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Leaked documents: Governor Walker sought corporate donations in 2012 recall
Leaked documents: Governor Walker sought corporate donations in 2012 recall
MADISON -- Governor Scott Walker and Republican lawmakers protected lead paint manufacturers after one of their owners helped Republicans win elections. That's according to documents leaked to the British newspaper The Guardian.
Governor Scott Walker
The documents are from the former John Doe investigation into Walker's 2012 recall campaign. It comes as prosecutors are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to re-open the case.
Who released them, and why now?
It could be a crime. But what's in the documents is just as controversial.
In the wake of Act 10, as recalls loomed against Governor Scott Walker and several Republican state senators, the governor's effort to defeat them ramped up.
Documents published by The Guardian newspaper show Walker went after corporate donors, directing them to the Wisconsin Club for Growth -- where there was no limit to how much they could give.
One man wrote a $10,000 check "because Scott Walker asked."
Courtesy: The Guardian
But there was bigger money to be had, according the The Guardian.
Harold Simmons, then-owner of NL Industries, sent one check, then another, then another -- totaling $750,000. Documents show the governor was warned that Simmons was controversial.
NL Industries had made lead paint before the U.S. banned it in 1978, and now faced lawsuits over health effects. The next year, in 2013, Republic Lawmakers and Walker passed legislation that retroactively protected lead paint makers from lawsuits.
Democrats called it "payback."
Peter Barca
"I'm anxious for that Paul Harvey moment, 'now the rest of the story,' because I think there's a lot more to this story we still don't know about," said Peter Barca.
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, who lost to Walker in the 2012 recall race, said he was shocked by the lead paint details.
"I have to admit, my reaction was 'wow,'" said Mayor Barrett.
Before the Wisconsin Supreme Court shut down the John Doe last year, investigators were looking into whether Walker's campaign illegally coordinated with the Club for Growth.
Three prosecutors want the U.S. Supreme Court to look at the case.
In the meantime, the John Doe materials were supposed to be kept secret.
Democrats responded Wednesday at the Capitol, "If it walks like a duck, talks like a duck, it looks like a duck, it's most likely a duck," said Senate Minority Leader Peter Barca. "It's up to Scott Walker to tell us why this isn't a poisoned duck."
Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm, one of the John Doe prosecutors, says whoever leaked the documents to the The Guardian committed a crime.
Walker's campaign spokesman, responded to the story, saying "there is absolutely no evidence of any wrongdoing" in the John Doe case.
The Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office released the following statement in regards to the leaked documents:
Assembly Democrats responded to the investigation with the following:
CLICK HERE to read the Supreme Court of Wisconsin's opinion in this case
CLICK HERE for further coverage of the two "John Doe" investigations involving Governor Scott Walker