francis Schmitz:"

RESET button ACTIVATE!!

Drago said...

garage: "The same people that rewrote the rules for the Supreme Court whereby that could rule on cases involving the groups that sent them millions of dollars."

LOL

No comment required!

Big Mike said...

I think garage has gone off the deep end. The notion that his side might be both wrong and in the wrong has driven him to a special sort of despair.

Alas for garage. Once he was an okay sort of person. Now, old frenemy, it's over for you. There's nothing left for you but the bitter taste of defeat.

Anonymous said...

I imagine leaking would be a much less common occurrence if the penalty for it was lifetime disbarment, loss of any pension/benefits, and inability to hold any public office.

Lewis Wetzel said...

Given that this yet another example of the Left's totalitarian impulse, it is worth remembering that in the old Soviet Union, the mass killings did not start until they came up with the clever idea of making it a crime to be a member of a certain class of people. Then the State did not have to prove that a person committed any particular illegal act. A judge could simply find that a defendant was a kulak and sentencing would follow. What was a kulak? Whatever the judge said a kulak was.

Francisco D said...

Although a native Cheesehead, i do not keep up with what goes on in the state. Illinois (and recently Iowa) are interesting enough.

However, I appreciate the commenters who get into the details. I used to think that Garage was just another leftist, union agitator troll. It has become clear to me that he is an inveterate liar, but then I repeat myself.

Chuck said...

Certainly the current exploitation of the Wisconsin John Doe law is preposterous.

What I keep wondering is why so many Wisconsinites (Wisconsans? Badgers? Wisconsonians?) seem to tolerate even the existence of the law. I'm a lawyer and I think this is one of the weirdest of all "serious" legal schemes that I've ever heard of. I'm leaving out the silly laws; no spitting on Sundays, no swearing the in presence of ladies, prohibitions on bear wrestling and llama farming, margarine versus butter regulations, etc.

I keep waiting for this session of the Wisconsin legislature to revoke the entire law.

Professor Althouse, does this law not offend much of the UW Law faculty?

Drago said...

Chuck: "Professor Althouse, does this law not offend much of the UW Law faculty?"

Why would leftists oppose an insane law they know will be used against their political enemies?

phantommut said...

It strikes me that even if the worst imaginings of anti-Walker zealots were true, they'd still pale next to the documented abuses of power in the John Doe investigation.

That's true also of those who think the IRS targeting of the Tea Party was a Good Thing; exactly how much damage to the Republic would be done by giving tax-exempt status to absolute lunatics in comparison to turning the IRS into an organ of political repression?

It's not hard to see a pattern here.

Austin Hendrix said...

It is not moral equivalencing, it is flatout fascist. Clearly Garage and those like him have no respect for First and Fourth Amendments and eagerly embrace the evil of having their opponents gagged while their allies are free to slander and defame them. This is why you never argue with filth like Garage. These are not simple disagreements between people of goodwill. These are not people to be reasoned with. Rather they should be held up to public scorn and ridicule for their evil. The actual actors should be held to account personally and professionally and to suffer severe civil and criminal sanctions. Their's is the worst kind of attack onthe rule of law and our way of the life.

wildswan said...

Why didn't the legislature repeal the law?

The Governor was being investigated so he couldn't just ask the legislature to repeal the law. And the legislature belonged to the same party as the governor so it couldn't repeal the law either - not till the investigation was over.

And also, when this all started, people wondered whether Walker had done something that the Democrats had found out about. After a while we realized this was the left smearing Walker through an secret investigation. But we thought the investigation would end. Now we know that the left planned an unending secret investigation so as to affect the elections by the suggestion that the Democrats were on the track of a big expose. Realizing that an American party would do this and its members look the other way - this all took time.

So, yes the law should be repealed. But this was abuse of power and the left will do something else when that law is gone.

It isn't about changing this or that law - it's about understanding where the left is right now. The lefties have decided to refuse to respond to the will of people as shown by elections in Wisconsin - or anywhere. Similarly, the lefties are depriving men of constitutional rights on campus - and Christians of freedom of conscience. As Obama explained the new normal is: "bucket your rights - bucket your elections - bucket the constitution."

And Walker knows all this - a reason to elect him President.

(Plus, thanks to lefty overreach, he has been vetted.}

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Michael that was Magnificent!

ken in tx said...

If Buwaya is right and we are in a precursor to a version of the Spanish Civil War, look for the Sanitation Worker's Union to pull a drive-by on the Firefighter's Union HQ. Meanwhile Walker (Franco) with aid from the Kochs (Nazis) is marching on Barthelona. See Orwell's "Homage to Catalonia".

pst314 said...

"garage, your Walker hatred has driven you over the edge. You need to move to a deep blue state. Try Rhode Island or Connecticut."

Cuba or Venezuela would be more Garage's style.

Dad29 said...

My vote: GAB. They knew what was going on, and Madistan is their front yard, exactly where Stein and Marley operate

buwaya said...

Every country has its default mode of collapse. Spains war turned into a struggle for the capital, with a side order of ethnic nationalism. The US, because of its highly devolved political structure, is naturally inclined to dissolution through secession. US Civil War, the replay.
Come the crisis, Texas secedes, taking most of the South and much of the center with it. The remnants on the coasts have to deal with a disloyal and insurrectionist countryside. Refugees stream in all directions, sons turn against fathers, and brothers against brothers. The military falls apart, as the government finds that most will not fire on their kin.
There is a novel, or a cable series in this. Hmm.

CWJ said...

Poor Mark,

Fires both barrels and Garage gets all the attention while (s)he is ignored.

Unknown said...

----Plenty of leaks from Club for Growth …

Long after, and in response to, the constant flow of leaks to the Milwaukee Urinal seniinal

RecChief said...

no story about chisholm going after Walker again, this time for defaming him in a speech in iowa?

The man is obsessed

Lewis Wetzel said...

buwaya puti wrote:
"The military falls apart, as the government finds that most will not fire on their kin."
Don't be certain of that. The Feds are trying to eliminate the vestiges of moral choice from American soldiers. There is a long history of soldiers attacking their countrymen. First, you have units organized so that they feel little kinship towards the people they may be ordered to attack. Second, put a political officer in each group of soldiers to sniff out those who may not obey orders to shoot civilians.
"Where the SS is, there is also the Front."

Drago said...

pst314: "Cuba or Venezuela would be more Garage's style."

Garage did mention once that he would love to get down to Cuba for some IT work.

Except garage isn't an IT guy.

LOL

Michael K said...

"There is a long history of soldiers attacking their countrymen. First, you have units organized so that they feel little kinship towards the people they may be ordered to attack."

That worked in China because they brought in kids from the provinces who had nothing in common with the university kids in Beijing who were fighting for democracy.

Today in this country, the kids with rifles and tanks are the ones fighting for democracy and the kids in the universities are the fascists.

I don't think it will work here.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Is this what a prosecution riot looks like?

buwaya said...

More to the point, even today officers, NCOs and men are still largely recruited from the states that would secede, or the parts of other states that would revolt.

Clark said...

Fascinating to watch people like Mark and Garage set the stage for the failure they know is inevitable. If they scream loud enough now, they can claim the system was rigged when their atrocious abuse of power is finally stymied. It's like a leftist death rattle.

iowan2 said...

The files that the least informed seek, are easy to get. issue a search warrant.

All it takes of evidence of a crime, and reasons why the evidence is where you want to search.

Except after years, and two separate secret investigations, no crime has been charged.

The constitution was specifically drafted to protect citizens against the power of government.

Its a simple concept that some here just cant grasp intellectually .

MadisonMan said...

I think it was you that has previously suggested that sunlight is the best disinfectant.

Sunshine disinfects everything. It would disinfect what Walker supporters do, and it will nicely disinfect what this John Doe Investigation is really trying to do.

Sunshine is cruelly neutral, to borrow a phrase.

Rusty said...

Blogger Drago said...
pst314: "Cuba or Venezuela would be more Garage's style."

Garage did mention once that he would love to get down to Cuba for some IT work.

Except garage isn't an IT guy.

LOL

That's perfect. Since there are very few computers in private hands and all internet connections are highly regulated and few if any 'Cubans on the street' have access to them.

Headless Blogger said...

How about equal sunshine on coordination between Democratic candidates and their independent support groups?

There was an ad for Tammy Baldwin that had me thinking "she can't say that." Turns out she didn't. It was an outside group expressly advocating for her election. No John Doe or prosecution for that one as far as I know.

Douglas B. Levene said...

Garage - Since you want to release publicly all the files that the prosecutor seized illegally, I'm sure you wouldn't have any problem with insisting that the prosecutor's office release all their internal files and emails relating to this probe, right? If full public disclosure of all the relevant material is the standard, well, what's sauce for the goose, right?

Bad Lieutenant said...

Mysteriously crashed or sensibly deleted by the trustworthy target of the investigation of course.

Bad Lieutenant said...

I had to deal with a hard drive crash today, actually a failed SSD. Teh suxx0r! It would run for about 2-3 minutes then freeze and generally blow up the PC. I finally put it in a toaster and grabbed files as fast as I could while it would run. Bless you usb 3.0!

Deb Haws said...

My husband and I are friends with Eric O'Keefe and Leslie Graves. We spent a weekend with them and other friends recently in New Orleans. Eric and Leslie are showing amazing courage and stand strong against the powers-that-be in Wisconsin. O'Keefe v Chisholm has been 'held over' by the Supreme Court, hopefully good news as it increases the chances that the Court will consider the case. A good way to follow Eric's effort to expose the actions by Chisholm and others (and to contribute to cover the legal costs) is to check www.wisconsinjohndoe.com.