Walker to meet with prosecutors on John Doe investigation

Madison -- Gov. Scott Walker has hired two criminal defense attorneys and will be meeting with Milwaukee County prosecutors about the John Doe investigation into his current and former aides.

Walker said in a statement released by his campaign Friday that he will not use any public money to pay for the attorneys that he has hired ahead of a meeting with prosecutors in Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm's office. Walker, who has repeatedly said he did nothing wrong, did not say when the meeting will happen. 

“Last year, my representatives voluntarily contacted Mr. Chisholm’s office to arrange a time to discuss any outstanding issues.  I will be voluntarily meeting with Mr. Chisholm,” Walker said. ”To assemble additional background information, I hired counsel to insure that I am in the best position possible to continue aiding the inquiry.”  

So far, the John Doe investigation has led to charges being filed against four Walker aides or appointees while he was Milwaukee County executive. The Walker campaign's statement described the investigation as "ongoing."

A Walker campaign spokeswoman did not respond to requests to elaborate on whether the governor had received a subpoena or formal request to talk with prosecutors or what they might discuss. 

Walker, a Republican, said he had hired two attorneys, Michael Steinle and John Gallo, to represent him. Steinle, a well-established criminal defense attorney, has declined to return repeated calls this week. A spokesman for Gallo, a former federal prosecutor based in Chicago at the firm Sidley Austin LLP, said the firm didn't comment on ongoing matters. 

Milwaukee County assistant district attorney Bruce Landgraf, who is overseeing the John Doe investigation, also declined to comment.

“I have nothing to say on that,” Landgraf said. 

Taking questions from reporters last week, Walker said that he was not a target of the John Doe investigation.

But the governor last week declined to answer a question about whether he or his attorney had been contacted by investigators. Earlier in January, Walker had said flatly that he had not been contacted by prosecutors.

It's not clear from the statement how Walker is paying for Steinle and Gallo. His campaign records show no payments to either lawyer's firm.

Former U.S. Attorney Steve Biskupic, who is representing Walker's campaign, had pointed out last year that Wisconsin statutes do not allow campaign funds to be used for "the purpose of supporting or defending a person who is being investigated for, charged with or convicted of a criminal violation."

But Wisconsin politicians may set up defense funds and transfer donations from their campaign account if they get contributors' authorization. Former Assembly Speaker Scott Jensen and ex-Senate Majority Leader Chuck Chvala both set up defense funds to help pay for their lawyers after they were charged criminally during the caucus scandal nearly a decade ago.

Federal records do not indicate that Walker has created such a fund.

Steinle is one of Milwaukee's most established criminal defense attorneys, representing defendants charged with everything from white-collar crimes to murder.

His grandfather, Ronald J. Steinle Sr., served on the state Supreme Court in the 1950s, resigning to launch an unsuccessful bid to defeat then-U.S. Sen. William Proxmire. Steinle's father, Ronald J. Steinle Jr., was known as a hard-nosed trial attorney whose best known client was Milwaukee crime boss Frank Balistrieri.

Last week, two staffers who worked directly for Walker while he was county executive were charged with illegally doing political work while being paid by taxpayers to do county jobs.

Graeme Zielinski, a spokesman for the state Democratic Party, said that the state "has never had a governor so closely tied to an ongoing criminal corruption probe."

"He owes answers not only to prosecutors, but to the people of Wisconsin who demand transparent, clean and honest government," Zielinski said. 

Walker told reporters last week that his campaign had been cooperating with prosecutors involved in the John Doe investigation before former Appeals Court Judge Neal Nettesheim for more than a year.

The governor was referring at least in part to the fact that prosecutors subpoenaed emails from Walker's campaign on Nov. 1, 2010 -- one day before the gubernatorial election. The campaign hired former U.S. Attorney Steven Biskupic to respond to the request, paying his firm nearly $110,000 over the past year.

Walker has said that while he served as Milwaukee County executive, he had publicly and privately told county employees that it was improper to do political work while using county resources on county time.

He said last week for the first time that after the Journal Sentinel wrote that Darlene Wink, a county employee, was posting messages in support of Walker on JSOnline.com, she was asked to resign. 

Last week, Wink agreed to plead guilty to two misdemeanor counts of using county resources to raise money for Walker's 2010 gubernatorial campaign. She has agreed to provide information in a related investigation about the destruction of digital evidence and to aid in further prosecutions.

Walker said last week that if he had been aware of any other county employees doing political work with county resources on county time, he would have acted the same way he acted in the Wink matter.

Kelly Rindfleisch, Walker’s former deputy chief of staff, was charged last week with four felony counts of misconduct in public office on allegations of working in then-Rep. Brett Davis' 2010 campaign for lieutenant governor. Davis, who lost in the GOP primary for lieutenant governor, is now Walker's Medicaid director.

Walker said in his new statement Friday that he wanted to cooperate with prosecutors. 

"My cooperation in this matter extends beyond a willingness to supply any and all requested documents.  I have already said that I would be happy to sit down with the people looking into these issues and answer any additional questions they may have," Walker said.