R.J. Johnson
Richard A. "R.J." Johnson is a Republican political strategist who has been a top advisor to Wisconsin governor Scott Walker[1] and to the politically active non-profit Wisconsin Club for Growth.[2] His consulting firms, run with business partner Deborah Jordahl, are R.J. Johnson and Associates and Coalition Partners, LLC (now known as Johnson Jordahl, LLC).[3][4]
Johnson, described by Scott Walker as "my Karl Rove" in an email to Karl Rove asking for a million dollars for his recall campaign, was at the center of the 2014 bipartisan John Doe criminal investigation into potentially illegal campaign coordination between Walker's campaign and ostensibly independent groups including Wisconsin Club for Growth (WCFG), Citizens for a Strong America, Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, America Federation for Children, Americans for Prosperity, Republican Governors Association, Republican State Leadership Conference, and others.[5] The investigation was shut down by the Wisconsin Supreme Court in July 2015 after two of the justices, Justice Gableman and Justice Prosser -- who were elected with huge expenditures by the groups under investigation -- refused to recuse. It was later learned that Scott Walker and others credited Justice Gableman's 2008 electoral victory directly to the independent expenditures controlled by R.J. Johnson.[6]
Contents
Johnson's Role in Campaign Investigated under John Doe
During the 2011-2012 Wisconsin recall elections, Johnson was a paid consultant to both the Friends of Scott Walker campaign (FOSW) and Wisconsin Club for Growth, which spent an estimated $9.1 million on ads during the recalls[7] and funneled millions to other groups such as Citizens for a Strong America that ran ads, sent out mailers, and oversaw get-out-the-vote efforts.[8]
Prosecutors argued "that Walker's campaign and conservative groups illegally cooperated to help him and other Republicans," the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported in 2014. Johnson appeared in internal campaign emails that were made public at that time:
- "The Governor is encouraging all to invest in the Wisconsin Club for Growth," said an April 28, 2011, email from Kate Doner, a Walker campaign consultant, to R.J. Johnson, an adviser to Walker's campaign and the advocacy group. "Wisconsin Club for Growth can accept corporate and personal donations without limitations and no donors disclosure."
In the email, Doner wrote to Johnson that Walker wanted Wisconsin Club for Growth exclusively to coordinate campaign themes. "As the Governor discussed ... he wants all the issue advocacy efforts run thru one group to ensure correct messaging," she wrote.[9]
Email: Johnson Would Lead Coordinated Campaign
In another email, Walker described Johnson's central role in his campaign strategy to Karl Rove. As the Journal Sentinel reported, "The documents include an excerpt from an email in which Walker tells Karl Rove, former top adviser to President George W. Bush, that Johnson would lead the coordination campaign. Johnson also is Walker's longtime campaign strategist and the chief adviser to Wisconsin Club for Growth, a prominent conservative group.
- "'Bottom-line: R.J. helps keep in place a team that is wildly successful in Wisconsin. We are running 9 recall elections and it will be like 9 congressional markets in every market in the state (and Twin Cities),' Walker wrote to Rove on May 4, 2011."[5]
Public Comments Related to the John Doe Investigation
Johnson Characterizes Bipartisan Investigation as Partisan Punishment
Several of the individuals who were under investigation in the John Doe have publicly characterized the probe as a partisan attack, including Johnson.
"Clearly there is no limit to how far these partisan prosecutors will go to in order to punish their political opponents," Johnson told Wisconsin Watchdog,[10] an outlet run by the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity (whose Director of Special Projects John Connors helped set up Citizens for a Strong America, which was also investigated in the John Doe).
Special Prosecutor Francis Schmitz, who headed the investigation, was shortlisted by Republican President George W. Bush for a U.S. Attorney position, was registered as a Republican in 2002, and in an official declaration to a U.S. District Court stated that he had in fact voted for Walker in the 2012 recall.[11] The investigation also involved District Attorneys from both the Republican and Democratic parties and was authorized by both Democratic and Republican judges.[12]
Johnson Cleared His Emails after 2010 Campaign
In comments made to the Wall Street Journal after a divided Wisconsin Supreme Court shut down the John Doe investigation, Johnson implied that he had purged his email account at the end of the 2010 campaign cycle. The Wisconsin State Journal described the comments:
- "At the end of the session, Johnson said, Milwaukee Assistant District Attorney Bruce Landgraf asked him: 'Is there any reason at the end of the campaign you deleted all of your emails?' So I knew then I had been tracked all the way through, that they had been reading my emails."[13]
Lawsuit Over John Doe Investigation
Johnson, his business partner Deborah Jordahl, and WCFG filed a lawsuit in October 2014 that challenged the legality of the John Doe probe, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.[14]
Professional Background
Work for Republican Party in Florida, 1980s
From 1986 to 1989, Johnson served as political director for the Republican Party of Florida.[15][3] By 1990, he had moved to the Republican National Committee (RNC), working as voter registration director, though his work was still based in Florida.[16]
Executive Director of the Republican Party of Wisconsin, 1990s
In 1991, Johnson moved to Wisconsin and took up the post of Executive Director of the Republican Party of Wisconsin (RPW).[17] The Wisconsin State Journal described Johnson as having strong ties to the national Republican Party and as highly qualified in the technical side of politics.[18] Johnson served as Executive Director of the RPW until 1997, and also served two short stints as Midwest Regional Political Director for the RNC between 1995 and 1997.[3]
Political Consulting Firms
After his time with the RPW, Johnson co-founded the consulting firm Eisner Johnson with William (Bill) Eisner, owner and CEO of the ad firm William Eisner & Associates (now known as Nonbox).[19] Eisner Johnson was the media firm for Steve Forbes' 2000 presidential campaign.[20]
While that firm was only in operation from 1999 to 2003,[3] Johnson continued to work closely with Eisner, often hiring Nonbox to place ads for political campaigns he oversaw.[20]
Other Clients and Campaigns
Johnson has worked for several Republican political candidates in addition to Scott Walker, including managing U.S. Representative Mark Neumann's (R-WI) 1998 campaign for U.S. Senate, serving as general consultant to Republican candidate Tim Michels (R-WI) in the 2004 U.S. Senate race, serving as political and media consultant to U.S. Representative Mike Rogers (R-MI), and serving as media consultant for John Gard's (R-WI) campaign for the U.S. House.
Contact Information
R. J. Johnson and Associates
N7130 N Lost Lake Road
Randolph, WI 53956-9679
Articles and Resources
Related PRWatch Articles
- Arn Pearson, Leaked Documents Show Court's Dismissal of the John Doe Was Based on a False Premise, PRWatch.org, September 22, 2016.
- Mary Bottari, Supreme Cover-Up: How the Wisconsin Justice System Failed in the Walker John Doe, PRWatch.org, September 18, 2016.
- Mary Bottari, Scott Walker John Doe: Corporate Checks Fueled Coordinated Campaign, PRWatch.org, September 15, 2016.
- Lisa Graves, CMD Urges U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Prosecutors' Appeal in John Doe II Corruption Case, PRWatch.org, June 23, 2016.
- CMD Reporting on Walker Dark Money Criminal Probe, PRWatch.org, September 9, 2014.
- Brendan Fischer, Kohler Heir and Walker Backer Plumbs Dark Money Depths, PRWatch.org, November 5, 2013.
Related External Articles
- Ed Pilkington and the Guardian US interactive team, Leaked court documents from ‘John Doe investigation’ in Wisconsin lay bare pervasive influence of corporate cash on modern US elections, The Guardian, September 14, 2016.
SourceWatch Resources
References
- ↑ David Catanese, "http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/run-2016/2015/07/06/scott-walkers-growing-pains Scott Walker's Growing Pains]," U.S. News & World Report, July 7, 2015.
- ↑ Patrick Marley, Daniel Bice, and Lee Bergquist, "Walker wanted funds funneled to Wisconsin Club for Growth," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, August 22, 2014.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 R.J. Johnson, personal profile, LinkedIn.
- ↑ Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions, "Johnson Jordahl, LLC," corporate registration, accessed July 2016.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Patrick Marley, Daniel Bice and Bill Glauber, "John Doe prosecutors allege Scott Walker at center of 'criminal scheme'," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, June 19, 2014.
- ↑ Mary Bottari, Supreme Cover-Up: How the Wisconsin Justice System Failed in the Walker John Doe, PRWatch.org, September 18, 2016.
- ↑ Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, "Recall Race for Governor Cost $81 Million," January 31, 2013.
- ↑ Brendan Fischer, "WI Club for Growth, Target of Walker Recall Probe, at Center of Dark Money Web," Center for Media and Democracy, PR Watch, November 18, 2013.
- ↑ Patrick Marley, Daniel Bice and Lee Bergquist, "Walker wanted funds funneled to Wisconsin Club for Growth," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, August 22, 2014.
- ↑ M.D. Kittle, "John Doe target: 'Where and when does this abuse end?'," Wisconsin Watchdog, Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity, December 18, 2015.
- ↑ Francis Schmitz, Declaration of Francis Schmitz, April 15, 2014.
- ↑ Bruce Murphy, "John Doe Supported by Many Republicans," Urban Milwaukee, April 2, 2015.
- ↑ Steven Verburg, "John Doe targets go on the record to slam Scott Walker probe ," Wisconsin State Journal, July 24, 2015.
- ↑ Patrick Marley and Daniel Bice, "Subject in Doe probe says prosecutors engaged in 'domestic spying'," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, October 2, 2014.
- ↑ Miami Herald, March 11, 1986.
- ↑ Palm Beach Post, September 16, 1990.
- ↑ Capital Times, February 27, 1991.
- ↑ Wisconsin State Journal, February 27, 1991.
- ↑ Trevor Jensen, "Eisner Rebrands Itself as Nonbox," AdWeek, August 13, 2001.
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 Gard for Congress, "R.J. Johnson Joins Gard," press release, November 17, 2005.