MADISON - News reports last Friday exposed that top Walker aides have encouraged communicating official state business through private channels to limit public access. By doing so, it appears that Gov. Scott Walker is continuing the "secret email network" policy he pursued at Milwaukee County. The Milwaukee County network was uncovered during the John Doe 1 investigation in 2011 that led to the indictment and conviction of several Walker aides.

“Gov. Walker is either deliberately misleading the public and press or he’s woefully out of touch with what his top cabinet officials are doing", said Senate Democratic Leader Jennifer Shilling (D-La Crosse) and Assembly Democratic Leader Peter Barca (D-Kenosha) in a joint statement on Friday. "Either excuse is unacceptable."

“This latest scandal to limit public records is a gross abuse of political power that follows the typical pattern of Republican secrecy we’ve come to expect", the statement continues. "Simply put, Gov. Walker and legislative Republicans can’t be trusted to do the right thing for our state."

“Legislative Republicans have been laser-focused on covering up Gov. Walker’s political scandals. In doing so, they have undermined Wisconsin's tradition of good government and opened our state to fraud and corruption. Instead, Democrats believe we should be helping working families, investing in our communities and creating economic prosperity”, Shilling and Barca conclude.