And then whine about being a target themselves.

Attorneys for Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm and the investigators who conducted the John Doe probes into Gov. Scott Walker’s campaigns say the Wisconsin Supreme Court is jeopardizing their right to a fair trial.

Chisholm, two other prosecutors and three investigators in his office are being sued in federal court by Cindy Archer, a former Walker aide. In the lawsuit, filed in July, Archer alleges that Chisholm and the five others “carried out a campaign of harassment and intimidation” and violated her constitutional rights during their investigation.

In the latest memorandum filed Monday, attorneys for Chisholm and the other defendants argue that the state Supreme Court’s recent decisions regarding evidence from the John Doe investigations are preventing them from defending themselves in court.

Even if you support the John Doe process, which I don’t, the entire purpose of the process is to keep the collected evidence secret to prevent damaging the folks being investigated until they are charged with a crime. If the court releases all of the collected evidence for the civil suit, those records become subject to discovery and public disclosure – thus invalidating the Doe process that collected the information.

Remember that if Chisholm had chosen to investigate with the normal process, those records would be readily available to him. The fact that he chose a secret investigation has its consequences.