Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Walkergate: Rindfleisch Plays "Let's Make A Deal"

Well, it looks like the moment everyone's been waiting for - the day Scott Walker finally has to the stand and testify towards Walkergate - will have to wait for a couple of more months when Tim Russell goes on trial.

Walker was supposed to take the stand for his gal pal, Kelly Rindfleisch next Tuesday, but he is off the hook for now.

It looks like Rindfleisch is going to avoid her trial by entering a plea bargain.

Per court records, on Monday, Milwaukee County Assistant District Attorney submitted a letter to the court, amending the witness list.

Late Tuesday, there was an entry that Landgraf, with the agreement of her attorney, Frank Gimbel, is requesting a plea hearing date. The date has been set for this coming Thursday, October 11, at 1:30 pm.

Already, there has been a lot of gnashing of teeth and hair pulling about this bit of news. Many people apparently feel that Rindfleisch is going to take one for the team in that she is going to fall on her secret router to keep Walker off the stand.

Yet another group is thinking that the DA is settling just to ensure getting a sure conviction.

UPDATE: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is reporting that Rindfleisch is to plead guilty to one of the felony charges, but no other details.

I'm not sure I agree with either of those premises.

Here's why.

Rindfleisch, like her cohort in crime, Tim Russell, has been doing everything imaginable to get out of her trial, or to at least delay it as long as she could. The DA is tired of the games, and so are the courts. Furthermore, to my layman's eyes, the evidence is pretty concrete. They have the actual campaign-related emails and texts that she made during work hours. They have her own words admitting that she was knowingly campaigning on county time and knew that it was wrong. They have a long list of witnesses that would testify that the had some sort of campaign related contact with her during the time she was working.

I don't think that they had to give up anything to get a conviction they were likely to get anyway.

Another reason why I don't think that the DA would settle for just a sure conviction had been revealed by Rindfleisch's own attorney:
A former top aide to Gov. Scott Walker resisted prosecutors' efforts to get her to implicate others in a longstanding John Doe investigation, the aide's attorney said Monday.

Prosecutors sought cooperation from Kelly Rindfleisch, who worked as Walker's deputy chief of staff in 2010 when Walker was still Milwaukee County executive, said Franklyn Gimbel, Rindfleisch's lawyer.

"They tried to get her to turn on somebody in authority, but she declined," Gimbel said in an interview. "They were looking for information on people up the food chain," Gimbel said.

He declined to name them.
Also, consider the view from Rindfleisch's angle. The DA has a mountain of evidence against her. Her own conscious, if she has one, keeps reminding her that she did this. If she had some sort of deal where her angels would be funding her through a constant series of appeals, that is probably not very comforting since all three of her attempts were summarily shot down.

Most of all, she knows what kind of weasel Walker is and she knows exactly how far she can trust him.

Yeah, I'm thinking Walker is most definitely not liking this turn of events. I think there's at least even odds that Rindfleisch has decided to do what Tim Russell should have done long ago and save her own butt and begin to cooperate.

And, why yes, I am rather enjoying the prospect of seeing justice done and Walker indicted.


44 comments:

  1. I was worried that issuing the subpoena for Walker was a strategic move by the D.A. to get Kelly to plea bargain. This makes sense if we can assume that a) she is a good soldier and she was ordered to protect SKW and b) her attorney fees are from the "cooperation fund," the Koch bros, or some other wealthy donor. Or am I missing something?

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    1. The defense subpoened Walker. Either she is cooperating with the prosecution, or falling on the sword so Walker doesn't have to testify. We should know after the plea agreement is announced.

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    2. You're right, I missed that. I hope the details come out sometime soon. There are so many unanswered questions.

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    3. The defense subpeonaed Walker to make him look like he was forthcoming and helpful regarding his relationship with Ms Rindfleisch, but had already been cast. They knew that the plea deal was their only option with the trial set to start and did it in an effort to garner public sympathy for their writhing legal maneuvers.

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    4. Don't have the link handy now, but am sure that one media source recently reported that first the prosecution had Walker on it's witness list, then the prosecution decided not to call Walker, and that was when the defense subpoenaed Walker.

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    5. The defense called Walker as a character witness, but they were playing it pretty risky. But by this point, they had nothing to lose. The plea deal is her only way out.

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    6. Walker was named on the DA's potential witness list. That means he could have issued a subpoena at any time. The fact that the defense actually issued it doesn't mean a whole heck of a lot, IMO.

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  2. The immediate future was:

    Rindfleisch Walkergate Circus, convicted, pardoned.

    The immediate future is now:

    Rindfleisch plea deal, convicted, pardoned.

    What's changed? The dirty laundry stays in the hamper. We have to assume the DA knows that Walker can pardon any of these folks at any time and only benefits from keeping things from going to trial. So, what's his game plan? If Walker is the target and Walker has to wait until Wink+Rindfleisch are sentenced to pardon them, the DA will have to charge Walker real soon to ensure his plea deals don't get pardoned away.

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    1. 8:14, one possible take-away from your comment is that the D.A.'s case appears to be bullet-proof on appeal.

      IMHO, Walker was hoping for Rindfleisch-conviction, appeal, keep her out of jail, more appeals, finally overturn.

      "Walker has no plans for granting pardons"

      "......The Republican governor "believes these decisions are best left up to the courts," Walker spokesman Cullen Werwie said....."

      http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/walker-has-no-plans-for-granting-pardons-j837jvk-134584228.html

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    2. The other party to the plea deal is the prosecution. What would be their motivation for undermining the John Doe investigation for the sake of being 100% sure of bagging a little fish vs being 99% sure?

      The other thing to remember is that there's a Federal investigation going on too. Walker can't pardon her for any Federal convictions.

      Also if she has a pardon in the bag, there's no difference to her if she pleads guilty when the trial starts rather than pre-arranging anything. If a plea deal is a better arrangement for her than this, why is it also a better deal for prosecutors at the same time?

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    3. It makes no sense for the prosecution to offer her a deal with just the evidence we are aware of. She is guilty as hell. Either she is cooperating(as her own lawyer has stated in the past the prosecution wanted her to do but she refused), or she is pleading to avoid the trial and take a crappy deal. Thursday should tell us which one it is.

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    4. 8:40, I just heard from a reliable source that she's only pleading guilty to one felony. I hope that's wrong.

      If the D.A.'s office and Walker thought the Feds were going to move, I doubt either would be worried/considering a pardon.

      I certainly hope I'm wrong, but if the federal cavalry is planning to come charging to the rescue, it doesn't sound like it will be soon.

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    5. Pleading to one crime may not necessarily preclude her from being prosecuted for other components of the case in the future. The details of the deal are key.

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    6. If she does agree to plead to a felony, then her position was weak. Either she tried to run the meter to delay things, or she was very slow to realize the gravity of her situation. There is no such thing as a minor felony. Pleading to even a single felony is a life changing event. Not to be compared with misdemeanors. Unless the conviction is expunged she will always be a felon.

      Bottom line, she must have taken what was offered to plea this way. I expect that will be a single felony WITH a side of cooperation.

      Two felonies for Gardner, two misdemeanors for Wink, now a felony for Rindfleisch. Shoppers know that the best deals are available early.

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  3. It makes no sense for the DA to take the plea bargain just for the conviction, especially if they are looking for bigger weasels to roast.

    Methinks that there is more to the deal than just going for the conviction.

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  4. Maybe the plea deal is she pleads guilty to one of the four felonies, and the others are dismissed in exchange for testimony against higher-ups??

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    1. Ok, but doesn't that fly in the face of the idea that her defense is coming from Walker $, or is there no honor among thieves?

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    2. Look at the way he through his best friend Russell under the bus. These weasels have no qualms on turning on each other if they think it can save their hide or make themselves a profit.

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  5. Kelly's attorney is confirming she is pleading guilty to one felony. He said it is a complicated deal with "many ala carte's"....hmmmm

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  6. That could mean she's providing testimony against Walker, others.....

    Hey, capper's been the man throughout this and he's attracted the best Walkergate commenters, from whom I've learned a great deal.

    I'm a cheapskate and have only sent him $50. Everyone dig deep, because Democracy isn't free.

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  7. If this was a total win for Walker/Grebe and company, this would be at the end of the weekly news cycle, Friday afternoon.

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    1. No, lad. It would be the worst because it would really launch a buzz going into the weekend where they need to GOTV.

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  8. Walker's attorney was attempting to quash the subpeona for him to testify next week...makes you think he is not cooperating with Rindfleisch since they are the ones who subpeoned him

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    1. If that's true, it would indicate that Rindfleisch was ready to throw Walker under the bus. We already know that Walker was in charge of this. They were going for the Nuremberg Defense, IOW, Rindlfleisch was just following orders.

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    2. Maybe I misunderstand the point here but:

      The only time "just following orders" testimony helps the defendant is when it's given as part of a plea deal. It makes no sense for the Walker camp to issue orders for the Nuremberg defense. The "Alberto Gonzales Defense" would make much more sense as a way to limit the damage to Rindfleisch's superiors.

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    3. The point is she was going to give Walker up. The only question was how she was going to do it.

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    4. Walker's attorney is just making a record for appeal by challenging the subpoena. That is to be expected under the circumstances. Things are getting to the point where the optics don't matter nearly as much as they used to.

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  9. Capper, if you are right, then this is great news. I say that because hopefully Russell, who has far more dirt on SKW than Kelly, will start singing like Pavoratti.

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  10. Maybe this isn't to protect Walker, but someone higher.

    After all, a trial featuring several high-level WI GOP members as witnesses, including the Governor, could potentially have a negative effect on the Romney and Thompson campaigns.

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    1. "Maybe this isn't to protect Walker, but someone higher."


      Suppose that illegal acts concerning the Scott Walker and Brett Davis campaigns happened. Kelly Rindfleisch might know what the campaigns did, and quite possibly, what the donors did. Wisconsin Is Open For Business.

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    2. Think bigger. Think Reince Priebus.

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    3. I'm thinking about the big out of state donors. BBQ dog baybee!

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  11. Lets remember that the big stinking fish in this whole investigation is SW and he set up a legal defense fund with BIG $$ legal counsel a long time ago. They all know exactly what's in those emails the DA is about to present as evidence. The Feds don't put this much time and effort into an investigation this big to nail low level operatives like Rindfleisch.
    I'd bet some coin that they all know the jig is up and Gimbel is getting the best deal that he can for his client knowing that it's inevitable that Walker will be inditeded. As Capper mentioned before "there is no honor amoung thieves" nuff said.

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  12. This is a real day brightener. I wonder how Sykes & Shite will spin this one.

    Someone else who is paying close attention is Tim Russell. Kelly's cooperation would put him in all kinds of legal peril.

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    1. Tim's butt is about as cooked as a Thanksgiving turkey. If Rindfleisch gives up Scooter the DA has no use for Russell. He might want to get his Christmas shopping done early, and get enough presents for a couple of years.

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    2. Davn, you have a really good point there. Tim Russell might want to get his attorney on the phone pronto and not wait until Black Friday to do his Christmas Shopping early...else the really good "presents" are off the table

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  13. It would be very, very hard for someone who has worked for R candidates and causes to talk for any number of reasons. I think she will be taken care of..........

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  14. Is it safe to say everybody has seen the below link? Nowhere does it mention other investigations or cooperation. If just taken for face value, the DA appears to be letting Rindfleisch off the hook so long as she agrees to plead guilty to one felony, with only probation being mandatory (not even restitution). No mention is made of her continuing cooperation (outside of appearing for her own plea hearing and sentencing). This is very, very different from the Wink deal (which outlines exactly what she'll do for the DA).

    http://media.jsonline.com/documents/2012-10-09+REVISED+Offer+letter+-+Settlement+Agreement.pdf

    Things we know the deal was supposed to have:

    1. The first deal required she implicate others in the John Doe investigation.

    2. The Defense described the deal as "a lot of a la cartes".

    3. The Defense also said "It's a complicated, long story...We've agreed conceptually."

    4. Although the DA first listed Walker as a witness, it was the Defense that subpenaed him (not part of the deal, but a precursor).

    5. Darlene Wink wasn't on the witness list (again, not part of the deal, but you'd think Wink's presence would have encouraged such a deal)

    Now, reading the plea deal does not indicate there are any a la cartes, nor does it appear to be anywhere near complicated, long, or worth arguing over (after all, she was facing four felonies, 14 years and potentially >100k restitution/fines). You'd think that she would jump at that. So, what's it mean and how is it a deal for the DA?

    1) With the Waukesha case mentioned in Wink's deal thrown out, maybe the DA sees Rindfleisch as the end of the road and figures a bird in the hand is better than two in the bush. Maybe the other cases just didn't pan out. We may be able to get a hint if Wink's sentencing gets pushed back again or if Rindfleisch's sentencing is sometime late in 2013. Although, with Rindfleisch and Russell having the same judge, he may want to wait until Russell's trial is over before punishing Rindfleisch...

    2) Could there be an off-the-record deal with Rindfleisch? Maybe Walker wasn't paying her way after all and the Defense really did want him on the stand to blame her misdeeds on him. Perhaps they knew it was going to go down and they were planning to take him with them - one way or another.

    3) Is this all part of Walker's grand defense plan? Did he give the OK to get subpenaed just so he could litigate it and draw things out and take more time off the clock, but instead got Rindfleisch to plea in order to keep the dirty laundry in the hamper? Does he plan to pardon her and are they still partners in crime?

    4) Is the DA just trying to wrap things up quickly, get his convictions, and get done with it so the Feds can take over?

    There is evidence indicating any of these four option are correct (or none of them). As it stands, I've got no clue. I've read every blog post, charge, and plea deal (plus the Rindfleisch logs). I've read the statutes and the case bios.

    Furthermore, what role do Russell and Wink play in this now? We know they wanted Russell to cop a deal, but he turned it down and that Wink was supposed to testify prior to sentencing. We also know they could charge Russell with child enticement and campaigning on public time, but they haven't. We also know that there are potentially two outstanding cases (destruction of digital evidence and the dumpster o' fun). What of those? These developments only raise more questions.

    I've got to say, at only face value, it appears that the DA is starting to wrap things up. I would also like to point out that, even if Walker has indicated there wouldn't be pardons, you can bet your bippy he'd arrange for a pardon if it benefited his cause.

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    1. The most interesting thing from her deal:

      The state will not deny her request to stay the potential imposition of jail time because Rindfleisch has, "...demonstrated arguably meritorious claims in a pre-trial context...". WTF does that mean?

      So, this gentle reader would like to know what "arguably meritorious claims" ol' kelly was making. Is she a secret nun? Does she tutor handicapped kids? Was she willing to throw Walker under a bus full of nuns and handicapped kids? Furthermore, "arguably meritorious"? Really? Really? "I bathe old people...but their old serial killers..". I mean, really? WTF?

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  15. so all the countless people granted immunity or plea bargains, this is what we get??..Rindfleisch on probation??...there better be more, or this DA did waste alot of time and energy..charge someone with 4 felonies, let her plead down to probation, and get nothing in return??

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  16. Kelly's lawyer states "it's a long complicated deal, etc..."...yet when you read the actual plea agreement it seems incredibly simple;she is getting probation (maybe a little jail time) and everything else is dropped. And she isn't required to testify in any other cases. What gives Capper??

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    1. My guess is the DA is working up the next level of the food chain right under Walker. That's just how the prosecutors worked they're way up to eventually get Nixon.

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  17. Is Romney polling SO well that they're all counting on federal pardons coming down in late January 2013?

    Or is it just that the fix is well and truly IN, with the exit polls removed from so many states there's nothing to contradict whatever the vote-counting machines report -- and (as with Wisconsin's additional installations just before the Walker recall vote) there are enough hackable machines to throw the election to the GOP.

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