Cross-posted from The Nation
There is no longer any question that Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker's sworn testimony before Congress has been contradicted
by videotaped evidence of the controversial governor discussing with
his top campaign donor a "divide and conquer" political scheme to
undermine organized labor and make Wisconsin "a completely red state."
Now, however, there is new evidence to suggest that Walker's
testimony to Congress about when he began preparing his anti-labor
legislation -- which sparked mass demonstrations and a recall movement that
will culminate with a June 5 vote on whether to recall the governor -- was not truthful.
The growing controversy over the governor's testimony led three
veteran members of the House Oversight and Government Reform
Committee -- who had previously contacted committee chairman Darrell Issa with their concerns -- to write Walker directly on Friday.
The ranking Democratic member of the committee, Maryland Congressman
Elijah Cummings, has joined Connecticut Congressman Chris Murphy and
Virginia Congressman Gerry Connolly in asking Walker whether he would
like to withdraw the testimony he gave before the committee in April
2011.
That's an unsettling challenge for a sitting governor.
But Walker is in an unsettling circumstance.
The governor told the committee that he had not engaged in
discussions about enacting anti-labor legislation in order to undermine
political opponents. But there is now video evidence that he had just
such a discussion with Diane Hendricks, a billionaire campaign donor who
would eventually give Walker's campaign $510,000, in January 2011.
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In commentary accompanying the letter, the staff of the Oversight Committee notes:
"Despite testifying under oath that he never 'had a conversation with
respect to [his] actions in Wisconsin and using them to punish members
of the opposition party and their donor base,' a newly uncovered video
taken three months earlier shows Walker explaining to one of his biggest
financial donors that he plans to use a 'divide and conquer' strategy
against public sector workers in order to turn Wisconsin into a 'completely red state.'"
With those details in mind, Cummings, Murphy and Connolly wrote:
"Dear Governor Walker:
On May 21, 2012, we wrote to Rep. Darrell Issa, the Chairman of the
House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, requesting that he
send a letter asking you to explain your testimony before our Committee
on April 14, 2011, particularly in light of a new videotape taken of you
three months before the hearing and an article published by The Nation
entitled, 'Did Scott Walker Lie Under Oath to Congress?' Letter from
Ranking Member Elijah E. Cummings and Committee Members Gerry Connolly
and Christopher Murphy to Chairman Darrell E. Issa (May 21, 2012)
(online at http://democrats.oversight.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=v...).
"On May 22, you were asked about our letter by your local Fox
affiliate, but rather than addressing the substance of our request, you
accused us of acting politically because we did not send a letter
directly to you. Walker Responds to Allegations He Lied Under Oath, Fox 6
News (May 22, 2012) (online at www.fox6now.com/2012/05/22/walker-responds-to-allegations-he-lied-under-...) (stating 'I think the fact that they've sent it to you before I've even seen it suggests that it's a political issue').
"To address your concerns, it may be helpful to explain why we wrote
to Chairman Issa instead of to you. Pursuant to our Committee's
protocols, the Chairman typically writes letters on behalf of the entire
Committee to seek clarification of previous testimony, to forward
questions for the record from Committee Members, and for other purposes
relating to witness testimony at Committee hearings. Chairman Issa has
written several letters to witnesses this Congress when he believed they
were not being truthful or when new information came to light
suggesting that their testimony was not accurate.
"Since you appear willing to entertain our inquiries directly, we ask
that you submit to the Committee written answers to the following three
simple questions no later than June 1, 2012:
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John Nichols, a pioneering political blogger, has written the Online Beat since 1999. His posts have been circulated internationally, quoted in numerous books and mentioned in debates on the floor of Congress.
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