WISGOP: John Doe Must Die!

As we all know, Scott Walker has been the subject of not just one, but two, John Doe investigations.

The first John Doe, commonly known as Walkergate, was brought on by Walker's stonewalling of an investigation that his office had asked for.  This investigation ended up with the convictions of six of Walker's top aides and allies.  What is often overlooked is that there were also more than a score of people that were granted immunity in exchange for their cooperation.

Another thing that came out of the first investigation was the fact that even greater crimes were being committed by Walker and his associates, leading to the second John Doe investigation.  We could see by the documents released by the courts as the right wing have fought for the past year to kill John Doe that Walker and his campaign were not only running another caucus-like scandal, but were collaborating with third parties funded by dark money special interests.

Now Republican legislators - undoubtedly at the bidding of Walker and the dark money special interests - want to eviscerate the John Doe process:

[State Rep. David] Craig [R-Town of Vernon] said he does not have any specific changes in mind yet, but he wants more safeguards to ensure that targets’ identities are protected until and unless they’re charged. At the same time, Craig said lawmakers and the public should be able to find out how much such investigations cost.

“I think we are talking about a serious reform of the statute but maintaining it as a serious tool for district attorneys and law enforcement in general,” he said. “I think that there’s a way to protect people’s identities while it’s going on while also protecting prosecutors’ tools but also have a level of transparency.”

Craig said he also is exploring whether there should be limits to the duration and scope of John Does. The investigation targeting Walker’s campaign and associates when he was the executive of Milwaukee County was launched by Democratic Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm in 2010 and did not conclude until 2013.

The fact that WISGOP wants to stop John Doe should surprise no one. They've been talking about it for as long as they have been fighting it in court.

Besides, it makes intuitive sense that they would want to do this - all criminals wish that law enforcement would be greatly limited if not ended altogether.