6,339
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
add Doe section from Franklin article
{{About ALEC}}
== Conflict of Interest in Wisconsin "John Doe" Campaign Finance Investigation ==
In 2013, the [[Franklin Center]]'s "Wisconsin Reporter" website published over a dozen articles aggressively attacking Wisconsin's "John Doe" probe into possible campaign finance violations during Wisconsin's 2011 and 2012 recall elections, and broke stories about the investigation. The Center for Media and Democracy (publishers of Sourcewatch.org) uncovered in December 2013 that the news outlet may have a conflict of interest, as "Franklin Center has close ties to individuals and groups that may be caught up in the John Doe."
Franklin Center/Wisconsin Reporter called its series on the John Doe "Wisconsin's Secret War," and cited "unnamed sources to reveal that Wisconsin Club for Growth, Americans for Prosperity, and Republican Governors Association had received subpoenas, and describing details about "after-hours visits to homes and offices" and prosecutors' "demands for phone, email and other records." <ref name="WCFG Franklin">Brendan Fischer, [http://www.prwatch.org/news/2013/12/12344/why-franklin-center-wisconsin-reporter-attacking-john-doe Why Are the Franklin Center's "Wisconsin Reporter" and "Watchdog.org" Attacking the John Doe?], PRwatch.org, Dec. 19, 2013. </ref>
Franklin Center/Wisconsin Reporter described the John Doe investigation as "an abuse of prosecutorial powers" with "the apparent goal of bringing down Gov. Scott Walker." However, the news outlet had what journalism professors called "a conflict of interest that minimally ought to be disclosed, whenever stories are written."
As CMD reported:
:"The only name associated with the investigation, Eric O'Keefe, helped launch the Franklin Center's operations in 2009, and his Sam Adams Alliance group provided the majority of its startup budget; O'Keefe has spoken publicly about being subpoenaed in his capacity as director of Wisconsin Club for Growth. Franklin Center's Director of Special Projects John Connors, and the Executive Assistant to the President Claire Milbrandt, also have close ties to a group reportedly involved in the John Doe probe. Its former Director of Operations and General Counsel, James Skyles, worked with another group active in the Wisconsin recalls."<ref name="WCFG Franklin"></ref>
===Silence on Pay-to-Play Allegations Highlights Conflicts of Interest===
[[John Menard]], owner of the Menard's chain of hardware stores, gave $1.5 million in previously unknown contributions to Wisconsin Club for Growth during the [[Scott_Walker#2012_Recall_Election|2012 Wisconsin recall election]], according to reporting by investigative journalist Michael Isikoff published March 23, 2015. Isikoff wrote that the contributions "seem to have paid off for the businessman and his company." Over the following two years, Menard's received $1.8 million in tax credits from the [[Scott_Walker#Wisconsin_Economic_Development_Corporation_Scandals|Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation]], which Walker chairs, and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources "sharply scaled back enforcement actions" under Walker.<ref>Michael Isikoff, "[https://www.yahoo.com/politics/wisconsin-gov-scott-walker-photo-charlie-114429739886.html Secret $1.5 million donation from Wisconsin billionaire uncovered in Scott Walker dark-money probe]," ''Yahoo Politics'', March 23, 2015.</ref> The story made national headlines, including coverage by ''The New York Times'', MSNBC, and ''U.S. News & World Report'' the day following its publication.<ref name="media matters menards">Daniel Angster, "[http://mediamatters.org/blog/2015/03/26/the-pay-to-play-allegation-walkers-watchdog-isn/203055 The Pay-To-Play Allegation Walker's Watchdog Isn't Defending]," ''Media Matters'', March 26, 2015.</ref>
Wisconsin Reporter, which had previously defended O'Keefe and Wisconsin Club for Growth against allegations of improper coordination with Walker and his campaign, made no mention of the pay-to-play allegations in the days following Isikoff's story despite the national news coverage, according to ''Media Matters''. "Their silence on the story highlights the conflicts of interest that surround the outlet's reporting on Walker and the 'John Doe' investigations," ''Media Matters'' wrote.<ref name="media matters menards"/>
==Franklin Center Funding==
