Federal judge with ties to Kochs rules in Scott Walker’s favor

Enforcement of campaign finance laws in Scott Walker’s Wisconsin is the ultimate nursery tale gone bad, with the fox guarding the henhouse at every turn. Case in point: a federal judge with ties to the Koch brothers ruled yesterday that outside groups, like the many organizations receiving Koch funding, can legally coordinate on “issue advocacy” with political campaigns, like that of Koch favorite Governor Scott Walker.

Given that Walker faces an ongoing John Doe investigation into potential illegal coordination of efforts with outside groups during the 2012 recall election, it was hardly a surprise when his Attorney General, J.B. Van Hollen, declined to represent the state’s Government Accountability Board in a lawsuit challenging the coordination rule. The lawsuit was argued before U.S. District Judge Rudolph Randa, who issued an injunction yesterday overturning the Wisconsin state law banning coordination between political campaigns and “independent” political groups, provided that the groups are only engaging in “issue advocacy.”

This is not Randa’s first ruling related to the law banning coordination, as Randa previously ruled in the John Doe inquiry that coordination was acceptable, so long as the outside groups are not advocating for voting for or against a specific candidate. He then ordered a halt to the John Doe probe, a ruling that was later overturned by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

When you examine Randa’s ties to the Koch brothers, the rulings look less like consistent opposition to the coordination rule, and more like a concerted effort to legalize coordination between Walker’s campaign and Koch-affiliated groups. Randa has attended an expenses-paid Koch brothers junket, and one of his assistants is married to a Walker campaign attorney. Koch-funded groups have spent millions on Walker’s behalf and in support of his extreme political agenda.

Campaign finance experts note that there’s reason to believe this ruling will also be overturned, but in the meantime, a judge with ties to both the Kochs and their favored candidate has once again wielded his gavel to their benefit.

Koch tied Judge Ruled To Legalize Coordination between Koch groups and campaigns

Randa Issued Ruling Striking Down Prohibition On Coordination Between Outside Groups And Campaigns

Judge Rudolph Randa Overturned Wisconsin Law Banning Coordination Between Campaigns And Issue Advocacy Groups. According to the Wisconsin State Journal, “U.S. District Judge Rudolph Randa on Tuesday ordered Wisconsin officials not to enforce state law banning coordination between campaigns and “independent” political groups so long as the groups engage only in so-called issue advocacy. Randa’s order came in a lawsuit filed by Citizens for Responsible Government Advocates against the state Government Accountability Board and Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm. Randa had previously ruled in a John Doe investigation that groups can coordinate with candidates so long as they don’t expressly advocate for or against a specific candidate, and he ordered a halt to the probe.” [Wisconsin State Journal, 10/14/14]

Judge Had Ties To Koch Brothers And Walker Campaign

Judge Randa Attended Expenses Paid Junkets Funded By Koch Brothers

Judge Who Paused John Doe Probe Into Walker Campaign Finance Regularly Attended Expenses –Paid Judicial Conferences Funded By The Koch Brothers. According to The Center For Public Integrity, “The federal judge who ordered an end to an investigation into possible illegal campaign coordination between Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and conservative groups during two recent recall elections regularly attended expenses-paid judicial conferences sponsored by conservative organizations including the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation and the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation — groups that have funded efforts against campaign finance reform.” [Center For Public Integrity, 5/27/14]

Husband Of Assistant To Judge Randa Was A Walker Campaign Attorney

Wife Of Walker Campaign Attorney Worked As Assistant For Judge Randa. According to The Wisconsin State Journal “An assistant to the federal judge who ordered a halt to the state’s secret investigation into possible illegal campaign coordination between Gov. Scott Walker’s campaign and conservative groups is married to a lawyer for Walker’s campaign — which could be grounds for a judge to step down from a case. Steven Biskupic, a former U.S. attorney who is representing a party in the secretive John Doe probe, wouldn’t say Thursday whether his wife Cary Biskupic’s employment with Judge Rudolph Randa posed a conflict of interest.” [Wisconsin State Journal, 5/9/14]

Koch Controlled Outside Groups Supported And Spent Money On Walker’s Behalf In Wisconsin

David Koch: “We’re Helping Him, As We Should. We’ve Gotten Pretty Good At This Over The Years. We’ve Spent A Lot Of Money In Wisconsin. We’re Going To Spend More.” According to the Capital Times, “According to the Post, Koch said of Walker: ‘We’re helping him, as we should. We’ve gotten pretty good at this over the years. We’ve spent a lot of money in Wisconsin. We’re going to spend more.’ The Post added: ‘By ‘we’ he says he means Americans for Prosperity, which is spending about $700,000 on an ‘It’s working’ television ad buy in the state.’” [Capital Times, 2/22/12]

Groups Affiliated With The Koch Brothers Spent Money On Ads Supporting Walker

Americans for Prosperity Announced $900,000 to Support Scott Walker’s Reelection Campaign. [TPM, 5/27/14]

February-March 2011: Club For Growth And Americans For Prosperity Spent Over $220,000 On Ads For Walker In Wisconsin. According to Green Bay Press-Gazette, “The Club for Growth Wisconsin, a conservative organization with ties to New York real-estate developer Howie Rich, has doled out the most money so far, purchasing 826 ads at a cost of $193,605 – $30,000 more than next highest spender, the union group AFL-CIO. Americans for Prosperity, a group with strong financial backing from the billionaire Koch brothers, has been highly active as well, pumping $34,365 into local markets for 156 ads to run from Feb. 23 to March 2 in favor of Walker. Two groups against Walker’s agenda – the Greater Wisconsin Committee and America’s Families First – have spent a combined $120,000 on ads. Even before Walker laid out the specifics of his budget repair bill, the Club for Growth Wisconsin was running advertisements in support of the Republican governor.” [Green Bay Press-Gazette, 3/9/11]

Americans For Prosperity Established A Stand With Scott Walker Website Amidst The Protests Against His Budget. According to The Capital Times, “The billionaire brothers whose political action committee gave Gov. Scott Walker $43,000 and helped fund a multimillion-dollar attack ad campaign against his opponent during the 2010 gubernatorial election have quietly opened a lobbying office in Madison just off the Capitol Square. Charles and David Koch, who co-own Koch Industries Inc. and whose combined worth is estimated at $43 billion, have been recently tied with Walker’s push to eliminate collective bargaining rights for public workers. The two have long backed conservative causes and groups including Americans for Prosperity, which organized the tea party rally Saturday in support of Walker’s plan to strip public workers of collective bargaining rights and recently launched the Stand with Scott Walker website.” [The Capital Times, 3/2/11]

Americans For Prosperity Purchased $700,000 In Air Time Across Wisconsin Touting The Accomplishments Of Walker. According to the Wisconsin State Journal, “Wisconsin’s political spending blitz is getting a fresh infusion of cash from a national conservative group that’s spending $700,000 on a series of commercials touting the accomplishments of Gov. Scott Walker. The nonprofit foundation of Americans for Prosperity, the group founded by billionaire conservative activists David and Charles Koch, on Thursday confirmed to Washington Post blogger Greg Sargent it purchased air time across Wisconsin for a 60-second spot and another ad to be unveiled next week.” [Wisconsin State Journal, 2/10/12]

Americans For Prosperity Launched A $500,000 Ad In Support Of Walker’s Initiatives. According to The Associated Press State & Local Wire, “Two conservative groups have launched a new television ad supportive of Gov. Scott Walker’s initiatives, including curbing public employees’ collective bargaining rights. The 60-second ad is by the Americans for Prosperity Foundation and the MacIver Institute. Matt Seaholm, state director of Americans for Prosperity, said Friday the buy is for more than $500,000 and the ad is running in Milwaukee, Green Bay, La Crosse and Wausau.” [The Associated Press State & Local Wire, 11/18/11]

Koch Connection“National Federation Of Independent Business (NFIB) Has Endorsed Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker For Reelection.” According to the Center for Media and Democracy, “The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) has endorsed Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker for reelection. No surprise here. The NFIB purports to represent small business, but receives much of its funding from big business interests including the Kochs, the far-right Bradley Foundation, and Karl Rove’s Crossroads GPS — which are the same groups that have long supported Walker.” [PRWatch.org, 10/1/14]