PAINT IT BLACK: The state Government Accountability Board has asked a judge to black out portions of the agency’s response to a state lawsuit involving the politically charged John Doe investigation. That request may not stand for long, a source tell
Wisconsin's Secret War: GAB now playing secrets in state John Doe lawsuit
By Watchdog.org - M.D. Kittle | Wisconsin Reporter——Bio and Archives--July 15, 2014
MADISON, Wis. — The state Government Accountability Board would like to keep its secrets in the dark, and a Waukesha County judge — for now — has agreed to the agency’s request.
As the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Friday, Waukesha County Circuit Judge Lee Dreyfus Jr. issued an order last week allowing the GAB to black out parts of its response to a lawsuit filed against it on behalf of Wisconsin taxpayers by conservative activist Eric O’Keefe and the Wisconsin Club for Growth.
The judge’s decision could keep the GAB’s secret dealings in a politically charged John Doe investigation into dozens of conservative groups out of the public eye.
But not so fast, says a legal expert with knowledge of the lawsuit.
The expert, who spoke on background, said the judge’s order is not a final decision, and that attorneys for the club expect to argue the merits of the secrecy motion later this month.
Both sides were expected to find out late Monday what the GAB’s request to partially seal its response will mean for the proceedings — in essence, just how much the agency wants blacked out.
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