Haven't seen this in a diary yet, so here's a short one on a bit of news. (Where are you, puddytat??)
All of us in Wisconsin who lose sleep thinking that Scott Walker may spend and slime his way into the Republican presidential nomination -- and beyond -- have been keeping an eye on the continuing saga of the "John Doe" court cases against him. Today he was set back in his expensive and never-ending effort to weasel his way out of the arms of justice.
Here's the Reuters headline: U.S. top court declines to take up Walker campaign finance dispute.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected a bid to stop an investigation in Wisconsin into possible unlawful coordination between potential 2016 Republican presidential candidate Scott Walker's gubernatorial campaign and conservative advocacy groups.
In denying an appeal by a conservative group called the Wisconsin Club for Growth, the justices left intact a federal appeals court ruling from last September that overturned an earlier federal district court decision that had halted the investigation.
This is both surprising and important. The stakes are high in this case -- obviously for Walker, but also for the extreme right-wing groups and funders who are under the spotlight as part of the Great Scott Walker Illegal Campaign Machine. The case is still lodged in the now-corrupted Wisconsin Supreme Court, but this will help at least to keep the light shining into this dark pit.
As Walker prepares to formally enter the race, these legal wranglings will draw more and more attention. It's starting to happen. Today's Bloomberg Report picked up on the decision, and provides a decent short summary of Walkers' legal problems: Why is John Doe Chasing Scott Walker in Wisconsin?. It provides .
The U.S. Supreme Court refused on Monday to end a state criminal investigation into whether a conservative group improperly coordinated with Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s 2012 recall campaign.
The investigation, still on hold, could complicate Walker’s potential campaign for the Republican presidential nomination. A ruling from the Wisconsin Supreme Court on whether the investigation should be restarted could arrive just before or after he announces his decision about a bid, something he's suggested would come in June or July.
The legal eagles here can tell me whether this is a
pro forma Supreme Court move, simply affirming the federal appeals court ruling, or whether we might read more into it. I'd like to think that even the hard-core conservatives on the Supreme Court recognize the rising shady character in their midst.