Judge says he shouldn't have released ethics probe details

MADISON — The judge who authorized the release of Attorney General Brad Schimel's report on records leaked from an investigation into Gov. Scott Walker's recall campaign says he shouldn't have allowed details about a separate ethics probe to be made public.

Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge William Hue told the Wisconsin State Journal on Monday that Schimel never raised any question about whether releasing information from a closed ethics investigation was permitted.

Hue says if you've been investigated by a government entity that's decided not to prosecute, there is an expectation that would not be made public.

The ethics investigation was launched by the former Government Accountability Board and labeled by Schimel as "John Doe III" even though it was an ethics probe and not a John Doe investigation.