Scott Walker personally solicited millions of dollars for a conservative group throughout his election campaigns in 2011 and 2012, according to over 1,500 pages of leaked documents obtained by The Guardian.
These documents contain hundreds of emails and bank records obtained under subpoena by prosecutors in a 2015 investigation.
Kate Doner, Walker's fundraiser, explained the strategy in an e-mail sent in April 2011 obtained by The Guardian. She called it "issue advocacy efforts," which raised $9 million in six weeks to pay for political advertising in the recall races.
Many of the contributors are the most prominent right-wing donors in the country, like Sheldon Adelson, Carl
The leaked documents were part of a John Doe investigation, which functions like a grand jury. The Wisconsin Supreme Court terminated the John Doe investigation in July 2015, because the conservative majority of the court ruled that targeted individuals were "wholly innocent of any wrongdoing." The justices also ordered the prosecutors to "permanently destroy all copies of information and other materials obtained through the investigation,” according to the documents.
Prosecutors raised doubts about the impartiality of the state
State Assembly Democratic leaders Peter Barca, D-Kenosha, and Katrina Shankland, D-Stevens Point, said the report raised serious ethical concerns.
"This explosive investigative piece brings to light the incredibly questionable behavior by the
governor and the Republican legislature," Barca said.
