Walkergate: Is There A Lawyer In The House?

On Thursday, I pointed out that Tim Russell goes through lawyers like Scott Walker goes through campaign promises - neither one can keep one to save their soul (if they had one, that is).

Russell's first, and longest lasting, attorney, Michael Maistelman got pulled when it came out that he was going to be a possible witness for the prosecution, presumably for the bid-rigging that was going on in Walker's administration as county executive.

Russell's first criminal defense attorney, Andrew Franklin, quit when he wasn't getting paid.

His second criminal defense attorney quit after Russell refused to cooperate with him.

On Thursday, we learned that Russell's most recent attorney, Dennis Krueger, might not be representing Russell for long.

And boy, oh boy, is he so not going to be on the case. It turns out that Krueger took a job as a state prosecutor in Fond du Lac County sometime in June, although I've heard it might have been as early as April. This would obviously become a conflict of interest.  Furthermore, he never notified his clients, including Russell.  In fact word is, Krueger never even notified Maistelman even though he was only days from leaving permanently.

Needless to say, Judge David Hansher was not at all pleased at this turn of events. From an article written by Steve Schultze of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Krueger said his new boss, Fond du Lac County District Attorney Dan Kaminsky, agreed to let him work part time while he continued to work on the Russell case. That might not happen now.

Hansher said Krueger had been "unprofessional and hypocritical" in failing to disclose his new job, and the judge said he may file a complaint against Krueger with the state Office of Lawyer Regulation accusing him of professional misconduct.

Assistant District Attorney Bruce Landgraf said Krueger had a legal conflict of interest in acting as Russell's defense attorney while at the same time working as a state prosecutor. That might also be a violation of ethical rules, Landgraf said.

Krueger said keeping mum about his new prosecutor's job was in the best interests of his client.

Landgraf said he had no objection to giving Russell a week to figure out his options on who will represent him. But Landgraf said it appeared inevitable that Russell will have to get another lawyer, a development that could cause a significant delay in Russell's trial.

Now Russell, whose savings must be running on fumes by now, has to go out and find a fifth attorney to represent him and try to salvage the damage done by Krueger, including any possible plea deals.

And that's no small task either.  Russell will have to find a lawyer that is competent, willing to work for cheap or at the risk of not getting paid for a long time and isn't already involved in the Walkergate investigation in some fashion.*  Russell is probably sitting at home, already picturing himself in orange.

If the prosecutors are waiting to go after the other targets of the John Doe until they resolve the cases against Russell, Darlene Wink and Kelly Rindfleisch, that means this could go on well into next year, at the very least.  But that is what happens when prosecutors go after a mafia-like operations.

*Interestingly, these three requirements eliminate Attorney Paul Bucher, who fails on all three requirements.

Walkergate: The Reek Of Desperation

The Republicans are becoming so afraid of the ramifications of the ongoing Walkergate investigations and trials that they are starting to flail around in a blind panic.

There's no telling what's got them so scared.  It could be that they're afraid that Tim Russell will make the smart decision and cut a plea deal.  They might be afraid that one of the other people charged or being investigated will turn state's witness.  They might be afraid that more charges are about to hit.  It might be that their internal polls show that Scott Walker's corruption is really hurting him.

Whatever the reason or reasons, they are frantic with terror.

Case in point: Today former Waukesha County District Attorney and failed candidate for Attorney General sent a letter to the guy that beat him, Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen asking him to take over the Walkergate investigation.

The letter is nonsensical in its hysteria.

 Bucher complains of leaks from the DA's office but gives no evidence of any.  Bucher also complains that the rights and reputations of the accused are being harmed, which is pretty damn ironic coming from a previous prosecutor that has done a lot of grandstanding from atop people's reputations, especially when he was making his failed run for Attorney General. Bucher rises to the height of absurdity by suggesting that the extremely partisan Van Hollen take the case away from Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisolm to protect it from being politicized.

No, really.  He actually said that.

Van Hollen wisely declined from intervening into the investigation and prosecutions, although the reason for this decision is not exactly clear.

According to Van Hollen, he states he doesn't have the authority to take a case away from an elected county district attorney.  But that is pretty much what he did with the trial of Rory Kuenzi, a guy from Waupaca County who was suspected of killing another young man in a drunk driving hit and run.

DA Chisolm reports that Van Hollen's department had originally been involved with the Walkergate investigation and helped with the conviction of railroad tycoon William Gardner.  Chisolm states that the state pulled out when the investigation started going after Walker's people because Van Hollen represents Walker and did not want to be in embroiled in a conflict of interest.

Lisa Kaiser, of the Shepherd Express, comes up with a number of valid points including being afraid of what will be discovered during the investigation in general and of angering the Republican machine.  Kaiser also points out that the case regarding Brian Pierick, who is facing child enticement charges, could be a major embarrassment for Van Hollen.  It was Van Hollen's agency that OKed the hiring of Pierick to work with kids.

Sadly, the nonsense does not end with Bucher's histrionic letter or Charlie Sykes' breathless grasping at straws, endlessly repeating the hysterical and inane allegations.

Nope, now they gotta bring in the clowns.

The grossly misnamed Citizens for Responsible Government, the pet attack dogs for Scott Walker, are bringing their circus back to town.  Via Vincent Schmuki's Facebook page, who has teamed with CRG before, is touting an upcoming event hosted by CRG (the spastic keyboard is all his):

OK FOLKS, HERE IT IS! Your opportunity to hear and understand the JOHN DOE PROCESS and how you personally can get involved in STOPPING THE CORRUPTION that we are seeing! This seminar is April 21st 10am-12:30pm at Serb Hall (51st and Oklahoma in West Allis) To sign up CALL CRG-Citizens for Responsible Gov't. 414-801-0800. This will be run by Former Wauk Cnty D.A. PAUL BUCHER (there is a small $10 cost that will go towards hall rental)

I think that Schmuki is missing the point.  Walkergate is the vehicle to stop the corruption.  Unless their values are so upside down that they think that adhering to the law is now a sign of corruption, which is entirely possible.

Anyway, Schmuki posted that along with the following poster:

Well, CRG should know about starting their own John Doe complaints, since they tried that against me two years ago, falsifying their "evidence" in order to do so.  (How much you want to bet I'll have to go through the same garbage again now?)  Seeing how it came just weeks after Darlene Wink and Tim Russell were busted campaigning on county time, it's pretty obvious that it was a purely retaliatory move, trying to deflect attention and heat from Walker's stealth campaign team during the contested gubernatorial election.

I have to admit, I'm having a hard time wrapping my mind around this.  It's just that bizarre.  Can you imagine going to a rally to support people who have been accused of running a version of the caucus scandals?  I wonder if there will be some person selling "Free Scott Walker" or "Free The Walker Six" buttons and T-shirts.

The absurdity of this cannot be overemphasized.

Citizens for Responsible Government, a self-described taxpayer advocacy group, is sponsoring a rally featuring Paul Bucher, who ran for Attorney General as a law and order candidate, in order to smear and denigrate the judicial system in defense of people accused of using taxpayer-funded equipment on taxpayer-funded time to do illegal campaigning, stealing money from veterans and sexually assault children.

Please note that no where and at no time does any of these people claim that Walker or any of his staffers are innocent.  Just that the system is bad for holding them accountable.

You just can't make this stuff up.  I wouldn't be surprised if the next stunt won't be the Republicans calling for a special session so they can retroactively legalize illegal campaigning.  In order to create jobs, of course.