To say the ongoing John Doe investigation in Milwaukee County is getting awfully close to Republican Gov. Scott Walker would be an understatement.
Last year staunch Walker ally (and prodigous fundraiser) William Gardner was charged and ultimately convicted of two felonies relating to excessive and improper donations to Walker’s gubernatorial campaign.
Just a few weeks ago, longtime Walker aide and confidant Tim Russell was charged with multiple felonies he committed while in the employ of then-County Executive Walker, and at the time the charges against Russell were announced it was made clear the John Doe investigation was still ongoing.
So will we see any additional charges filed as a result of the John Doe investigation in Milwaukee County? I think the answer is yes, and if I were a betting man I’d wager the next set of charges will be filed against Darlene Wink and Kelly Rindfleisch. You’ll remember Wink as not only the former Vice President of the Republican Party of Milwaukee County, but also the constituent services coordinator for Walker when he was Milwaukee County Executive. Wink was outed for posted pro-Walker, anti-Mark Neumann & anti-Tom Barrett comments on JSOnline.com from Milwaukee County computers during her work hours.
While you may not have heard of Kelly Rindfleisch, she worked as the Deputy Chief of Staff in Walker’s County Executive office, and she also has ties to current Walker administration spokesperson Cullen Werwie, as both worked for the failed Lt. Governor campaign of Brett Davis in 2010. Werwie, you’ll remember, has been granted prosecutorial immunity in the ongoing John Doe investigation, and it will be interesting to see if his connection to Kelly Rindfleisch is more than just superficial.
Here’s a copy of Kelly Rindfleisch’s LinkedIn profile:
Capper over at Cognitive Dissidence has his own take on this that’s definitely worth a read.
I don’t know if I would be so bold as to predict who gets nabbed when.
Remember that Andrew Jensen is to report to the DA on Wednesday. Russell, Kavanaugh and Pierick all have upcoming court dates which could see additional charges, especially for Russell.
Then there’s all the other possibilities: Archer, Nardelli, McLaughlin, Wink, Villa, Hiller…a cast of thousands as they say.
capper, I could be wrong, but I just think it’s about time we saw some charges filed against Darlene Wink, since it was her actions that helped start the whole John Doe investigation to begin with.
Oh, I agree. I’m just saying that there’s a plethora of culprits to choose from.
If I had to hazard a guess, I’d agree with your two, add additional charges to Russell and throw in Nardelli and Archer. Maybe McLaughlin too.
Yeah, it will be interesting to see just how many people end up getting charged as a result of the John Doe investigation, but even more interesting will be how close things get to Scott Walker.
If his deputy chief of staff and chief of staff with the county both end up getting charged with criminal offenses, what does that say about Walker’s judgment and “leadership?”
Exactly, and like with the caucus scandals, these things go to the top, which is Walker.
Something Capper has written that’s worth a read?
Here’s another one worth a read, Aaron. Maybe you could answer the questions?
As opposed to nothing you’ve written that’s worth a read, Aaron.
Zach, you really need to take off the partisan goggles. Most of the stuff Capper writes is highly redundant. I’ve read enough of his articles to see the same talking points ad nauseum.
Aaron, tell us again how you know for a fact that Walker’s people had nothing to do with ScottforGov.com. That was a funny one!
I never said that Capper. Please stop paraphrasing.
On May 19, 2010, you wrote:
Because it’s not up to me to disclose it. And I don’t know who all of the bloggers are, I just know who some of them are.
On May 20, 2010, you wrote:
Believe what you will. I know enough of them well enough to know the others aren’t campaign staffers – if you get my drift
And on May 16, 2010, you wrote:
First, nobody from the county office is posting for Scottforgov. This I can say with certainty, since I know who does the posting.
Those are copy and pasted quotes from comments you left on my site. Care to try again?
I didn’t say that “walker’s people” didn’t have anything to do with it. I said none of his campaign staffers or county workers were involved in blogging on the site, which is true. So again, please stop paraphrasing because you’re making a mess of the conversation.
That wasn’t paraphrasing. Those were verbatim quotes. Want to try again?
I saw the quotes, Capper. You should have led with those. Your interpretation on my quotes are misguided and only confuses its accuracy.
Spin, spin, spin. Your words are pretty clear. As opposed to the ones you use now.
Capper,
Calling me a pseudo-journalist hurts my feelings. I work hard to cover stories by utilizing sources, getting quotes, and doing interviews – something that you don’t really do . . . at all. I see it being done here on Blogging Blue – which I give them credit for – but not on your blog. Blogging blue is partisan, but your site is what I would call hyper-partisan.
And I stand by the original comments I made on your blog.
Well, let me take back the pseudo-journalist comment. You’re really nothing more than a propagandist.
And your view of my work is not only irrelevant, but also shows that you stopped reading.
And your original comments have been proven false in the criminal complaint against Tim Russell, so you lie and stand by it. I hope your readers know about your true nature.
Tim Russell didn’t blog on the site.
So you’re saying he only bought it and administered it with stolen money, but didn’t blog on it?
First, we don’t know what happened with that money since a conviction hasn’t yet occurred. Second, buying a blog and actually blogging are two different things. These are distinctions I would expect a journalist to see, not something a hyper-partisan blogger can see apparently.
Aaron, I couldn’t find a link to your defense of Capper back when all those right-wingers were claiming that Capper was blogging on County time.
The records from the site indicate it was worked on during times Russell was at work. A real journalist would check the facts while a mere propagandist spins.
And? So bloggers couldn’t have used the site while Russell was at work? This isn’t rocket science. You are trying way too hard to make it fit what you want.
Administered, not posted on. They show up differently. Next.
This is getting tiring, Capper. There can be more than one administrator of a blog. Are you really going to keep dragging this out. You are wrong precisely because you made faulty assumptions. Don’t worry, it happens to the worst of us.
I’m sure you’re getting pretty dizzy with all that spinning. Take a break before you make yourself look worse. Oh, there were no other admins showing for that site.
So that leaves us with at least two possibilities, right? It was either Russell himself, or someone else who administered the site because Russell doesn’t like to blog.
Again, only one name listed – Russell.
But for the sake of argument, let’s say you’re correct. It would mean you knew what was going on but didn’t say anything about it.
It’s one or the other, right?
And I’m not spinning, Capper. Everything I’ve said has been accurate. There are only so many breadcrumbs I can drop before I have to stop altogether. Just remember this, you must have an analytical mind to blog well, which means you have to anticipate hidden assumptions and know how do deal with them without making an ass of yourself.
Yes. Which means you’re either incorrect or you knew of a crime and didn’t say a word.
Going to bed. Can’t teach the children if they aren’t interested in the truth.
You’d have to be truthful first.
Capper, you’re such an idiot. How the hell would I know how Russell paid for the website? Knowing who blogs on the site and knowing how they paid for it are two entirely different things. And even if I had the nerve to ask how he financed the blog, do you really think he would say he got the money via embezzlement? What you’re implying is absolutely absurd.
Ah, something we can finally agree on! Anyone would be an idiot to take you at your word.
LOL
Yoo hoo! Aaron! Got anything to say tonight?
Yeah Chris….he STILL knows for a fact that no one from Walker’s office was behind Scottforgov.com.
I’m hoping he can teach us about journalism, since you only broke the Hopper story and I only broke walkergate story. He’s a real life journalist that blogged for Walker.
Heh….I broke the Hopper story….and shortly thereafter the Hopper story broke my website.
Fun times!