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Walker Campaign Responds to John Doe Settlement Reports

The Friends of Scott Walker campaign released a statement Thursday, following news reports that it may be seeking a settlement in a John Doe probe.

The statement:  Neither Governor Walker nor his campaign committee are parties to the federal lawsuit. This means they have no legal standing to reach a settlement or deal in their lawsuit.

The John Doe is reportedly exploring ties between the governor's 2012 recall campaign and conservative funders.  Laws ban coordinated spending between candidates and special interests.

In the case the statement references, a conservative group is suing prosecutors in federal court, claiming their John Doe probe violates the group's free speech rights. U.S. District Judge Rudolph Randa issued the first ruling in that federal suit a few weeks ago, by ordering investigators to halt their probe.

On Wednesday, lead investigator Francis Schmitz asked Randa to clarify whether talking with attorneys involved in the John Doe probe, violates his order.

On Thursday, an attorney for the group Wisconsin Club for Growth said it would file a motion, insisting that Schmitz could be undermining or violating the federal proceedings.

Randa had also ordered investigators to destroy all evidence they have collected. A federal appeals court temporarily halted that ruling.  The court is still deciding what to do with Randa's order to prosecutors that they stop the John Doe.  They have taken the federal lawsuit against them, to the appeals level.