The lengthy John Doe investigation officially came to a close Feb. 21 with no charges filed against Gov. Scott Walker, according to a release Friday from Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm.
The investigation, which began in May 2010, led to six people formerly associated with Walker from his days as the Milwaukee County Executive getting charged for crimes ranging from illegal campaigning to embezzling a veterans’ fund. Three of the people charged were former Milwaukee County employees, according to the release.
Walker frequently dealt with criticism from his opponents while the investigation was still open. Several Democratic leaders in the state said the governor was as guilty as the people who were charged. They also criticized Walker after he hired and maintained a two-lawyer criminal defense team for the investigation. Walker said the lawyers were only retained to assist him with the investigation and did not indicate any guilt.
State Democrats have continued to criticize Walker even after he was cleared in the investigation.
State Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca, D-Kenosha, said that Walker needed to apologize to the citizens of Wisconsin for the criminal activity that happened on his watch.
“Now Gov. Walker must address these problems and let the people of Wisconsin know how he will prevent illegal activity that happened in his offices from happening again,” Barca said in the statement. “He also must pledge to do better for our citizens in the future.”
Walker released a statement addressing the John Doe closure Friday in which he said he was happy with how the investigation, which he initially asked the District Attorney to pursue, turned out.
“We appreciate the effort that was undertaken and to bring appropriate matters to justice," Walker said in the statement.
