Investigation Closes with No Charges Filed Against. Gov. Scott Walker
Putting and end to the over two year John doe investigation into misconduct in Scott Walker's Milwaukee County Executive office, District Attorney John Chisolm filed a letter of closure that ended the investigation last week, according to Charles Benson, a reporter who broke this story just moments ago.
The two year investigation, prompted by Governor Scott Walker, ended with six charges against 3 former Milwaukee county employees. Speculation by Democrats, including the head of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin Mike Tate, proclaimed that Walker would end his term in jail.
The accusations by Tate and others in the Democratic Party have now been proven false. The proclamation by Chisolm's office assures that nothing was found to link Walker to the inappropriate behavior of staff members, nor any inappropriate behavior by Walker himself.
During the recall effort by state Democrats and union leaders, they used this issue to try to oust Walker. The effort failed with Governor Walker beating Mayor Tom Barrett by a much wider margin than the 2010 election. Barrett also made wild accusations of misconduct by Walker himself.
GearHead
8:05 pm on Friday, March 1, 2013
In the real world, folks like Tate, Zielinski, and Barrett would be dispatched for their over-the-top embarrasing displays of bad taste. Yet they continue to be stars of the Democrat Party. Go figure.
Tansandy
6:26 am on Sunday, March 3, 2013
Yes, those 3 are the poster child for "what democracy looks like"! They are the hero's of the so called down trodden class.
Brian Dey
8:32 am on Sunday, March 3, 2013
The Democrats, mainly Zielinski, tweets that Walker is worse than Dahmer and it is the republicans that are called insensitive. Go figure. This is what I thought I'd hear from the usual leftist bloggers...nothing.
Blair Nielsen
9:47 am on Sunday, March 3, 2013
Thanks for the story Brian, I was waiting for the Patch to report on it.
I guess its not news worthy to them.
Brian Dey
10:17 am on Sunday, March 3, 2013
I put this under breaking news and it took forever to get posted. Had it gone the other way, i'm sure they would have made a bigger deal than a blogger posting it. I am just surprised that the staff didn't do a story.
Steve ®
9:16 am on Monday, March 4, 2013
No you're not. It's Patch, and it would not be from the burbs. So you're dealing with a liberal rag and liberal editors hiding news, again.
John Wilson
9:44 am on Thursday, March 7, 2013
Brian Dey -
"I put this under breaking news and it took forever to get posted."
You must have your own personal definition of "forever."
Would you please share that with the rest of us?
patchreader 123
7:36 pm on Sunday, March 3, 2013
To the Patch staff:
Any reason why this news was not covered by Patch? It is certainly relevant.
Fred Fischer
9:32 pm on Sunday, March 3, 2013
The "John Doe" thing was so anticlimactic.
SkinnyDude
12:15 am on Monday, March 4, 2013
AOL owned PATCH across the country is going to lean liberal. I am not sure how the hiring works but the stories of interest chosen by a liberal will seldom involve a positive story about Walker. I recall the story on here when they went after Walker but I guess Brian had to do the follow up. I dont think a lot of liberal reporters see the forest from the trees .Look at Bob Woodward nationally, he is left leaning but his peers went after him for telling the truth . Go Figure. Is everyone suppose to Lie ? In Lefty world..............Yes..
Luke
7:09 am on Monday, March 4, 2013
Well, at least Brian blogged on this issue. I suppose the Patch was too focused in the Yahoo telecommuting issue to cover this.
GearHead
8:13 am on Monday, March 4, 2013
Zielinski. the standard-bearer mouthpiece for the WI Dem party apologizes for slandering Walker. Sure, Graeme. Will he suffer any fallout? Well, why does a dog lick itself? Because it can!
CowDung
8:27 am on Monday, March 4, 2013
It is pretty bad when Patch runs several articles about the Harlem Shake, and points out million dollar homes for sale, but doesn't publish word about the close of the John Doe investigation.
The Donny Show
8:37 am on Monday, March 4, 2013
Remember also that the investigation closed EIGHT DAYS before ANYONE reported on it. But the media isn't biased. Not at all. Must have taken them that long to stop the crying and excuse making.
Bob McBride
8:40 am on Monday, March 4, 2013
CD, not to mention all the recycling of articles and topics they've been doing lately as well.
It's pretty apparent that, while news was never the overwhelming focus of the site, they've pretty much abandoned it altogether in favor of polls, canned weather reports and occasional topics the pique the interest of the "editors" because they can relate to them personally (i.e., the telecommuting article).
What happened to the announced partnership with WISN? Wasn't that supposed to, in part, provide some additional news coverage for this site?
Mark Maley
10:40 pm on Monday, March 4, 2013
@Bob McBride and others: Patch really has never done much coverage of the John Doe investigation...even when it was launched. We don't cover every state political story in Wisconsin - we pick and chose our spots. and it has nothing to do with liberal/conservative.
When the John Doe probe was initiated, we didn't cover it. We'd done perhaps 3-4 stories since this started but have pretty much left it to other media outlets in town.
patchreader 123
11:27 pm on Monday, March 4, 2013
"We don't cover every state political story in Wisconsin..." Maybe not. But, you've covered enough stories having the investigation as a central issue to deem a follow-up story regarding the investigation's final status relevant.
http://caledonia.patch.com/articles/fbi-looking-at-governor-scott-walker-in-corruption-probe
http://caledonia.patch.com/articles/democrats-first-recall-tv-ad-compares-governor-scott-walker-to-nixon
http://caledonia.patch.com/articles/state-dems-want-gab-to-address-gov-walker-criminal-defense-fund
http://caledonia.patch.com/articles/barrett-calls-on-walker-to-come-clean-on-john-doe-probe
http://caledonia.patch.com/articles/walker-denies-reports-coming-out-about-john-doe-investigation
http://caledonia.patch.com/articles/gov-walker-affirms-distance-from-john-doe-investigation
http://caledonia.patch.com/articles/walker-subpoenaed-in-former-staffer-s-trial
Luke
11:33 pm on Monday, March 4, 2013
Mark,
I'm not bashing you, but the Patch has covered all sorts of trivial stuff involving Walker. In fact a few months ago you guys did a piece involving the fact that Walker thought the investigation would be closed in a few days.
Perhaps this type of issue is not your main focus, but the coverage is not as unimportant as you think. We may have differing opinions on how much the investigation was covered, but I would think that if it deserved any coverage in the past, the closing of the investigation is then most certainly worthy of at least a short article.
Brian Dey
6:24 am on Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Patchreader 123- You are too kind. In all actuality, every one of those stories you point out directly covered the John Doe investigation. From the very start.
It is disingenous for Mark Maley to claim otherwise and should accept that they dropped the ball.
This was an important story that Patch covered extensively and they dropped the ball on what was pretty much the big story. Everything else was speculative.
Bob McBride
6:28 am on Tuesday, March 5, 2013
I'm calling BS on that Mark.
Actually, I really don't have to. patchreader 123 pretty much nailed you to the wall.
Considering the amount of mileage you guys have gotten out of Scott Walker around here for two years, logic would dictate you could find time in your busy schedules to cover this relatively important bit of information - even if, to you, it's rather anticlimactic. Frankly, there's no reasonable excuse for not covering it, given some of the other nonsense you guys waste time on around here. Which, most likely, is the reason for speculation regarding other possible motives.
Luke
6:45 am on Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Apparently any appearance of Michelle Obama or Katy Perry carries more weight than a key issue in the political history of our state that has lasted several years.
Terry
7:48 am on Tuesday, March 5, 2013
I have to go with the group here. The John Doe has indeed made enough of a appearance to warrant a story about its end. Even if you don't consider those already listed above, certainly enough of your readership has commented on it over the last year, it would count as being of interest to your readership.
This should have been covered, the question was, laziness or editorial omission.
patchreader 123
12:38 pm on Tuesday, March 5, 2013
"[We] . . . . pretty much left it to other media outlets in town."
http://www.wisn.com/politics/John-Doe-investigation-of-Walker-as-county-executive-ends/-/9373216/19137536/-/onj9q1/-/index.html
Perhaps a mere reference to your new media partner would have sufficed?
Steve ®
9:29 am on Thursday, March 7, 2013
A simple search on your employers website for "John Doe" would prove your entire post false Mark Maley. I had posted this search many days before you posted your nonsense, it's just a few mouse wheel flicks below this post. Looks like patchreader also helped you out, at your job.
NObama 2012
8:50 am on Monday, March 4, 2013
Filthy Democrats come up empty.
Steve ®
9:37 am on Monday, March 4, 2013
Here is proof Patch is part of the liberal media:
http://menomoneefalls.patch.com/search?keywords=%22john+doe%3A
Not one of these editors wrote a story clearing Walker.
John Wilson
10:04 am on Thursday, March 7, 2013
Steve ® -
"Not one of these editors wrote a story clearing Walker."
Gov. Walker was never charged with anything, and he never went to trial on anything.
Therefore, the editors did not and could not have "cleared" him of anything.
Jay Sykes
9:46 am on Monday, March 4, 2013
In light of this recent Walker un-development, do we now more than ever,need to be concerned about the mental health of some of the posters that exhibit deeply seated Walker Derangement Syndrome*?
* the acute onset of paranoia in otherwise normal people in reaction to the policies, the governor—nay—the very existence of Scott Walker
Luke
6:29 am on Tuesday, March 5, 2013
I'm keeping an eye on morninmist in case he gives any indication that he intends to harm himself.
Bob McBride
6:45 am on Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Did morninmist retweet Zielinski's career ending outburst of the other day? If so, that might be an indication they've gone off the rails as well.
Keith Best
7:06 am on Tuesday, March 5, 2013
If I had a buck for every liberal that claimed Governor Walker would be frog-marched out of the State Capitol, I could retire to Hawaii. For them I always knew, wishing it so wouldn't make it happen.
And as far as Graeme Zielinski, I'm disappointed he will NOT remain spokesman, for he was the gift that keeps on giving. Along with lil'boy Mikey Tate.
Terry
7:50 am on Tuesday, March 5, 2013
I agree with that Keith. Zielinski was the best spokesman the Republican party could have asked for.