Something stinks: New ‘Cronygate’ details emerge over the weekend
Two stories related to the ongoing Walker 'Cronygate' investigation broke over the weekend, revealing new details on Walker's top aide and spokesperson's roles in the brewing scandal.
New details surrounding Gov. Scott Walker’s Cronygate have emerged in the last few days. First, there was this from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Three days after Cindy Archer was to have started her job as the legislative liaison at the state Department of Children and Families – and while she was already being paid sick leave for it – the agency interviewed someone else for the same job.
Archer is the close Walker aide, said to have an influential role in the Walker administration, whose house was raided by the FBI in mid-September.
Then Friday afternoon news broke that Walke’s press secretary Cullen Werwie had received immunity in the Cronygate investigation:
Records show Werwie was granted immunity April 14. According to the judge’s order, Werwie was planning to invoke his Fifth Amendment right not to answer questions to avoid self-incrimination.
“It is a big deal,” said Milwaukee criminal defense lawyer Stephen E. Kravit. “He recognizes he’s got (criminal) exposure and he negotiated for a proffer to get immunity, and that’s a big deal.”
Under an immunity deal, a person agrees to cooperate with an investigation by answering questions under oath. But prosecutors can’t then use the testimony against the individual.