On Monday, August 1, Dane County Judge Frank Remington ordered Michael Gableman to pay $163,000 in legal fees to the watchdog group American Oversight, stemming from a dispute regarding whether Gableman was producing necessary documents related to the election review. This comes less than a week after a different judge ordered Gableman to pay about $100,000 in a similar case. As a former Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, you would expect Mr. Gableman would have a greater respect for the laws of Wisconsin. His behavior during a June 10th hearing even led to the judge presiding over the hearing to hold him in contempt. Shameful court room behavior aside, Michael Gableman’s and Robin Vos’ partisan “investigation” into the 2020 election continues to prove futile and comes at a huge cost to Wisconsin taxpayers.

The cost of this sham now totals well over $1,000,000, all of which will have to be paid for by Wisconsin taxpayers. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, who initiated this investigation, doesn’t expect anything to come from it. He started it in an attempt to keep the Republican base riled up into the 2022 elections. Wasting taxpayer money for what is essentially a campaign stunt is reprehensible.

By all accounts, 2020 was perhaps the most secure election in state history and is something Wisconsin should be proud of. Instead, Republicans have been throwing a $1 million+ hissy fit because they don’t like that a Democrat won. Republicans could be mature about it, accept the results of the election and alter their platform to appeal to a wider audience. This is the behavior you would expect from adults in open fair elections. Unfortunately, Wisconsin Republicans have dug in their heels, like temper tantrum throwing toddlers, declaring the election must have either been rigged against them or “it must be the voters who are wrong.” There has been no evidence whatsoever uncovered by this “investigation” of widespread fraud in Wisconsin.

Wisconsinites should expect better from their elected representatives. We deserve leaders who are thoughtful stewards of taxpayer funds. Taxpayers should not be forced to have their tax dollars abused for cynical political ploys. Gableman’s investigation needs to end immediately, and Robin Vos needs to apologize to Wisconsin taxpayer for mishandling those funds.

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