Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker transfers $100,000 from recall campaign to legal defense fund

(Overpass Light Brigade)

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker transferred $100,000 from his recall campaign to his legal defense fund in May, bringing the total he's sent to the defense fund to $160,000 in six weeks. Donors whose funds are going to the defense fund must give approval, but the notoriously secretive Walker campaign is obviously not releasing those names.

News of the $100,000 transfer comes just days after the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel's Daniel Bice reported on speculation about a series of emails being looked at in the John Doe investigation that is the reason for Walker to have a defense fund to begin with. The emails, between Walker and campaign adviser John Hiller, reportedly center around Milwaukee County's search for office space for its Department of Aging. Hiller was representing a firm which ultimately did not get the lease.

Sources have given varying descriptions of the emails, calling them everything from "legally inconclusive" to "a bombshell." One insider said the private messages contradict Walker's discussions with his county staff.

Since the emails are under a secrecy order, the public won't know what's in them before the June 5 recall election. Walker says he won't be touched by the investigation, even though a number of people connected with him have been charged, so one big question for Wisconsin voters is if they believe him on that.

Of the $100,000 transfer from the Walker campaign to the Walker defense fund,

The spokesman for Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, Walker's foe in the recall election, repeated the point that Walker is the only governor in the U.S. with a defense fund.

"If Walker really had nothing to hide, he could have saved himself a lot of money in legal bills by just releasing the emails to the public," said Barrett aide Phil Walzak.

The thing is, Scott Walker always has something to hide. It may or may not include criminal activity during his time as Milwaukee County executive, but when you're a notoriously anti-union governor facing a recall election and refusing to say if you'd sign another anti-union law if it made it to your desk, secrecy is definitely coming high on the priority list.

Campaign contributions to Tom Barrett go to Barrett's campaign, not a defense fund. Please give $4 to Barrett.