State Democrats file formal complaint against Walker for campaign finance violations

Assembly Democrats announced Thursday they would urge Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne to investigate campaign finance violations by Gov. Scott Walker.

In a letter to Ozanne, the representatives claim Walker may have violated various Wisconsin statutes between the years 2011 and 2013, including a ban on candidates and their committees from accepting corporate money.

The British newspaper, The Guardian, released documents earlier this month which appeared to show Walker and his campaign committee, Friends of Scott Walker, accepting corporate donations through a dark money organization, the Wisconsin Club For Growth. According to the letter to the District Attorney from the representatives, “[Walker] coordinated with and controlled [WCFG] for the purpose of his re-election and the re-election of several Republican Senators.”

Additionally, the group alleges that corporations giving money to the WCFG could have broken campaign finance law. Along with accepting corporate dark money, they say Walker may have engaged in a quid pro quo scheme. Critics say the documents displayed strong evidence that corporations which contributed a significant amount of money received substantial legislative favors in return, indicating what was referred to by the representatives as a “pay-for-play” system.

Walker has pushed back on the claims, saying he broke no laws. He criticized Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm for his role in a John Doe investigation into the issue. The governor questioned the need for more district attorneys if the Milwaukee County DA continued an investigation into his alleged corruption.

"We hear, not only in that county, but in other counties, about the need for additional district attorneys and additional resources,” Walker said in Beloit last week. “I think a lot of people wonder, if they continue to spend time after the U.S. Supreme Court were to rule on this, if that’s really necessary, if they have time to spend on this even after the courts have shut it down.”

State Rep. Peter Barca, D-Kenosha, called the comments a chilling threat which could alarm district attorneys statewide.

“In all my time in office, I could never fathom a sitting governor that would threaten a respective district attorney, and threaten the budgets that are so desperately needed in counties across the state, simply for doing their jobs,” Rep. Peter Barca, D-Kenosha, said.