John Doe probe: Thousands of Walker-related emails released

MADISON (AP) — Thousands of emails prosecutors collected during the first secret investigation into Gov. Scott Walker's former aides and associates when he was county executive have been released.

Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele's office on Tuesday made public the nearly 16,000 emails and attachments that prosecutors seized from county and personal computers.

The investigation ended in 2013 with six of Walker's aides and associates convicted on charges ranging from theft to misconduct in office.

Walker wasn't charged, although prosecutors launched a second secret investigation in 2012 focusing on whether his campaign illegally coordinated with conservative groups.

Walker questioned the timing of the release, which comes two weeks before he faces Democrat Mary Burke. A judge in May ordered the documents released and county attorneys have been reviewing them ever since.