Wisconsin GOP-ordered election probe extended through April

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin’s Republican Assembly speaker has signed a new contract with Michael Gableman, the former state Supreme Court justice he hired to investigate the 2020 election.

His review has been extended through the end of April.

Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said that Gableman did an “outstanding job” looking into election concerns from Wisconsinites.

“Many of the key issues were addressed with legislation that’s going to Governor Evers’ desk this week for him to sign into law,” Vos said. “Meanwhile, Justice Gableman continues to face unwarranted resistance. We will continue to fight the obstruction and myriad of lawsuits filed by democrats and out-of-state liberal activists, questioning the legislature’s subpoena power and ultimately keeping this matter from concluding in the time frame we expected.”

State Senator Melissa Agard (D-Madison) criticized the extension, calling it “outrageous and a gross abuse of taxpayer dollars.”

“Instead of using these funds to invest in and better our state, Republicans continue to fund conspiracy theories and harmful rhetoric with taxpayer dollars,” Agard said. “Over half a million taxpayer dollars have cushioned Gableman’s pockets for the last eight months, and the GOP is inciting this corruption.”

The extension comes after the original contract expired on Dec. 31 and a week after Gableman delivered his report that called for the Legislature to take a serious look at decertifying President Joe Biden’s win in the battleground state.

It also comes the same day that a judge ordered the release of 700 pages of documents under the state’s open records law, which he said do not support conclusions made in Gableman’s latest report.