Sunday, March 31, 2013

Walkergate: Crime Does Pay...And Pay And Pay

When Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm balked at taking Walkergate to the next level, Scott Walker said he was going to close his legal defense fund.

It took Walker all month to do that.  The length of time was because he had to find enough campaign donors that would agree to allow their donation to be transferred to the legal defense fund to pay off another quarter of a million dollars, per an article by Dan Bice of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Records show his defense fund dispensed $432,754 to the Chicago and Milwaukee firms for which his two criminal defense lawyers worked. A boutique Madison law firm and APCO Worldwide, a Chicago-based PR firm, received another $15,000 from Walker’s defense account.

In addition, Walker’s campaign paid about $200,000 directly to Michael Best & Friedrich for so-called “compliance issues” related to the investigation. The campaign retained former U.S. Attorney Steve Biskupic, a former Michael Best lawyer who has since left the firm, when prosecutors subpoenaed campaign records the day before the 2010 general election.

[...]

Records say the defense fund on Friday paid $247,554 to Sidley Austin, a large Chicago law firm for which defense attorney John Gallo is a partner. Gallo’s firm had previously been paid $130,000.

On Friday, the Madison law firm of Lind Weininger also received a payment of $3,560 from Walker's fund, bringing its total take to $4,860. Kate Lind, who works at the firm, was the custodian of records for the defense fund.

The governor was also represented by Milwaukee defense lawyer Michael Steinle, whose firm had previously received $54,200 from the governor’s fund.
Bice concludes that Walker spent $650,000 on his legal defense fund. That's not completely accurate.

We know that even before Walker started his legal defense fund, he had already spent a considerable amount of money out of his own pocket:
We learned that today when Dan Bice broke the story that Walker has racked up somewhere between $55,000 and $99,999 in legal bills:
But the first-term Republican governor must have retained the pair long before he made it public.

As of Dec. 31, Walker owed more than $50,000 to Sidley Austin, a large Chicago-based firm that employs Gallo. Walker also disclosed that he owed between $5,000 and $50,000 to Terschan, Steinle & Ness, the Milwaukee firm where Steinle is a partner.

The state requires public officials and political candidates to disclose in the annual statement any creditor to which they owe more than $5,000. Wisconsin officials and candidates then must say whether the debt is greater than or up to $50,000.
So now we're up to the area of $700,000 to $750,000.

But as the gentle reader already knows, when it comes to all things Walker, there's more. There's always more.

This time the more is the fact that Walker and WISGOP had hired Kelly Rindfleisch even though they knew she was facing charges for her part in Walker's caucus-style illegal campaigning. There is no way of knowing exactly how much they paid Rindfleisch, but it had to be enough for her to pay her legal bills and to live off of.

And who know who else they have financially supported during the investigation.  We do know that Walker gave Cindy Archer a very cushy job with no real responsibilities abut a greatly bolstered salary.  Was there further considerations given?  And what of Tom Nardelli, who had to sell his home?

And there is still even more.

There is all the money that the Bradley Foundation, the Koch Brothers and the other corporate special interests spent on indirect support.  By this, I mean all the hit pieces the slimemongers at Media Trackkkers did on Chisholm and his staff, the rally they held to teach the sheeples how to interfere with the investigation, and the countless hours that the squawkers like Charlie Sykes and Mark Belling spent polluting the airwaves with their propaganda and smears.

There are also the incidental costs, such as all the flights that Walker took, crisscrossing the country to hit up the millionaires and billionaires for the money that eventually made it to his legal defense fund.  Another cost would be all the work hours put in contacting the donors and getting them to sign off on allowing their campaign contributions be used to keep him out of prison.

When you add all these costs up, it would not be surprising if the total came to be over one million dollars.  That is one helluva lot of money for an "innocent" man to spend.

Then again, we know he's not innocent:
And as we have well established, with all things Walkergate, there is more.  There is always more.  And still even more.  

But as usual, Walker gives himself away in his response to the closure of Walkergate and the fact that he is now to talk about his supposed innocence and release the documents, including the emails that would indeed vindicated him if he was innocent:
The governor disagreed, saying Chisholm didn't need to release more records from the investigation. 
"No, he looked into what we asked him to look through, he took action, he saw that actions were taken and the investigation completed, and now it's time to move forward," Walker said.
Not exactly what you would expect to hear from a person who is innocent. Why would Walker be so vehemently resistant to the release of the records if he has nothing to hide?

Most significant of all is the fact that Walker has never produced a letter from the DA stating that he was not the target of the Walkergate investigation, nor was he granted immunity.
In other words, to say that Walker is innocent, much less vindicated of his role in Walkergate, is like saying he is a job creator.

And as if we needed even further proof, Bice provides it at the end of his report:

It is not unusual for politicians to release negative or unflattering news on Fridays or holidays to avoid as much attention as possible. 
Asked if Walker was releasing the defense-fund information on Good Friday for that reason, Tieman said, “I have no comment.”

If Walker thinks that he has the slightest chance that he is going to be president, he'd better start coming up with better answers than that.

And he better hope like hell those emails and other documents never get released to the public.

16 comments:

  1. Now we know where Walker created jobs - in Illinois at Sidley Austin and APCO Worldwide.

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  2. Many Charlie Sykes devotees and Scott Walker voters believe Barack Obama is destroying the USA to create a one-world government run by George Soros.

    Sidley Austin is a key hub connecting the conspirators. William Ayers got Barack Obama a job at Sidley Austin. Michelle Obama and Bernardine Dohrn worked for Sidley Austin – at the same time!

    Scott Walker paid a quarter million dollars to Sidley Austin. Why? What could Sidley Austin do that Michael Best & Friedrich could not? Obviously Scott Walker crossed state lines and hired Sidley Austin to pull strings with the powers behind Barack Obama.

    Scott Walker wants to be President. He has the support of billionaires, just like George Soros. We see the destruction Walker brought to Wisconsin. Does Walker want to become President to finish destroying the USA started by Barack Obama? The evidence is overwhelming that the answer is “yes.”

    Will Charlie Sykes warn his listeners? Or is he part of the conspiracy as well? Look how Sykes is a Walker cheerleader while Walker brings Wisconsin’s economy to its knees.

    I bet the media does not report this.

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    Replies
    1. I think anonymous is smoking crack again. Lack of facts but a lot of crack.

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    2. If you go to Glenn Beck's The Blaze or listen to Mark Levin, you will learn connections like this are what you need to study. The problem with liberals is they think this is nothing more than tri-cornerd tinfoil hat conspiracy theories.

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    3. 8:48 I agree this is a serious problem.serious. Tricornered tinfoil conspiracy enthusiasts know that liberals wouldn't know a real c.t. if one came out of their law sprinkler! "I'm just wonderin' what the heck is in our water supply."

      Delete
  3. Untraceable loose cash zips lips.
    Yes indeed, Capper, as Anonymous suggests, please find the connection between Soros, Sheldon Adelson, Dennis Rodman,Kim Jong-un and Rahm Jong Emanuel.

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    Replies
    1. Will you settle for Scott Walker and:

      Sheldon Adelson, Las Vegas casino tycoon, gave $250,000.

      Christy Walton, Arkansas resident, Wal-Mart heiress and world’s richest woman, pitched in $50,000.

      Thomas Peterffy of Interactive Brokers donated $10,000.

      Robert McNair, owner of the Houston Texans, gave $25,000.

      Joseph Craft of the billionaire Tulsa oil family donated $25,000.

      Rich DeVos, founder of Amway and resident of Michigan, $250,000.

      Stanley Hubbard, the Minnesota billionaire behind DirecTV, $10,000.

      Bernard Marcus, Home Depot founder and Atlanta resident, $50,000.

      Joe Ricketts, patriarch of the billionaire family who own the Chicago Cubs, $100,000.

      Trevor Rees-Jones, an oil and gas mogul from Dallas, $100,000.

      Bruce Kovner, New York’s hedge fund legend, also gave $100,000.

      Louis Bacon, New York billionaire and CEO of Moore Capital Management, $100,000.

      Patrick Ryan, founder of insurance giant Aon and resident of Illinois, $100,000.

      Charles and David Koch from Witchita, Mansas supporting Walker via Americans for Prosperity.

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    2. Those who ignore the evidence that Scott Walker is part of the conspiracy to destroy the USA so billionaires can form a one-world government should study the above list.

      Bruce Kovner and George Soros both became billionaires trading hedge funds while bringing economies to their knees. Kovner did not give Walker $100,000 because he is a nice guy. He wants Walker to do what he is told.

      Christy Walton of Wal-Mart is a key player in destroying American manufacturing by flooding her stores with China’s slave labor products at “Everyday Low Prices” to sell to unsuspecting patriotic Americans. Walker’s crony in the conspiracy, Sen. Ron Johnson, said in a Senate hearing that American companies investing in China create jobs here in America. Johnson is nothing but a traitor!

      That is only the tip of the iceberg. You cannot deny that Wisconsin under Scott Walker has suffered while billionaires have become more powerful controlling us.

      Delete
  4. why oh why can't we here in Wisconsin find a sane person to run for governor. Why can't we find some one who will beat him in the next election. I can't believe that there is some one out there who still believes in him. when you see on these pages who keep touting his praises i assume its walking under a different name praising him self. I know some one will come on an say you lost twice get over it. WELL I AM OVER IT. I AM sick to death of all the damage he an his cronies are doing to this great state. ALL under the snow job of CREATING JOBS!!!! He is all about him self he is not for us. If you keep having faith in him because he is a republican, He is not he is a tea party psycho. an damaging the state in the process. an i bet he is laughing at you thinking how much he has made a laughing stock out of you. BECAUSE HE DOES NOT CARE ABOUT US he only cares about his own A$$, an how far he can get on the backs of the people in this state.

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    Replies
    1. Robin Vos should run against Walker. His dedication to family values and conservative Christianity will propel him to victory. Robin can save us. ;-)

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    2. You mean Robin Vos, multi-divorced Robin Vos? He of the caught on video cavorting late at night in Madison with recently divorced GOP Michelle Litjens (of "I want to stay at home in Appleton with my kids fame)? THAT Robin Vos?

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  5. 8:33AM,

    Obama's a barely pro-choice Republican. He'll support collective bargaining almost exclusively with rhetoric.

    There's fundamental agreement between the bases of both parties about Wall Street, foreign occupations, and legalizing pot.

    No one on Wall Street has even been indicted for crashing the economy in 2008 (See Lanny Bruer http://www.salon.com/2013/03/01/why_i_let_wall_street_walk/ ).

    WRT foreign occupations, Obama's replacing troops with drones, which Lockheed-Martin, Boeing, Hewlett-Packard and the rest love, because they off shore most of the work.

    http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/counterfeit-chinese-parts-slipping-us-military-aircraft-senate/story?id=16403599#.UVhjK78-1FI

    WRT pot, all Obama has to do is change it from a Schedule 1 drug to Schedule 2. Big Pharma, however, would lose on that deal, so he won't.

    http://justsaynow.firedoglake.com/2012/12/14/obama-doesnt-need-congress-to-change-federal-law-regarding-marijuana/

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    Replies
    1. Stop making so much sense! Why, oh why do you believe your lyin' eyes, seeing what both parties do and not what they say? I didn't vote for Obama 2008 (went Green) but felt at peace w/ his election, initially. His pro-FISA vote as Senator was what gave me pause and led to my Green vote and it turns out rightly so. ACA was good but single-payer universal would have been better. I'm sure I'm overlooking a couple minor things I could boost about PBO but Obama has been repub lite, at best, otherwise. He is corporatist through and through. The Justice Dept not prosecuting fraud, RICO of the TBTfail Banks and the eviscerating of our 1st Amendment rights in particular, are what disturb me the most. Just because I was never a Reagan Republican doesn't mean I have to be in love with CFR Democrats. Swallowing smaller poison pills still has a cumulative effect, as we can see looking out over the wastelands of Wisconsin and beyond.

      That being said, I appreciate the job you are doing tracing the perp's movements in the web that constitutes Walkergate/JohnDoe by following the money, Capper. I see most of us here in the boards, as people of good will trying to get to same good ends through differing fair means. And it is all (not counting outright trolls) good because it means we are all engaged and THAT is what makes a functioning democracy.

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  6. 8:33,

    Below is an excellent piece about how the oligarchs control both parties and Anon 5:34AM is exactly right, if Sykes were remotely conservative he would be screaming about it.

    http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2013/03/oligarchy-exists-inside-our-democracy.html

    Monopolies and oligopolies are the traditional enemies of free markets. See Thomas Jefferson

    http://www.thenation.com/blog/37038/thomas-jefferson-feared-aristocracy-corporations#

    http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/377:unequal-protection-jefferson-versus-the-corporate-aristocracy

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  7. Capper, great job. Really appreciate you "fleshing out," all the less-obvious costs.

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  8. funds from CREEP (committee to relect the president) were used as hush money for the watergate burglars. more evidence that nixon is walker's role model.

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