Is Scott Walker Selling out His Friends in John Doe Probe?

The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board Wednesday excoriated Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker over reports that he may be seeking to “cut a deal” with prosecutors in the secretive “John Doe” probe in order to exonerate himself.

From the WSJ:

We’ve learned that Steven Biskupic, who represents Friends of Scott Walker, has been negotiating with Wisconsin special prosecutor Francis Schmitz to settle the state’s investigation. The understandable concern among the direct targets of the John Doe is that Mr. Biskupic will cut a deal that would exonerate Mr. Walker while wresting concessions from some of Mr. Walker’s allies….Sounds like Mr. Walker has to decide whose side he’s on — his own, or the larger principles he claims to represent.

The John Doe case was opened after Walker won the 2012 Gubernatorial Election by Democrat Milwaukee District Attorney John Chisholm, which led to “pre-dawn-paramilitary” style raids on political activists homes, and the seizure of personal property, in an attempt to find illegal campaign coordination between Walker’s campaign and political advocacy groups.

The Wisconsin Club for Growth and its treasurer Eric O’Keefe subsequently filed a federal lawsuit on the ground that the secret investigation impeded their First Amendment rights.

Earlier in May, Federal Judge Rudolph Randa issued a preliminary injunction and ordered the probe to end–a decision Chisholm and his cohorts, Assistant District Attorney and Wisconsin Special Prosecutor Francis Schmitz, scrambled to appeal. After a Judge stayed Randa’s injunction, the stay was immediately overturned once again.

With the injunction still in effect, the Wall Street Journal speculated that the prosecutors may be in contempt if they are attempting to work out a deal with Walker. Which begs the question, with the prosecutors on the defensive at this point, why would Scott Walker make any effort to work out a deal.

The WSJ continues:

Mr. Walker is facing a rough re-election fight this year, and perhaps he and his lawyers want to remove any chance of a September or October legal surprise….Mr. Walker might think he can help himself with a settlement, but he’d be letting down his allies if he did so in a way that lets the bogus theory of illegal coordination survive… Mr. Walker is a hero to many for his fight against public unions, but he will tarnish that image if he sells out the cause for some short-term re-election reassurance.