UPDATED Friday, April 29, 2016--3:18 p.m.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Prosecutors looking to revive an investigation into Gov. Scott Walker's recall campaign have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to vacate a state decision halting the probe.

A group of prosecutors launched the investigation in 2012. The probe examined whether Walker's campaign illegally coordinated with outside groups. The state Supreme Court halted the investigation last summer, ruling the coordination amounts to free speech.

The prosecutors filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday arguing free speech protections don't extend to such coordination. They also argued they never got a fair hearing in state court. They contended Justices David Prosser and Michael Gableman should have recused themselves because some of the groups under investigation helped their campaigns.

Attorneys for two of the groups didn't immediately respond to messages Friday.

Copyright 2016: Associated Press

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UPDATED Thursday, April 28, 2016---4:25 p.m.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Wisconsin prosecutors are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a state Supreme Court decision that shut down an investigation of coordination between Gov. Scott Walker's campaign and conservative groups.

Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne told the Wisconsin State Journal that he, Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm and Iowa County District Attorney Larry Nelson filed the appeal Thursday.

Chisholm launched the probe in 2012 under the John Doe law, which allowed prosecutors to compel testimony and bar people from talking about the investigation. The probe examined whether there was illegal coordination between Walker's 2012 recall campaign and outside conservative groups.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court halted the investigation in 2015, ruling 4-2 that the coordination was legal.

Copyright 2016: Associated Press

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UPDATED: Sunday, February 7, 2016 --- 9:49 a.m.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- The Wisconsin Supreme Court has allowed three district attorneys to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court over a closed, secret investigation into whether Gov. Scott Walker's campaign illegally coordinated with conservative groups during the 2012 recall election.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports the state Supreme Court issued its 4-1 unsigned decision Friday evening.

However, Wisconsin's high court denied the prosecutors help from a national law firm.

The state Supreme Court found that Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm, Dane County DA Ismael Ozanne and Iowa County DA Larry Nelson cannot share sealed documents with three private attorneys. Those private attorneys work for a national law firm that won a similar case before the U.S. Supreme Court.

In July, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ended the John Doe investigation.

Copyright 2016: Associated Press

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UPDATED Tuesday, January 19, 2016---3:08 p.m.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Two figures in the "John Doe" investigation into Republican Gov. Scott Walker's recall campaign allege the prosecutor who headed the probe failed to follow a court order.

Francis Schmitz was the special prosecutor for the investigation that looked into whether Walker's campaign illegally coordinated with outside conservative groups on issue ads. But the Wisconsin Supreme Court ended the probe in July.

The Journal Sentinel reports that attorneys for R.J. Johnson and Deborah Jordahl argue in a filing that Schmitz had not returned all the property he had obtained and failed to follow the Supreme Court's December order requiring him to detail what records had been taken.

Johnson and Jordahl were consultants for the Wisconsin Club for Growth, one of the groups being investigated.

Schmitz said Tuesday he had no comment but plans to file a response soon.

Copyright 2016: Associated Press

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UPDATED Tuesday, January 12, 2016---4:35 p.m.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- The state Supreme Court has granted three prosecutors' request to join a case challenging an investigation into Gov. Scott Walker's campaign.

Five prosecutors were investigating whether Walker's 2012 recall campaign illegally coordinated with outside groups. Special prosecutor Francis Schmitz eventually took over the probe on their behalf. The Supreme Court halted the investigation this summer and declared Schmitz lacked any standing to appeal.

Three of the original prosecutors -- John Chisholm of Milwaukee, Ismael Ozanne of Madison and Larry Nelson of Dodgeville -- filed a motion last month seeking to join the case, which would allow them standing to appeal.

The high court granted the request on Tuesday.

Copyright 2016: Associated Press

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UPDATED Monday, December 21, 2015---12:56 p.m.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- The state Supreme Court has released documents confirming the identity of the prosecutors looking to appeal a ruling halting an investigation into Gov. Scott Walker's campaign.

Five prosecutors were investigating whether Walker's 2012 recall campaign illegally coordinated with outside groups. Special prosecutor Francis Schmitz eventually took over the probe on their behalf.

The Supreme Court stopped the probe this summer and this month declared Schmitz lacked any legal standing to appeal. The justices gave the original prosecutors a chance to join the case, which would allow them to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Three prosecutors filed a sealed motion to intervene on Friday. The court released the documents to media Monday. They show the prosecutors are John Chisholm of Milwaukee, Ismael Ozanne of Madison and Larry Nelson of Dodgeville.

Copyright 2015: Associated Press

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UPDATED Friday, December 18, 2015---1:08 p.m.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- The remaining prosecutors in a secret investigation into Gov. Scott Walker's recall campaign have filed a motion to preserve their rights to appeal a ruling that halted the probe.

Five district attorneys began investigating whether Walker's campaign illegally coordinated with outside groups. A judge later appointed special prosecutor Francis Schmitz to run the probe at the prosecutors' request.

The state Supreme Court halted the investigation this summer and this month rejected Schmitz's request to reconsider, saying he lacked legal standing. The high court gave the original prosecutors until Friday to attempt to join the case.

Two prosecutors said this week they're out. Court records indicate Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm filed a sealed motion Friday to intervene on behalf of three district attorneys. Chisholm is the only prosecutor named in the records.

Copyright 2015: Associated Press

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UPDATED Tuesday, December 15, 2015---4:59 p.m.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Two prosecutors involved in a secret investigation into Gov. Scott Walker's recall campaign say they won't appeal a ruling that halted the probe.

Five prosecutors began a probe in 2012 into whether Walker's campaign illegally coordinated with outside groups. A judge later appointed special prosecutor Francis Schmitz to run the investigation at the prosecutors' request.

The state Supreme Court halted the investigation this summer. This month the court rejected Schmitz's request to reconsider, concluded he lacked legal standing and gave the prosecutors until Friday to intervene.

Columbia County District Attorney Jane Kohlwey sent a letter Monday to fellow prosecutors saying she won't intervene. Wisconsin Watchdog reported that Dodge County District Attorney Kurt Klomberg sent a letter last week to the other prosecutors saying he won't intervene, either.

Klomberg declined comment.

Copyright 2015: Associated Press

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UPDATED Wednesday, August 5, 2015---9:47 a.m.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- A special prosecutor has asked the Wisconsin Supreme Court to reconsider its decision ending an investigation into Gov. Scott Walker's recall campaign.

Online court records show Francis Schmitz filed a motion Tuesday with the court to reconsider its decision from last month and put the ruling on hold in the meantime.

Part of the court's decision ordered Schmitz to destroy evidence he had collected during the investigation.

Schmitz's actual motion was under seal pending a determination by the court as to whether it should be made public.

The filing is a sign that Schmitz may ultimately ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review the decision that determined the activity being investigated was not illegal and stopped the probe.

Copyright 2015: Associated Press

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UPDATED: Monday, May 18, 2015---8:48 a.m.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court won't hear an appeal from a conservative group seeking to end an investigation into possible illegal coordination between Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's 2012 recall campaign and independent groups.

The justices on Monday let stand an appeals court ruling that said Wisconsin Club for Growth and its director, Eric O'Keefe, must resolve their claims in state courts.

No one has been charged as a result of the investigation which has sought documents and testimony about possible violation of state campaign finance laws.

The investigation is on hold while a separate legal challenge is pending before the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

The club and O'Keefe argued that the investigation was a violation of their First Amendment rights and an attempt to criminalize political speech.

Copyright 2015: Associated Press

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UPDATED Wednesday, May 13, 2015---1:41 p.m.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- The special prosecutor investigating alleged illegal coordination between Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's recall campaign and conservative groups had wanted at least two Supreme Court justices to step aside in the case.

That filing was among the 260 the court made public on Thursday.

At issue is whether the groups were bound to follow state laws that bar coordination with candidates, require disclosure of political donations and place limits on how much money can be collected.

The secret John Doe investigation has swirled around Walker for years. The Supreme Court is set to rule on three pending cases that could halt it for good in late June -- the same time Walker is expected to announce a presidential bid. Walker has denied any wrongdoing.

Copyright 2015: Associated Press

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Posted: Friday, March 27, 2015 -- 6:03 p.m.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- The Wisconsin Supreme Court has canceled oral arguments it planned to hold next month on three cases related to the secret investigation into Gov. Scott Walker's 2012 recall campaign.

The court had scheduled arguments for April 17 and April 20. But in an order released Friday, the court said "it is neither legally nor practically possible to hold oral argument."

The arguments were expected to be awkward, given that much information remains shielded from public view, including the names of unnamed petitioners trying to halt the investigation.

The court said Friday it was "strongly adverse" to closing the courtroom to the public, but it would be impossible to protect the secrecy of the case by holding arguments.

Instead, the court will decide the case based on written filings by attorneys.

Courtesy: The Associated Press 2015