Earlier today, Republican Governor Scott Walker held a press conference to respond to his very public duping by a blogger posing as Walker's billionaire contributor, David Koch, where Walker allowed an oh-so-generous eight minutes for questions -- versus the 20 minutes he gave the faux-Koch.

And during the press conference, when asked how people could believe he was acting in good faith given that he was taped outlining a plan to trick the Wisconsin 14 into coming home, Walker had to the gall to say:

In terms of other ways to come on in, it's not a trick. We've said it point-blank. Come on in and talk about it ... I don't think that's a trick, I think that's something I've said time and time again in front of all of you here.

Uh huh. Here's what he said on the tape:

An interesting idea that was brought up to me by my chief of staff, we won't do it until tomorrow, is putting out an appeal to the Democratic leader. I would be willing to sit down and talk to him, the assembly Democrat leader, plus the other two Republican leaders—talk, not negotiate and listen to what they have to say if they will in turn—but I’ll only do it if all 14 of them will come back and sit down in the state assembly. They can recess it... the reason for that, we're verifying it this afternoon, legally, we believe, once they’ve gone into session, they don’t physically have to be there. If they’re actually in session for that day, and they take a recess, the 19 Senate Republicans could then go into action and they’d have quorum because it's turned out that way. So we’re double checking that. If you heard I was going to talk to them that’s the only reason why.

He's said it all before, eh? In front of reporters, time and time again? Well, except for the part about his chief of staff. And the timing. And the consultation with legal experts to see if the trick would work. And the personal assurance to (the fake) Koch that he shouldn't believe any media reports about a negotiation happening. So except for all that, it's true, he has said it all before.

There's nothing to see here, folks, move along, because Walker isn't going to "allow one prank phone call be a distraction."

But it's not the phone call that's the "distraction." It's what Walker said on it when he thought he was talking to a billionaire from Kansas who helped get him elected.

And of course a broader question that needs to be asked today is, why is the traditional media nearly ignoring this story?