Gov. Scott Walker Affirms Distance From John Doe Probe

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker on Tuesday confidently stated that he has no worries when it comes to the ongoing John Doe investigation.

Walker maintained he has done nothing wrong, and has no knowledge of illegal campaign activities that may have occurred on the taxpayers' dime during his tenure as Milwaukee County executive. Walker distanced himself from the investigation while visiting Tailored Label Products in Menomonee Falls.

“We’ve been told repeatedly, if there were bigger concerns, they would be coming to us,” Walker said. “Remember, we were the ones asking for this two years ago, and brought it to their attention.”

Walker is of course referring to blowing the whistle on his former aide, Timothy Russell. Russell is accused of embezzling $20,000 from a program designed to help veterans. Russell could face up to 14 years in prison along with fines, but his lawyers made a plea deal that has not been disclosed to the public.

“I think it would be good for them to be able to move forward and be completed. Obviously, we are very disturbed about what we learned in that case,” Walker said.

Two other former Walker aides, Kelly Rindfleisch and Darlene Wink, also took plea deals in charges that they campaigned on county time. There was talk in September that Walker could take the witness stand had Rindfleisch’s case gone to trial. Walker told reporters Tuesday that he would have done the right thing he he known about Rindfleish’s conduct.

“Two years ago, the day we found out that information, (Russell) was no longer working with the county. Had we known the same about Rindfleisch, we would have taken the same action,” he said.