Wisconsin Attorney General Calls For Investigation Of John Doe Document Leak

Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel has submitted a letter asking the state Supreme Court to appoint a special master to investigate the leak of sealed documents from the Wisconsin investigation known as John Doe 2.

In September, British newspaper The Guardian made public for the first time a set of documents from the John Doe 2 investigation, which looked into alleged coordination between Gov. Scott Walker’s recall campaign and conservative groups like the Wisconsin Club for Growth.

The hundreds of pages published by the newspaper had been under court seal.

On Thursday, Schimel asked the state Supreme Court to appoint a special master to investigate the leak and to oversee the return of the documents.

A special master is is typically appointed to carry out work, including conducting investigations and taking testimony, on behalf of the court.

“Even a cursory review of those documents published (among the documents are John Doe testimony transcripts and exhibits) indicates that these documents were obtained in violation of the secrecy orders in this case,” Schimel wrote in his request to the court.

Schimel said the Wisconsin Department of Justice is willing to provide investigatory support and legal advice to the investigation.

The attorney general has declined to investigate previous leaks to right-leaning media outlets which were seen as damaging to Walker’s opponents.

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s decision on the John Doe case earlier this month. That officially closed the book on the case.