Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI)
It takes some chutzpah to run for president when you've faced major investigations into your fundraising practices, but Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's chutzpah doesn't stop at running for president under those circumstances. Over the weekend,
Walker lashed out at the investigations into his and his aides' practices, characterizing them as "largely a political witch hunt":
"I said even if you're a liberal Democrat, you should look at (the raids) and be frightened to think that if the government can do that against people of one political persuasion, they can do it against anybody, and more often than not we need protection against the government itself," Walker told the radio station.
The first "political witch hunt," as Walker would put it, or "John Doe investigation," as the law would put it, yielded
six convictions, including a Walker appointee convicted of embezzlement and aides convicted of doing political work for Walker while on government payroll. The second investigation, into whether Walker and his campaign staff illegally coordinated with conservative organizations, is ongoing, and while it may never yield convictions, it potentially exposes a lot of shady activity from the Walker camp. In any case, when you've had aides and appointees convicted, it takes some serious nerve to claim to be the victim of a witch hunt.
The prosecutors involved are not letting Walker have the last word:
"His description of the investigation as a 'political witch hunt' is offensive when he knows that the investigation was authorized by a bipartisan group of judges and is directed by a Republican special prosecutor appointed at the request of a bipartisan group of district attorneys," [special prosecutor Francis] Schmitz's statement said.
He called Walker's comments inaccurate but didn't detail why.
"I invite the governor to join me in seeking judicial approval to lawfully release information now under seal which would be responsive to the allegations that have been made," his statement said. "Such information, when lawfully released, will show that these recent allegations are patently false."
In short, put up or shut up. Let us go public with what we've got, and then the public can assess whether you're innocent or guilty, or technically innocent but really sleazy. Walker, of course, is not interested in having more information released.