When Cynthia Archer, the Wisconsin agency official now under investigation by FBI officials, announced her “personal leave of absence” from her post as one of Gov. Scott Walker’s top appointees last month, administration officials refused to comment on the reason for her departure.

It was ultimately revealed that Archer would serve as legislative liaison at the Department of Children and Families, where she would earn $39,129 more than the last person to hold the job as a result of Republican legislation giving Walker more political appointments. The same bill also ended collective bargaining rights for public employees.

The Walker administration has continued to give reporters the silent treatment, despite intense speculation that the FBI raid of Archer’s house is connected to a year-long John Doe investigation into suspected campaign work done with taxpayer dollars by Milwaukee County staffers during Walker’s tenure as county executive.

Just as Walker expected the tide of anger over his attacks on collective bargaining to subside, he knows that keeping mum on the Archer scandal will help the story fade from the front pages.

Of course, Walker’s instincts are to protect himself and one of his closest political aides from further controversy. Before her role as Walker’s deputy administration secretary, Archer served as Walker’s top aide when he was Milwaukee County executive, helping oversee an 85 percent increase in county debt.

Walker’s refusal to talk to reporters about the FBI raid of Archer’s home, in which federal agents seized some of her records and a computer hard drive, reminds me of a recent political scandal surrounding a top politician’s willingness to shield an aide from public scrutiny. 

In early August, when discussing the resignation of his deputy mayor, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg conveniently failed to mention the domestic violence allegations that had been leveled at the departing aide.

The revelation that Bloomberg opted to keep the public in the dark engulfed his administration in controversy, and called the mayor’s priorities into question. Would he protect political allies even if it meant letting harm befall city residents?

It’s difficult to imagine that Walker has no knowledge of Archer’s potentially criminal indiscretions. The governor doesn’t necessarily have a clean track record when it comes to his political acquaintances. One of the top donors to his gubernatorial campaign, Wisconsin & Southern Railroad Company CEO William Gardner, was found guilty of two felonies tied to violating campaign finance rules by exceeding campaign donation limits and laundering donations to Walker.

If Walker wants to keep Wisconsin “open for business,” he’ll have to allay the concerns of potential investors, who might be hesitant to put money into a state where top officials are in the crosshairs of the FBI.

For her part, Archer has denied having ever done “anything at work that’s not appropriate.” So confident is the agency head in her innocence that she has expressed no interest in hiring a lawyer.

Walker needs to start giving taxpayers answers, lest he continue his administration’s weakening of Wisconsin democracy.

Eric Carlson([email protected]) is a senior majoring in journalism.