Updated: September 15, 2:37PM
The FBI on Wednesday raided the Madison home of a former aide to Gov. Scott Walker, as part of an ongoing investigation.
The home of Cynthia A. Archer was raided Wednesday morning, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. Archer had previously been a top aide to Walker when he was Milwaukee County Executive. She has owned her Madison home since 1988, rented it out during her years working for Walker in Milwaukee County, and then moved back when he became governor.
There is currently an ongoing investigation into whether county employees engaged in political activity for Walker when he was the executive.
The Dane County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to TPM that a deputy was present at Wednesday’s raid, but was not involved in the investigation itself — only to provide security outside the house. When asked for comment by TPM, the FBI referred questions about the matter to the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s office. The D.A. office declined comment. TPM also contacted Archer, who declined to comment citing a request from law enforcement.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports:
Archer’s neighbors said about a dozen law enforcement officers arrived Wednesday sometime before 7 a.m. One agent took photos of the house, and others wore jackets that said they were responsible for gathering evidence.
Around 9 a.m., a reporter saw four FBI agents – two of them wearing latex gloves – talking in Archer’s backyard before going into her house. Later, one removed a large box and put it in the trunk of an FBI car. They left about 10 a.m.
The FBI also seized the hard drive from a computer that a neighbor had bought from Archer six to eight weeks ago at a garage sale.
Next-door neighbor Dale Riechers said he had never turned on the computer because he was planning to work on it later in the fall. He told the agents about the hard drive and they asked to take it, Riechers said.
Late Update: Archer has told the local CBS affiliate in Madison that she has done nothing wrong, and denied being connected to the investigation in Milwaukee county:
“I don’t really know anything about the John Doe investigation,” Archer said. “They came to my house, they wanted to look at my records and computers and looked through the house, and they certainly didn’t need a search warrant to do it. I would have allowed them in. So up until (Wednesday) I had no involvement in any kind of investigation.”
Archer maintains that she did not take part in any inappropriate activities while working for Milwaukee County, and doesn’t believe that a John Doe proceeding could be targeting her.
“I can tell you that I’ve been a public servant my whole life. I have a very good sense of what’s appropriate and inappropriate,” said Archer. “To my knowledge I never engaged in any inappropriate activities or behavior at work. I didn’t do blogging or any of that kind of thing, so I’m confident I have nothing to hide.”
