Budget - Prosser - Let the Spin Begin

[deminks]

http://www.politiscoop.com/component/content/article/35-last-24h-news/367-budget-prosser-let-the-spin-begin.html

Green Bay Wisconsin -- Today Scott Walker signed the highly contested budget at Fox Valley Metal-Tech in Green Bay Wisconsin. Overshadowing today’s formalities was the recently released account of Supreme Court Justice Prosser having choked Justice Ann Bradley with his bare hands. One could say that these are separate issues and have no bearing on each other. If you have been paying attention to recent events, however, it is clear that the two events are highly related. The Supreme Court made a rushed and partisan ruling (4 -3) lifting a TRO which was blocking the publication of the Budget Repair Bill on the same day that Prosser decided to practice his aikido choke-hold on a female Justice.

(snip)

As journalists set up cameras and did sound checks on the media risers inside the Fox Valley Metal-tech facility just before 1 pm a few of us began talking about related news events. There were snickers and quips about the sudden change of venue and about the reasons for the last minute relocation. To my surprise, many of the local "journalists" were unaware of the Justice Prosser issue. They asked when the story released and by whom. Is it possible that mainstream media was unaware of this story which was picked up by bloggers and citizen journalists and made viral in yesterday’s internet discussions? Could it be that Madison has so tight a reign on what information is released to main stream media at the signing actually had missed this new development?

One of these conversations was overhead by a Walker staff member who interjected himself into the chat. The staffer downplayed the Prosser issue claiming "Oh yeah that, you know that the three witnesses are unreliable, I mean they leaked it to the media, if it was such an issue we would have heard about it before then". Again being an observer, I just nodded and thought to myself "Wow, he is basically saying that a Supreme Court Justice has lied about being choked? Really? The highest court in Wisconsin and now we have someone that is making things up?" Personally I had to stop myself from entering into the debate as I thought he made himself look foolish enough.

During the set up period, I had the opportunity to speak to reporters from WFRV, WBAY, Fox 6 and TMJ4 and of these; it was only the TMJ4 team that had any knowledge of the Prosser story. For the second time my conversation (this time with a local radio reporter) was joined by another member of Walker’s staff. This staffer had a different spin on what occurred in the Justice Bradley’s Chambers. He claimed that an altercation had in fact occurred, however not in the manner that Justice Bradley made it out to be. He claimed that Justice Bradley had attacked Prosser and that Prosser had merely put his hands out in self-defense. He also claimed that other Justices who witnessed the event are ready to back up Prosser on the issue.

(end snip)

Now, how did Walker's staff know who the first 3 sources were and that they are supposedly unreliable, and how did they know that other witnesses were ready to back up Prosser, and how did they know that Prosser supposedly acted defensively? Why are they putting out different accounts? What did Walker know, and when did he know it?

[hobbit709]

1. When the alibi changes every 5 minutes, somebody's lying.