Their extensive financial stakes here have lead critics in recent days to claim a connection between the Koch brothers' million-plus donations to Walker's sucessful gubernatorial bid and early legislation coming out of the governor's office, including the so-called tort reform law, which critics say actually weakens consumer rights to sue, and the so-called budget-repair bill, which critics claim actually is more about rolling back worker's rights, Medicaid oversight, and the no-bid sale of state power plants to private companies than it is about fixing the budget.

The interviews, published Thursday evening, were a response to growing questions about the behind-the-scenes role the Koch brothers seem to be playing in Wisconsin politics and the showdown between Walker and protesters. On Thursday, hundreds of protesters held a rally outside the office building that is home to the company's lobbying firm, which moved into its new digs right around the time of Walker's election.

But if anything the scrutiny only seems to have made the Koch team dig in its heels. “We will not step back at all. We firmly believe that economic freedom has benefited the overwhelming majority of society, including workers, who earn higher wages when you have open and free markets. When government grows as it has with the Bush and Obama administrations, that is what destroys prosperity,” Fink says.