Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Walkergate: Randa Does A Prosser On John Doe

Late on Tuesday afternoon, news broke that Federal Judge Rudolph Randa ordered a halt to the ongoing Walkergate investigations into Scott Walker's campaign and its sordid relationship with various right wing dark money laundering groups funded by the likes of the Koch Brothers and the Bradley Foundation.  Much like the way Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice David Prosser tried to put a chokehold on a lady justice, Randa tried to put a chokehold on Lady Justice.

Now, before people get bent out of shape, let's put some perspective on this whole thing.

It should be noted that Randa is a right wing nut job himself.  He is a advisor of the Federalist Society who was appointed to the bench by President George H. W. Bush.  He has a history of making very questionable rulings that have a propensity of being overturned.  Some of his bigger highlights include ruling on the Milwaukee Diocese bankruptcy case even though he has a vested interest in the Diocese.

Another classic from Randa is when he compared a drug dealer to Hitler:
Leniency requests were made for Figueroa on grounds he loves his family. Randa dismissed those requests, saying: "Hitler was admired by his family ... loved his dog. Yet he killed 6 million Jews."
Randa is also the judge that presided over the miscarriage of justice regarding the incorrect conviction of Georgia Thompson, the former state worker. (And lest we forget, Steve Biskupic was the prosecuting attorney then and now is the attorney representing Walker's campaign.)
Randa's ruling also doesn't make a helluva lot of sense.

In general, Randa is saying that he cannot stop the Doe investigations if people had been charged, but since it's still in the investigative stage, he's free to stop it. What he doesn't explain in his ruling is how the prosecutors are supposed to get to the charging stage without first doing an investigation.

In another tidbit, Randa said that one of the subjects/complainants, Eric O'Keefe had his free speech "devastated" because he's already lost out on $2 million in potential fundraising.

Aww, poor baby. Now he's just like the rest of us. How unfair is that!

Another amazing line from Randa was this:
"O'Keefe and the Club obviously agree with Governor Walker's policies, but coordinated ads in favor of those policies carry no risk of corruption because the Club's interests are already aligned with Walker and other conservative politicians," Randa wrote. "Such ads are meant to educate the electorate, not curry favor with corruptible candidates."
If I'm reading that quote correctly, it seems that Randa is saying that there is no risk of corruption because the corruption is already there.  It's pretty obvious why Randa did not provide a rationale for this statement.  He couldn't.  It's pretty obvious that the money being made by the special interests due to their laws being passed by Walker is ample proof of the tit for tat scheme going on and that they were currying favor for their own personal gain.

I do take comfort in knowing that our suspicions about the corrupt R.J. Johnson (known for his involvement with Walker's county/campaign operations) and his equally sketchy wife, Valerie Johnson, are targets of the investigation.

I find it also interesting that Deb Jordahl, a right wing operative and former blogger was part of the skulduggery.  Again, it makes me question why many of the most predominate right wing blogs all shut down about the same time.  Did Jordahl give them a heads up, causing them to close shop?

My best advice is not to get too hung up on this ruling.

Yes, the right wing will bloviate about it until they are blue in the face.  But that is only because they are desperate to get their donors back.  They want to assure their dark money sources that it's again safe to donate so that they can help buy elections this fall.

But it's not really safe.  It's pretty obvious that this ruling will be appealed and overturned.  Sadly, it probably won't be before November's election.  But if I were a right wing donor, I would have to think twice about whether a short term gain for Walker would be the risk of jail time and/or huge fines.

Walker and company haven't thwarted justice, they've only delayed the inevitable.

And even if Walker and company were successful in stopping the local prosecution, it would have no impact on any federal investigation and/or indictments.

On a final note, given this new delay in the Walkergate investigation, it does make Chris Abele's willful decision to aid in the cover up by refusing to regain the emails and other documents from the first John Doe loom even larger.  Again, just whose side is he on?

20 comments:

  1. I liked the bit where Randa said there were many types of corruption in campaigns, but the government could only regulate quid pro quo. I think he's trying to actually legalize voter fraud. Hey, voting is speech, right? You can vote three times now as long as nobody is paying you to vote a certain way!

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  2. Anon 3:01, nice catch.

    Capper, as per usual great analysis. I had not known about the Archdiocesan decision.

    Judge Randa's decision is a ringing endorsement for Obamacare. According to his decision, the First Amendment protects the right of oligopolies, such as the Health Insurers (WellPoint/Blue Cross, Cigna, United….), to buy both parties to pass legislation which makes the IRS their sales force and compels U.S. citizens to buy LOUSY coverage. As a bonus, he says the oligopolies and the oligarchs can use non-profits as shields.

    OT, that's a federal judge, referring in his ruling to groups who want government to "force birth," as "conservatives."

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  3. Good catch on the Georgia Thompson case, where Randa allowed every bit of evidence and stretch of connection to be introduced. And it was immediately laughed out of courts at the Appeals level, just like this will. But if it keeps John Doe Deux out of the headlines until after November, then mission accomplished !

    Randa's arbitrary rulings and record of reversals seems like a pretty good case for impeachment to me

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    1. ...or confinement in a cuckoo's nest!

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    2. If Randa's ruling is appealed, you can almost guarentee that it will then be taken up by the Supreme Court whom I'm sure will again rule in another crazy freedom of speech bent.

      It just sickens me to see the depth of corruption within this country.

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    3. I second the sickens comment. I'm totally embarrassed by my country. (not the first time)

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  4. I do think the delays are the objective of the RW machine in WI (as justice delayed is justice denied). RW'ers don't give a hoot as to how foolish, corrupt or crazy they appear to the 99% as long as their $$ can flow freely. They have NO morals/standards or concerns for anyone or anything. As Ayn Rand stated, "Who's going to stop me?"

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    1. Well said. At least the Mafia had done set of standards and etiquette. These GOP mobsters don't care what they do or how they do it as long as they get power and money.

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  5. Tears of LWNJs are tasty. 2014 will bring so many more.

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  6. Since there is no longer a John Doe investigation the prosecutors should release all of the information to the public.

    They keep saying that only the RW groups were being targeted. Maybe that's because only the RW groups were breaking the law. Prove it by releasing the findings.

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  7. Anon at 8:05, hate to break the news to you, but this year is 2014.

    With all the money WIGOP has, is it too much to ask that their trolls know what year it is?

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  8. And let us not forget yet another of Rude Randa's many and "laughingly reversible errors" -- but we're not laughing at a guy who apparently thinks that Godwin's Law is on the books -- which landed him in the "Above the Law" blog. It details his invocation of Hitler's dog and more incredibly over-the-line commentary in his court that explains so well just why he is an embarrassment to jurists as well as to Wisconsin: http://abovethelaw.com/2010/09/judge-of-the-day-rudolph-randa/

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  9. Half-page sized web-photo of the, "guv," appearing "serious," at every story about politics, this one that should be featuring a photo of Judge Randa and then "reporter," Jason Stein repeating the RWNJ, "editorial," position that the Democrats are only investigating the law about campaign coordination to stymie the Republicans and leaving no allowance that the multi-party affiliations of the people conducting the investigation just might have been investigating strong evidence of UNLAWFUL ACTIVITY.

    http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/halt-to-john-doe-probe-lifts-obstacle-to-scott-walker-re-election-bid-b99264574z1-258293621.html

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  10. "George O'Keefe"? Is he a conservative former state contract administrator who paints?

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  11. I think the U S Dept. of Justice or the FBI will need to get involved if we ever want the truth see the light of day. It is simply amazing that a secret investigation denies some one their free speech opportunities. This state is no longer the Wisconsin that I remember. What has happened to honesty in the last three years. For Randa to declare that issue ads are educational is to declare that they are truthful. How many truthful statements have come out of Walker's mouth or his friends even as rated by Wisconsin Politico? THE ADS are lies and lies certainly corrupt. WE need to organize a search party and look for Randa's brain.

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  12. you're out of your element, davie

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  13. If Biskupic's wife is Randa's judicial assistant how is there not an element of bias as Biskupic represented Walker in this case. How on earth would Randa not send the case to another court or how ethical is Biskupic for handling the case in this manner. It sure appears that the Doe probe has been written off by this judge and the Wisconsin Supreme Court as the 4 conservative justices have ruled that there is no potential for bias in cases involving those who gave them campaign money if and when they come before the court. These 4 Justices have had millions spent on their behalf and that will have no bearing on their decision. YA RIGHT!!!!!

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  14. I wonder how much of the evidence ordered "destroyed" is actually public property. The GOP is known to do campaign business on public time.

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  15. Good catch on exposing Judge Randa as the scumbag judge who allowed Steven Biskupic to destroy the life of Georgia Thompson, just so Republican Mark Green would have something, anything to "prove" that Jim Doyle was corrupt in the 2006 race for Wisconsin Governor. The complicity of Judge Randa & Steve Biskupic allowed the Republican Governors Association (read Koch Brothers) to run over 1 million dollars of advertising painting Jim Doyle as a corrupt Governor because of the Georgia Thompson conviction.

    Thank GOD for the appeals court that overturned the kangaroo court ruling by Judge Randa and the politically motivated prosecution by Steven Biskupic. Thank GOD there are still some judges at the Federal level that are not wholly owned subsidiaries of the Koch Brothers' money machine.

    After the exoneration of Georgia Thompson, both Steven Biskupic and Judge Rudolf Randa should have been arrested and shackled for wrongful prosecution and corruption. Having ruined the life of an innocent woman, in the hopes of electing a Republican Governor in Wisconsin, these two slime bags escaped without even an apology to Georgia Thompson.

    Small wonder that a corrupt slime bag like Steven Biskupic would be the lead attorney for Governor Scott Walker.

    With this ruling, Judge Rudolf Randa will be financially set for life as he rakes in hundreds of thousands of dollars in speaking fees from Koch front groups for the rest of his life. Way to take care of #1 Judge Randa !!

    Wisconsin: The Most Corrupt State in America

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