Attorney General Brad Schimel
Wisconsin’s attorney general is asking the state Supreme Court to find out who leaked documents from a secret John Doe investigation.
The documents released by the Guardian US newspaper revealed the broad scope of an investigation into whether Governor Scott Walker’s campaign was illegally coordinating with conservative groups during the recall against him.
The high court had ordered an end to the probe and that all documents be kept sealed, but the Guardian obtained thousands of pages. Those documents show Governor Walker personally reached out to donors, who then gave money to a third party group. The paper also raised questions about donations from corporate interests, who later benefited from legislation passed by Republicans.
In a letter sent to Chief Justice Patience Roggensack on Thursday, Attorney General Brad Schimel calls for the appointment of a special master to investigate the breach and what has happened to evidence collected by prosecutors in the case. “This Court has imposed upon lower courts a “clear duty” to investigate possible violations of a secrecy order,” Schimel argues.
A spokesman for the state Supreme Court did not immediately respond to a request for comment.