Federal Appeals Court Lifts Injunction That Stopped Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker Investigation

[Judi Lynn]

Source: ABC News

Federal Appeals Court Lifts Injunction That Stopped Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker Investigation
MADISON, Wis. — Sep 24, 2014, 3:52 PM ET

Federal appeals court lifts injunction that stopped Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker investigation.

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/federal-appeals-court-lifts-injunction-stopped-wisconsin-gov-25736495

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(That's all she wrote! Will add new info. when I see it.)

[Judi Lynn]

1. Federal court lifts injunction against investigation into Scott Walker, conservative groups

Federal court lifts injunction against investigation into Scott Walker, conservative groups
20 minutes ago • Associated Press

A federal appeals court has overturned a lower court's ruling halting an investigation into Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and more than two dozen conservative groups for alleged illegal campaign activity.

The ruling Wednesday by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago is a defeat for Walker and conservatives who argued they have done nothing wrong and the investigation is a partisan witch hunt.

Wisconsin Club for Growth and its director, Eric O'Keefe, sued in February to halt the investigation, arguing that it was a violation of their free speech rights.

A federal judge in May sided with the group, but the appeals court reversed that ruling saying the fight belongs in state courts.

Read more: http://host.madison.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/federal-court-lifts-injunction-against-investigation-into-scott-walker-conservative/article_3b123f48-7d0a-5b8f-bac3-97a5f50ff1db.html#ixzz3EGbP4B8b

[The Magistrate]

2. Excellent, Ma'am

And pretty much a foregone conclusion, since there was no legal basis whatever for the injunction being granted in the first place.

[hue]

5. The 1%'ers just file these obstructions to justice to delay and delay again the indictments.

They love to tie things up in court forever....

[ladjf]

3. Great news! Walker is a criminal and must be prosecuted. nt

[OneCrazyDiamond]

8. prosecutors have said Walker is not a target.

Sorry

Source:
http://news.yahoo.com/federal-court-lifts-injunction-walker-case-195150769--election.html

[ladjf]

9. Well, I'd be happy just to see him out of politics. nt

[hue]

11. John Doe investigations don't "target" anyone, they simply prove that laws have been broken.

"Target" is a word that is not used by prosecutors.

Yet this looks like a money laundering scheme for RW1% donors that goes beyond the state of WI.

[padfun]

16. Where does it say that?

I cant see anything in there that says what you said.

[OneCrazyDiamond]

23. Paragraph 7 in my link

Walker has been dogged by secret investigations, first of aides and associates before he became governor and now on his recall campaign and other conservative groups. No one has been charged in the latest probe and prosecutors have said Walker is not a target.

[rlegro]

21. That's no more than semantics

Fact is, the John Doe inquiry has not progressed far enough for anyone to be identified as a target. Arguably that's why the subjects of the inquiry have tried to halt the investigation, so that none of them indeed become targets if more evidence is turned up. The John Doe process under Wisconsin law is intended as a fact-finding inquiry akin to a grand jury proceeding in other states. No one is "targeted" at the outset, and no one is charged unless the inquiry produces reasonable cause. In the first Doe probe involving the Walker county executive's office, a group of Walker aides were in fact charged with serious crimes and successfully prosecuted.

From a conservative blog:

Randall Crocker, the lawyer for special prosecutor Francis Schmitz, noted the investigation has been halted, saying, “At the time the investigation was halted, Governor Walker was not a target of the investigation. At no time has he been served with a subpoena... ."

“While these documents outlined the prosecutor’s legal theory, they did not establish the existence of a crime; rather, they were arguments in support of further investigation to determine if criminal charges against any person or entity are warranted,” Crocker concluded. “Mr. Schmitz has made no conclusions as to whether there is sufficient evidence to charge anyone with a crime.”

But here's the operating theory based on preliminary evidence:

“The governor and his close confidants helped raise money and control spending through 12 conservative groups during the recall election campaigns, according to the prosecutors’ filings,” the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported on June 19.

"Special prosecutor Francis Schmitz wrote that Walker was involved in 'criminal violations of multiple elections laws, including violations of Filing a False Campaign Report or Statement and Conspiracy to File a False Campaign Report or Statement.' ”

Halting a justice-system investigation and trying to destroy evidence before all the facts are known is like ordering the police not to investigate anyone whom they think might have committed a crime, because the investigation by definition intrudes upon their right of privacy and free speech (!). What a free-for-all of illegality that would result if that were the precedent set here.

[Scuba]

4. From the Urinal/Sentinel ...

http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/johndoe25-b99358722z1-276976981.html

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago overturned a ruling made earlier this summer by U.S. District Court Judge Rudolph Randa in Milwaukee but it does not necessarily restart the investigation. That is because prosecutors in the case also are appealing an unfavorable decision by a state judge overseeing the probe. The 7th Circuit criticized Randa's decision as an intrusion into the affairs of Wisconsin's legal system.

"What we have said shows not only that an injunction was an abuse of discretion but also that (as prosecutors) all defendants possess qualified immunity from liability in damages," wrote Judge Frank Easterbrook in the decision.

...

The case was heard by Easterbrook and Judges William Bauer and Diane Wood. Wood was appointed to the appeals court by President Bill Clinton, Bauer by President Gerald Ford and Easterbrook by President Ronald Reagan.

Prosecutors launched their John Doe probe in August 2012 in Milwaukee County and last year expanded it to four other counties. They have been looking at whether Walker's campaign illegally collaborated with ostensibly independent groups, such as the Wisconsin Club for Growth.

[hue]

6. At least this injunction was lifted before the election showing that Randa is biased & incompetent.

[Zorra]

7. Recommend! nt

[Gothmog]

10. This is from the same asshole judge who ruled against Wisconsin voter id case

Easterbrook is the same very conservative judge who ruled that the Wisconsin voter suppression/voter id case was fine http://electionlawblog.org/?p=65859

The scope of the constitutionality of regulating coordination is up for grabs at the Supreme Court, and for now contribution limit laws (related to coordination) are not subject to strict scrutiny. A snippet:

The Supreme Court has yet to determine what “coordination” means. Is the scope of permissible regulation limited to groups that advocate the election of particular candidates, or can government also regulate coordination of contributions and speech about political issues, when the speakers do not expressly advocate any person’s election? What if the speechimplies, rather than expresses, a preference for a particular candidate’s election? If regulation of coordination about pure issue advocacy is permissible, how tight must the link be between the politician’s committee and the advocacy group? Uncertainty is a powerful reason to leave this litigation in state court, where it may meet its end as a matter of state law without any need to resolve these constitutional questions….

The Supreme Court regularly decides campaign finance issues by closely divided votes. No opinion issued by the Supreme Court, or by any court of appeals, establishes (“clearly” or otherwise) that the First Amendment forbids regulation of coordination between campaign committees and issue-°©‐‑advocacy groups—let alone that the First Amendment forbids even an inquiry into that topic. The district court broke new ground. Its views may be vindicated, but until that day public officials enjoy the benefit of qualified immunity from liability in damages.

[Jack Rabbit]

12. Thanks for the information

Walker should be busted for dealing Koch.

[brer cat]

17. !

[greiner3]

19. "Walker should be busted for dealing Koch."

How about '...busted for dealing coc"?

[Jack Rabbit]

20. Because Koch is pronounced "coke"

[VA_Jill]

13. Good deal

I really, really want to see Walleye Walker do the perp walk. He will look even better than Transvaginal Bob doing it.

[Veganhealedme]

14. Boohoo for Snot! recced nt

[calimary]

15. Good.

I hope this has him waking up every morning and the first thing he does is reach for the Maalox bottle.

[Uncle Joe]

18. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, Judi Lynn.

[happyslug]

22. Here is the Actual Opinion:

http://media.ca7.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/rssExec.pl?Submit=Display&Path=Y2014/D09-24/C:14-1888:J:Easterbrook:aut:T:fnOp:N:1423582:S:0

Key Sentence:

The court did this despite 28 U.S.C. §2283, the Anti-Injunction Act, which provides: “A court of the United States may not grant an injunction to stay proceedings in a State court except as expressly authorized by Act of Congress,