Walker Says Media Coverage Of John Doe Documents Is Part Of ‘Witch-Hunt’

Gov. Scott Walker said news stories about more John Doe documents released in recent days are part of a “witch-hunt” against him.

The stories over the last few days have zeroed in on Walker steering big donors toward the conservative group Wisconsin Club for Growth. There has also been a focus upon how special prosecutor Francis Schmitz was building a case that Walker campaign aides illegally coordinated with two independent Republican groups.

Walker called the media coverage part of a political witch-hunt earlier this week.

“The witch-hunt is even in the media,” said Walker. “President Obama did the same thing in the last month. His cabinet’s been encouraged to do the same thing. You don’t hear any hype and hysteria about that.”

He added: “I think you’ve got a combination of folks in the district attorney’s office here in Milwaukee County — a partisan office — that has for some time been selectively leaking information.”

Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm has denied any partisan motivations. Others have noted that Republican district attorneys have also been part of “John Doe 2,” and that special prosecutor Schmitz is a Republican.

The nonprofit Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press has been pushing to see more of the John Doe documents.

“Any continued sealing of particular documents begins to look like secrecy for some reason,” said legal defense director Gregg Leslie. “We haven’t seen a good reason to justify that sealing yet.”

Leslie said some critics contended the committee was supporting Republicans when it began asking around as to who was conducting secret investigations.

More arguments over whether to release more Doe documents are expected in the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals soon.