A senior Minnesota corrections official who resigned last week was under investigation for leaking the identity of a survivor of a sexual crime and for lobbying to get state funds for her husband’s charity, state documents show.

Sarah Walker, who was deputy commissioner of the Department of Corrections, was the subject of a number of complaints from fellow DOC employees, including allegedly leaking to the media the identity of a fellow DOC employee who was sexually groped, according to records released by the department Thursday evening.

In statements earlier this week, Walker has generally denied any wrongdoing and specifically denied lobbying for her husband’s charity — an effort that was ultimately unsuccessful. She declined to discuss specifics Thursday evening, providing the Pioneer Press the following statement: “I am relieved to see the specifics of the complaints against me finally made public. I am out of the state with family, attending my father-in-law’s memorial service, and look forward to responding upon my return home.”

Commissioner Paul Schnell said he initiated the investigation after being brought various “bits and pieces” by others, including state lawmakers.

“The indication is that some of the information that I had received which prompted the investigation appears to have some level of corroboration,” Schnell said in an interview Thursday evening. But, he emphasized, the investigation was only in a “preliminary” stage when Walker resigned. Once she resigned, the investigation stopped, he said. As such, there was no final determination as to Walker’s conduct.

THE BACKGROUND

Last week, Walker abruptly resigned. As one of two deputy commissioners, she essentially oversaw half of the Department of Corrections — the operations that fall outside of the actual state prisons themselves.

A longtime lobbyist and advocate for criminal justice issues who was well-known at the Capitol and in Twin Cities political circles, her departure caused a stir because she had only been on the job six months. She had been seen as emblematic of a number of appointments under the new administration of Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, who played up his wide-ranging searches for outsiders to get involved in state government.

Walker was appointed by Schnell. Walz had appointed Schnell, a former police officer and chief in the east metro. Schnell came into the post with a stated goal of reducing the state’s prison population by focusing on rehabilitation, treatment and re-introduction for nonviolent offenders, with an eye toward reducing the disparate racial impacts of locking up repeat drug-crime offenders. Schnell’s progressive and empathetic posture seemed to fit with Walker, who had championed the idea of respectful reintegration of ex-cons into society, including restoring voting rights for many.

In her resignation letter, Walker wasn’t clear on why she left, saying, “in my short time as Deputy Commissioner, I have become convinced that my voice and skills are best suited for pushing for wide-spread reform from the outside.” She didn’t elaborate and has declined to since.

Within hours of her resignation becoming news, it was revealed that she was under investigation for “complaints.” Walker said she had done nothing wrong, left voluntarily, and “I am unaware of the nature or origin of these complaints.”

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Mike Pence and Ivanka Trump visit salon damaged in Minneapolis unrest The next day, she said she was being investigated for a complaint regarding improper lobbying on state time, citing her own sources within the administration, but vehemently denied that charge. She blamed political rivals.

Internal files released Thursday by the DOC, including summaries of interviews by human-resources officials conducted earlier this month, include a number of complaints about Walker’s workplace style, but the two most significant are the lobbying and the leaking.

OUTING A SEXUAL SURVIVOR

A DOC employee who survived a sexual crime had confided in Walker after Walker asked her about it, according to the woman’s heavily redacted account. The incident involved a DOC employee groping the woman at a state-sponsored event attended by state employees. Walker herself was the subject of #MeToo publicity in 2017, when she came forward with sexual harassment allegations against Republican state Rep. Tony Cornish, who soon after resigned.

However, the woman in the DOC case did not want her story public. According to her, Walker leaked her identity to a Twin Cities reporter, who contacted the employee. The employee eventually decided to speak with Minnesota Public Radio News, fearing it was the only way to have any control over facts surrounding her situation.

“It has been an extremely difficult and stressful period of time for me,” the woman said in a letter to an HR worker. “I am severely concerned about my information and other confidential information being leaked to the media, the chilling effect that it has, and the way I was treated by being forced into having conversations with current and former colleagues about something traumatic that happened to me … ”

LOBBYING FOR HER HUSBAND

Walker has denied lobbying for her husband, Minneapolis attorney Brock Hunter, who help found the nonprofit Veterans Defense Project, which seeks to improve legal representation for military veterans.

The nonprofit was awarded $500,000 in state grants in 2017 and 2018. It sought $800,000 over the next two years this spring, but the effort eventually stalled this year at the Legislature. Skepticism included some lawmakers wondering aloud whether the money would be wise, and an anonymous note sent to lawmakers and the media questioned Walker’s connection to the charity. Schnell said until that note was shown to him, he was unaware that Walker had a connection to the charity.

Twice in May, as lawmakers were hammering out state spending plans, Walker erroneously texted messages to a DOC colleague that were meant for a lobbyist working with the charity.

“Trying to save brocks bill,” she wrote on May 20. Hunter was out of state on a family matter Thursday and unavailable for comment.

Walker appeared to be trying to specifically lobby high-powered Republicans in Washington, D.C., to influence lawmakers in St. Paul as the bill languished in the GOP-controlled State Senate. In one text, she mentioned potential efforts by U.S. Sen Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and “the white house.” In another, on May 17, she texted: “Ugh i cant believe i have to ask emmer for a favor.” Minnesota U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer, a Republican, could not be reached for comment Thursday evening.

The texts appear to contradict a statement Walker provided to the Pioneer Press earlier in the week that read, in part: ” I did not meet with any legislators (or) have any communication with legislators regarding the VDP.”

Records released by the DOC Thursday also reveal that Walker had edited at least some documents related to the charity’s request on her state computer.

As a public official, Walker is required to file a statement of economic interest with state officials. As of Thursday, she had not filed one since being appointed this year.

REPUBLICAN REACTION

Rep. Marion O’Neill, R-Maple Lake, Republican Lead on the House Corrections Division, issued the following statement on Thursday evening: “The documents released this evening directly contradict Ms. Walker’s claim that she did not engage in lobbying on behalf of her husband’s organization. In addition, she may have violated state law by releasing non-public personnel data, re-victimizing a survivor of sexual assault in the process. I urge the Walz administration to review the investigative data and take appropriate action to hold Ms. Walker accountable if there is evidence that Ms. Walker violated state law.”

O’Neill had requested the data, which also was requested by several news outlets, including the Pioneer Press.

Ryan Faircloth contributed to this story.