A former top aide to Governor Scott Walker is refuting suggestions that she has done anything wrong despite being the target of an FBI raid Wednesday.
Cynthia Archer was one of the most trusted aides to Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker until she abruptly resigned last month. In an increasingly unpleasant probe of Wisconsin politics, Archer now claims she is the victim of a character assassination.
"Needless to say it came as quite a shock. I was asleep, so it took me awhile to wake up, and the dogs were barking," Archer said.
Archer's dogs were still barking Thursday, 23 hours after the FBI busted down her door to execute search warrants.
"They could have knocked. I would have let them in, so it was quite a rude awakening," said Archer.
Archer was the focus of a two and a half hour raid by the FBI Wednesday at her Madison, Wisconsin, home. A dozen agents swept her home and removed a large box load of potential evidence in what is believed to be an investigation of political work being done on public time.
Archer came to state government with Walker last year from Milwaukee, where he was the county executive. She worked as deputy secretary of the agency responsible for the state budget and other financial matters. She says she has done nothing wrong.
"I do work at home. I always have," said Archer. "I work on papers and spreadsheets and all kinds of things like that. They're welcome to look at anything I've done...I think the taxpayers get a good bang for their buck, with the hours I put in."
A few weeks ago, Archer held a garage sale and sold a computer to her next door neighbor. Wednesday, the FBI seized the hard drive from that computer.
"Actually, I don't think I sold it to him, I think I gave it to him at a garage sale, and I had an old desktop that I hadn't used in seven or eight years, and instead of taking it to the dump, he wanted it take it apart for parts," Archer said.
Finally, in an interview with ABC affiliate WKOW in Madison, Archer was asked what the investigation is all about and why her home was raided by the feds.
"I'm not going to comment on that, this is way above my pay grade," Archer said. "I'm not privy to what's going on or why this is happening, all I can do is cooperate, assist and apologize to my neighbors."
Two other former staff members of Governor Walker have also had their work computers seized by federal agents
As for the 52-year-old Archer, after resigning her $124,000-a-year state job in August citing family reasons, she immediately took a new job with a different state agency but is now on paid sick leave from that one.
