The New John Doe Investigation
Lisa Kaiser Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2013 Express Milwaukee
Is the right-wing money machine a target?
Very little is known about the new John Doe investigation that has emerged from the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s office and is being conducted by special prosecutor Francis Schmitz, a former federal prosecutor.
The investigation has apparently spread from Milwaukee to Columbia, Dane and Iowa counties, according to the right-wing news website, Wisconsin Reporter. The site also alleged that the investigation is looking at one legislative leader, the 2011 and 2012 recalls and the operations of three right-wing groups, Wisconsin Club for Growth, Americans for Prosperity and the Republican Governors Association. Wisconsin Reporter has noted that “law enforcement officials have seized electronic devices and papers in Columbia and Dane counties.”
If this reporting is true, Schmitz may be looking at illegal coordination between these groups and at least one candidate committee. According to state law, candidates may not coordinate efforts with independent issue groups or political action committees.
An investigation of this type is difficult for reporters and outside observers, since these entities do not have to publicly report many details about their donors or expenditures. The Shepherd has looked at Internal Revenue Service filings, campaign databases and reporting from 2011 and 2012 to discover what the John Doe investigation may be targeting. The result is a tight connection of right-wing money funding phony issue groups, dirty tricks and millions of dollars in advertising supporting Gov. Scott Walker and his fellow Republicans in the recalls.
The Three Main Groups
If Wisconsin Reporter’s reporting is accurate, the John Doe is looking at the political activities of Wisconsin Club for Growth, Americans for Prosperity and the Republican Governors Association.
■ Wisconsin Club for Growth: This tax-exempt issue ad group is based in Sun Prairie. Its officers are Charles Talbot, Eric O’Keefe and Eleanor Hawley, but its more public representatives are Walker’s campaign advisorR.J. Johnson and Deb Jordahl, partners in the consulting firm Johnson Jordahl. O’Keefe is a small-government advocate and was instrumental in launching or running the Sam Adams Alliance, American Majority and the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity, which sponsors watchdog.org and Wisconsin Reporter, which has broken the most detailed news about the new John Doe investigation.
Johnson is a longtime Republican operative. Walker hired him for his gubernatorial campaign in spring 2009; according to the Friends of Scott Walker campaign finance reports, the campaign paid R.J. Johnson and Associates more than $130,000 between July 2009 and January 2012. Johnson’s firm’s mailing address is in Randolph, which straddles Columbia and Dodge counties. During 2010, Johnson was one of the Walker camp
School Voucher Money Pours Into South Side Election to Replace Honadel
Democrat Coppola will face voucher activist Rodriguez on Nov. 19
Express Milwaukee By Dominique Paul Noth
The south side of Milwaukee County will elect two new state representatives this year, thanks to the midterm resignations of state Rep. Mark Honadel (R-South Milwaukee) and Rep. Jeff Stone (R-Greendale), both longtime Republicans.
The resignations gave Gov. Scott Walker the opportunity, some have speculated, to set the races in the middle of the holiday shopping season, likely an attempt to drive down the numbers at the polls so that only the most die-hard voters will turn out.
Two political newcomers—Democrat Elizabeth Coppola and Republican Jessie Rodriguez—will face off on the Nov. 19 ballot in a special election to replace Honadel in District 21, which encompasses South Milwaukee, Oak Creek and a small slice of Franklin.
One Democrat—Greendale Village President John Hermes—and four Republicans are running to replace Stone in District 82, which includes Greendale, the rest of Franklin, and portions of Greenfield and Milwaukee. The primary will be held on Nov. 19; the general election between Hermes and the Republican candidate will be held on Dec. 17.
Democrats see a golden opportunity to flip both the Honadel and Stone seats. Local Republicans are chilled at the state GOP meddling, telling fellow