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With Gov. Scott Walker facing a possible recall election, the name of billionaire David Koch and his association with the governor will not be far behind.

Koch and his brother, Charles, are well-known conservatives who have supported many conservative causes. But after Walker became the victim of a phone prankster posing as David Koch in February 2011 and expressing support for the governor's actions on collective bargaining involving public-sector employees, the billionaire Koch brothers have been a frequent target of the left.

The furor picked up again after David Koch spoke to the Palm Beach Post late last month. In the interview, Koch said he was working to help Walker.

"We're helping him, as we should," Koch said. "We've gotten pretty good at this over the years. We've spent a lot of money in Wisconsin. We're going to spend more."

Koch was referencing Americans for Prosperity, a conservative advocacy group. The Democratic Party of Wisconsin seized on Koch's remarks and filed a complaint with the Government Accountability Board and the Internal Revenue Service. Mike Tate, chairman of the Democratic Party, said Koch was using a loophole in the IRS tax code and in election law to spend tax-deductible money to the benefit of a candidate.

"Koch's statement of support for Gov. Walker is a tacit admission that . . . (they) are intentionally interfering in the political process and are using their tax-exempt status to illegally run ads intended to support a specific Republican candidate, Scott Walker, in clear violation of both state and federal election law," the complaint to the GAB says.

Americans for Prosperity has been running ads statewide. Koch is a member of the board of directors of the Americans for Prosperity Foundation and has provided financial support for both Americans for Prosperity and its foundation.

Koch declined to be interviewed, but Mark Holden, Koch Industries' general counsel, and Missy Cohlmia, a Koch Industries spokeswoman, said Koch violated no law.

"David Koch wasn't speaking on behalf of Koch Industries or his brother, and not speaking in his capacity as an Americans for Prosperity Foundation officer," Holden said. "He was referring generally to AFP, what the organization was doing and expressing his personal opinions regarding what was going on in Wisconsin. Under Wisconsin law, he is permitted to do that."

Cohlmia added that Koch was not planning to campaign or speak on behalf of Walker.

Aside from Koch's support of Americans for Prosperity, Koch and his brother also have provided financial support to Koch PAC, which is Koch Industries' political action committee. The company's committee contributed $43,000 to Walker's campaign in 2010, with the Koch brothers and other Koch Industries employees contributing.

Holden said the contribution was a tiny fraction of Walker's campaign funds.

"This issue about Wisconsin and Koch has been about a year plus going on," Holden said. "We think it is more heat than light. We felt in general, when the story first arose in February, it was a false storyline."