Targets of a John Doe investigation by the Government Accountability Board (GAB) have countered by filing suit against GAB. Conservative activist Eric O’Keefe, his Wisconsin Club for Growth, and “others similarly situated” filed the lawsuit in the Waukesha County Circuit Court.

The plaintiffs allege GAB does not have the statutory authority to appoint and pay special investigators to probe conservative organizations suspected of illegally coordinating with Gov. Scott Walker’s campaign during the state’s partisan recall elections.

The lawsuit follows a U.S. District Court decision effectively ending the John Doe investigation and a 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals decision declaring the state’s campaign laws restricting issue advertising unconstitutional.