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ALORS-WISCONSIN, SUPREME Court Judge Michael J. Gableman speaks at a hearing in September 2015. (Jessica Reilly / Telegraph Herald via AP, File)
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – The retired conservative Wisconsin Supreme Court judge leading a Republican-ordered inquiry into the 2020 presidential election released a video on Monday threatening to subpoena election officials who failed to stand conforming and asserting that the intention was not to topple President Joe Biden’s narrow victory in the battlefield state.
Michael Gableman’s unusual six-minute video comes after election clerks were confused by an email sent from his office last week that was flagged in several counties as junk, a possible security risk and not forwarded to clerks municipal as he wished.
Gableman said Monday that if more than 1,900 municipal and county election officials across the state do not cooperate with his investigation, he “constrain” them to comply. Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos has said he will sign the subpoenas requested by Gableman as part of the investigation. Vos hired Gableman at a cost of nearly $ 680,000 in taxpayer dollars to conduct the investigation.
Vos refused to sign the subpoenas requested by Representative Janel Bandtjen, Chairman of the Assembly Elections Committee, to search for ballots, voting machines and other data in Milwaukee and Counties Brown.
Gableman said local clerks who run the election in Wisconsin will need to prove the vote was done legally.
“The responsibility for demonstrating that our elections were conducted with fairness, inclusiveness and accountability rests with the government and the private for-profit interests that have worked for the government,” said Gableman. “It is not for the people to show before an investigation that public officials and their sub-contractors have behaved dishonestly. “
Gableman, in his video where he appears to be standing in front of an image of the State Capitol, said his intention was not to challenge the 2020 election results that Biden won in Wisconsin by nearly 21,000 votes. against former President Donald Trump. Some Republicans have called for a broader audit and said they believe there has been widespread fraud, despite no evidence of this. Only two of the roughly 3.3 million people who voted were accused of voter fraud.
Those calling for an audit similar to the one carried out in Arizona’s Maricopa County have pushed the false claim that the election was stolen from Trump.
Gableman answered the call of former Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke, Brandtjen and others for a “Forensic audit”.
“It is important to note that the term ‘forensic audit’ is confusing, and confusing because it does not have a commonly accepted definition. “ said Gableman. “On the contrary, the definition of each judicial audit is created by those who control that audit. The Office of the Special Counsel is conducting a full investigation to uncover the truth about what happened in our 2020 election.
Gableman said the investigation could include a “Vigorous and complete audit if the facts discovered justify such a course of action. “ He said his goal was “Put everything I know and everything I have learned in front of you, the citizen, so that you can make up your own mind. “
Gableman told a group of Trump supporters in November that he believed the election was stolen. A former Trump official appears to be working on the investigation. Gableman has yet to say who he hired or submit invoices asking for payment.
Gableman’s investigation has already drawn bipartisan criticism. Republican State Senator Kathy Bernier, chair of the Senate Elections Committee, said earlier this month “There is no reason to spread disinformation about past elections when we have all the evidence to show otherwise.”
Ben Wikler, chairman of the Wisconsin Democratic Party, said in a statement that Vos and Gableman were “Squandering taxpayers’ money serving the political interests of a small group of Republican insiders who want to erode the freedom to vote.” It is a sham, a waste of time and money, and it hurts our democracy.
A review by the non-partisan Legislative Audit Office, ordered by the Republicans, is also underway.
Gableman has promised to provide updates in a “Logical and responsible method” where applicable, including additional videos.
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