BREAKING: Court Orders Prosecutors To Stop Investigating Scott Walker’s Alleged Illegal Coordinatio

[riversedge]

I expected this--yet to actually see it--i am just sad with a loss of words.


http://thinkprogress.org/election/2015/07/16/3681277/breaking-court-orders-prosectors-stop-investigating-scott-walkers-alleged-illegal-coordination/


BREAKING: Court Orders Prosecutors To Stop Investigating Scott Walker’s Alleged Illegal Coordination

by Alice Ollstein Jul 16, 2015 9:37am

CREDIT: AP


In a major victory for Gov. Scott Walker, Wisconsin’s Supreme Court ruled early Thursday morning along partisan lines to halt the investigation into whether the newest Republican presidential candidate illegally coordinated with right-wing advocacy groups during his 2012 recall campaign.

Saying they want to “prevent the chilling of otherwise protected speech,” the Court’s four conservative justices ordered that the probe be terminated, and that those working on the case “permanently destroy all copies of information and other materials obtained through the investigation.” They also emphasize that anyone connected with the alleged crime is not longer obligated to cooperate with investigators.

Though the first John Doe probe into Walker’s campaign resulted in the criminal conviction of several of his staffers, the justices wrote of the new effort: “The special prosecutor’s legal theory is unsupported in either reason or law.” They also scolded prosecutors for investigating “citizens who were wholly innocent of any wrongdoing,” and boasted that the ruling will help protect every other Wisconsinite in the future from “tyrannical retribution” and “capricious government prosecution.”

This language echoes how Walker himself has characterized the case — as a “political witch hunt” engineered by Democrats to take him down, despite the fact that multiple district attorneys participating in the case are Republicans. ................

[Rosa Luxemburg]

1. Republican DAs

all in the family

[Still In Wisconsin]

2. Yeah it will protect citizens...

as long as those citizens are Republicans.

Party before people, always with these folks.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

3. Time for prosecutors to start investigating the court. nt

[Moliere]

4. Could this get punted to the DOJ?

The appearance of impropriety and collusion is nauseating

[riversedge]

5. 4 WI Supreme Court justices benefited from $8 million in campaign spending from groups in John Doe

CMD's PR Watch retweeted
ACS Law and Policy ?@acslaw 10m10 minutes ago

4 WI Supreme Court justices benefited from $8 million in campaign spending from groups in John Doe case. http://buff.ly/1GoBhXr #FairCourts

[riversedge]

6. This article said they could appeal...

but no information given.


X-posted:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026980155


pepperbear (4,896 posts)

Scott Walker Gubernatorial campaign probe halted
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/17/us/wisconsin-court-to-rule-on-inquiry-involving-scott-walkers-2012-campaign.html?_r=0


The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that a criminal investigation into allegations of coordination between conservative groups and Gov. Scott Walker’s 2012 campaign cannot continue.

The decision of the court, which was divided, ends the specter of a criminal investigation as Mr. Walker pursues the Republican nomination for president. Mr. Walker, who has won three elections for governor over the last five years including a recall challenge in 2012, officially announced his bid on Monday.

“To be clear,” Thursday’s ruling reads, “this conclusion ends the John Doe investigation because the special prosecutor’s legal theory is unsupported in either reason or law. Consequently, the investigation is closed.”

Legal experts said the special prosecutor, Francis D. Schmitz, could appeal the decision to the United States Supreme Court. A lawyer for Mr. Schmitz was not available for comment on Thursday morning....