Scott Walker’s Record on Foreign Affairs & Veterans

Walker’s campaign officials passed off the encounter with Butina as brief and uneventful. But Joanna Beilman-Dulin, research director for the liberal group One Wisconsin Now, noted the donation from Blavatnik to Walker’s committee came just days later: “The timing of this quarter-million dollar contribution sure looks like Scott Walker’s non-meeting meant something to somebody.”

 Another Scott Walker Election Year publicity ploy for veterans is undermined by his record supporting the for-profit “college” industry that preys on veterans inside and outside of Wisconsin, according to One Wisconsin Now Program Director Analiese Eicher.

“Scott Walker is so angry about his tanking poll numbers, he forgot he is the only candidate for governor who got his photo taken with an indicted Russian spy,” Scot Ross of the liberal group One Wisconsin Now said by email. 

As Gov. Scott Walker desperately tries to downplay his meeting with accused Russian spy Maria Butina at a 2015 VIP reception, a new report discloses his political operation mere days later snagged a $250,000 donation from a billionaire who made a fortune in Russian oil.

The liberal advocate One Wisconsin Now contends that it's been Walker's 25-year relationship with the National Rifle Association that opened the doors to the Russian accused of spying to get personal access to Walker when he was running for president. OWN calculated that the NRA has funneled $3.5 million into Walker's campaign accounts during those 25 years.

A photo featuring Gov. Scott Walker and an accused Russian spy meeting at a National Rifle Association (NRA) event has been the subject of intense scrutiny in recent days. According to One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross there’s more to the picture, namely Walker’s 25 year relationship with the NRA that has netted $3.5 million for his campaign coffers.

Butina said in online posts in 2015 that Walker said “hello” and “thank you” to her in Russian and that she did not detect any hostility toward Russia from him. Walker said he did not recall whether he spoke Russian to her, but did take one semester of the language in college. Asked if he remembered talking to her, Walker said, “Well, I do now because it’s all over the media. But to me, it’s just another person we met.” In a court filing Wednesday, prosecutors alleged Butina was in touch with Russian intelligence operatives and once offered sex to someone in exchange for a position with an unnamed special interest group.

Gov. Scott Walker has not been contacted by the FBI for his interactions with a Russian woman charged with trying to interfere with U.S. politics, according to Walker’s campaign. But Walker campaign aide Brian Reisinger did not say whether Walker’s discussions with the woman were described in a court filing. Walker met the woman, Maria Butina, at a National Rifle Association meeting in 2015 as he prepared to launch his short-lived run for the GOP presidential nomination. She later attended his campaign kickoff in Waukesha.

Walker did not disclose receiving any gifts from Butina on campaign finance forms. Walker spokesman Brian Reisinger said Tuesday that Walker did not accept a gift and he has not been contacted by the FBI or other authorities about Butina. Reisinger also said “we know of no one” connected with Walker who has been contacted by authorities. Butina also posted on her blog a picture taken from Walker’s official presidential campaign launch event in Wisconsin in July 2015, three months after the NRA convention in Tennessee.

A Siberian woman charged Monday as part of an alleged Russian plot to interfere with U.S. politics was at Gov. Scott Walker’s presidential campaign launch and said she did not see him as being hostile toward Russia. The woman, Mariia Butina, attempted to establish lines of communication with American politicians that could be used to influence U.S. decision-making about Russia, according to court documents filed Monday. Walker, who is seeking a third term this year, made a brief bid for the GOP nomination for president in 2015. Butina attended the launch of his campaign in Waukesha, according to a report this May from Mother Jones magazine that included a photo of an online post by Butina from the event.

Gov. Scott Walker appeared before a gathering of armed services veterans in the Fox Valley today to ostensibly thank them for their service. One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross slammed Scott Walker for his hypocrisy in light of his policies that leave veterans vulnerable to being preyed upon by the predatory for-profit college industry.

Gov. Scott Walker has signed a bill that expands Wisconsin National Guard members’ benefits. The Republican bill requires the state Department of Military Affairs to pay a guard member injured on state active duty until he or she is able to return to active duty or the active duty assignment ends. The agency will be required to pay $100,000 to guard member’s beneficiary if the member dies of an accidental injury while on active duty. The bill eliminates the current $50,000 payout in such situations.

Gov. Scott Walker launched himself headlong into the immigration debate Monday, advocating for military training facilities along the Mexican border after previously backing President Donald Trump’s call for sending National Guard troops to patrol. However, Walker did not say whether he would activate Wisconsin National Guard members and send them to the border as governors in Texas and Arizona have done. “The state of Wisconsin has not been asked to assist with any southwest border missions at this time,” said Walker spokeswoman Amy Hasenberg. “If our assistance is needed, Major General Donald Dunbar, Wisconsin’s Adjutant General and homeland security adviser, will brief Governor Walker and plans of support will be made at that time.” … “As Governor, I want to ensure the safety of all of our citizens, and I want to reduce access to illegal drugs as part of a comprehensive strategy in dealing with opioid and illegal drug addiction,” Walker wrote in a letter to Pocan. “Therefore, I welcome President Donald Trump’s aggressive actions to secure our nation’s southern border.”

Via his personal campaign Twitter account, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has endorsed Donald Trump’s controversial announcement that the U.S. will recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Based on reporting about how Trump came to his decision and according to state campaign finance records, political pandering may explain Walker’s latest foray into foreign policy.

 In 2015 and 2016, Gov. Scott Walker and U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson raised public concerns about the potential release of classified information regarding the Democratic candidate for President. With the shocking revelation Donald Trump released classified information to Russian officials, both Johnson and Walker are silent. Walker, in fact, is over the next several days enriching Trump’s bank account by hosting a huge closed-door conference as head of the Republican Governors Association at Trump’s private resort in Miami.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is hopeful President Donald Trump’s “aggressive negotiating style” will lead to a positive resolution of a dispute between the U.S. and Canada over the northern country’s dairy policies. “While we appreciate the interest and the focus and certainly the aggressive action (from the federal government) — I think much more aggressive than many of us expected — our hope still is that that would be more than just U.S. action, that that would prompt some Canadian action,” Walker told reporters in Madison on Wednesday.

The state’s new veterans affairs secretary acknowledged Wednesday the agency previously focused on filling beds at the King Veterans Home to the detriment of staff, but said despite recent reports about problems it remains “a gem.” Secretary Daniel Zimmerman told the Joint Finance Committee the agency previously directed the veterans home commandant to fill 710 out of 721 beds by a certain date, something he said can’t continue. Zimmerman recently replaced the commandant at King.

Walker, with newly appointed state Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Daniel Zimmerman, presented the awards on Monday at the state Capitol. “Veterans, through their military service, already have some of the essential skills and other intangibles that make a good business owner,” Zimmerman said. “Partnering with these nonprofits so they can provide veterans the training and education they need to become entrepreneurs will not only help that individual veteran but will also be creating jobs and improving the employment situation in our state.”

Gov. Scott Walker on Tuesday recommended spending $803 million on building projects across the state, which would be the smallest total spent on new construction, repair and renovation since he took office in 2011.Walker said he was emphasizing maintaining current buildings over new construction. He rejected about $93 million in projects at UW-Madison and $31 million for a new, 72-bed skilled nursing facility in Madison for veterans, which was recommended in 2015 by a state veterans task force.

The American Legion is warning Republicans that eliminating the prevailing wage on state projects could cost hundreds of veterans their jobs in the construction industry. The prevailing wage law sets minimum salaries for construction workers on public projects. Republican Gov. Scott Walker has proposed wiping out the prevailing wage for state projects in the state budget. The Legislature wiped out prevailing wage for local government projects in 2015.

Millions of dollars in state money could be headed to Wisconsin’s veterans homes over the next two fiscal years, if lawmakers approve Gov. Scott Walker’s spending plan for veterans affairs. In his budget proposal released Wednesday, Walker is asking lawmakers for $50,400 over the next two fiscal years to fund more direct care staff at the Wisconsin Veterans Home at King in Waupaca County. He also aims to shift 7.3 full-time equivalent positions at King from administrative roles to direct care staff for residents. Walker is also requesting $2.6 million over the next two fiscal years for operational improvements and equipment costs at all three of the state’s veterans homes, including funding for resident and security maintenance, electronic health care records and increased Medicare therapy for residents … Walker’s funding proposal follows months of reports of staffing shortages and federal citations against the state’s veterans homes, including one for dozens of medical errors and a resident’s death after staff was found to not have administered life-saving procedures. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services also downgraded their ratings at the Wisconsin Veterans Home at King and Union Grove last year. The shortage of direct care staff for elderly and sick veterans, along with a top-heavy administration at King and the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs has been at the heart of complaints from residents, current and former employees about the quality of care there.

Gov. Scott Walker has appointed Daniel Zimmerman to head the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs and immediately review operations of the state’s veterans homes. Walker announced the appointment Thursday. Zimmerman is a retired lieutenant colonel and military intelligence officer. He replaces John Scocos, who resigned amid allegations of mismanagement at the Wisconsin veterans home at King. Walker says in a statement that he is directing Zimmerman to immediately conduct thorough assessments of state veteran homes and improve communication between the agency and veteran service organizations.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker will travel to Mexico in June to promote exporting opportunities and encourage foreign investment in Wisconsin. The governor will join representatives from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. and the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection on the trade mission, which runs June 12-17.

Gov. Scott Walker pledged Monday that the state “will not accept new Syrian refugees” as he and Republican legislators joined a national chorus of mostly GOP leaders Monday calling on President Barack Obama to bar refugees from entering the United States. Immigration experts said governors can’t legally prohibit refugees from settling in their states but they can establish policies that make living in their states more difficult. Walker said in the wake of last week’s terrorist attacks in Paris that Wisconsin’s first priority “must be to protect our citizens.” “In consultation with our adjutant general, who also serves as my homeland security adviser, it is clear that the influx of Syrian refugees poses a threat,” Walker said. “With this in mind, I am calling upon the president to immediately suspend the program pending a full review of its security and acceptance procedures.”

 In a weekend talk show appearance, the increasingly desperate and embarrassing campaign of Scott Walker for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination hit a new low as he opined building a fence along the 5,525 mile long United States - Canada border is a “legitimate idea.” One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross today suggested five other ideas Walker ought to consider legitimate as part of his day job where he ostensibly still serves as governor of the state of Wisconsin.

In his teen years in the 1980s, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker achieved the rank of Eagle Scout. At a luncheon in Arizona on Wednesday, recorded by the group American Bridge, Walker used his attainment of the highest rank a Boy Scout can achieve to answer the the question, “...does the prospect of being commander in chief daunt you?”

Signed a bill that set limits on liability in tort actions and failed to protect veterans who become sick as a result of asbestos exposure during military service and for a bill that creates discovery and scheduling requirements for certain types of tort actions and limits a defendant's liability for a plaintiff's injury under certain circumstances. Under the bill, a plaintiff who files a tort action must disclose, within 30 days after he or she files the action, whether he or she has filed or anticipates filing a claim against a personal injury trust. The bill particularly impacts persons seeking damages related to asbestos claims.

A third veteran has resigned from a state board in response to Gov. Scott Walker's moves to gain greater control of the Department of Veterans Affairs, including his decision to appoint John Scocos as agency secretary...In his letter to the first-term Republican governor, Freedman criticized legislation that stripped the board of its ability to appoint the veterans affairs secretary, giving that responsibility to the governor. Walker has defended the changes, saying they will bring more accountability to the department and board. The board has been the subject of much controversy in recent years.

Walker signed into law a bill that politicizes the Department of Veterans Affairs by giving the governor authority to appoint the Secretary, rather than being selected by the Board of Veterans Affairs, as under prior law. Walker then appointed political crony, John Scocos, who had previously served as Secretary for six years, and was fired by the Veterans Board over financial and communications problems at the department. (2011 AB 96, introduced 4/51/2011; Senate Roll Call; Assembly Roll Call)