Dem. Party spokesman says he's a target in one of the emails

MADISON (WITI) -- The Wisconsin Court of Appeals released thousands of emails on Wednesday, February 19th from the private Gmail account belonging to a former aide to now-Governor Scott Walker -- and as you might expect, there are a lot of names popping up in these emails, from Walker's political foes to journalists. Mike Tate - the chairman of Wisconsin's Democratic Party says he isn't surprised to learn he's the target of at least one email released on Wednesday.

Democrats met in Madison on Wednesday afternoon, and held a telephone conference with reporters to raise their own issues with the emails that have now been released. The Democratic National Committee chairwoman was even in town - which has led Gov. Walker to question Democrats' real motivation.

Kelly Rindfleisch served as Walker’s Deputy Chief of Staff in 2010 when he was County Executive. She is one of six people convicted of crimes in connection with a secret John Doe investigation led by Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm.

In 2012, Rindfleisch was convicted of felony misconduct in public office for doing campaign work on county time.  That case revealed that Rindfleisch, whose office was located two doors down from the future Governor, was using a laptop and wireless internet router that were not connected to the county’s computer network to do campaign work during the workday.  She was convicted in October of 2012 and sentenced to six months in jail, but that sentence was placed on hold while she appeals.

More than 26,000 emails are contained in the massive PDF files unsealed Wednesday.

Buried in the thousands of pages of emails - there is one that caught the attention of Wisconsin Democratic Party Chairman Mike Tate.

"There was one referring to - if we need to send someone's 'uncle' to take care of Mike Tate. I did sort of get a small kick out of that," Tate said.

It is a threat Tate shrugs off, but one that he says points to a larger problem.

"Well, there is guilty in a court of law and there`s guilty but unproven. I think that the real answer that Scott Walker owes us is, were you aware of all this illegal activity happening around you?" Tate said.

Gov. Walker addressed the issue on Wednesday morning, pointing the finger back at Democrats and downplaying the scandal.

"They`re going to do what they`ve done in the past which is over-hype things. Politically, they are going to be disappointed," Gov. Walker said.

As the week goes on, and more time is given to combing through the emails, Tate says he expects this story to grow.

"We`re going to see where this investigation goes.  We`ll see what unfolds," Tate said.

While investigators found no wrongdoing by Gov. Walker in the John Doe investigation that was closed in March of 2013, Tate believes the court of public opinion won't be so kind.

"What we`ve seen so far, it tells a sad tale of someone who is out for their own personal gain," Tate said.

FOX6 News reached out to Wisconsin's Republican Party on Wednesday. A spokesperson said they have no comment at this time.

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