CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – Something extraordinary happened earlier this month. In the debate over whether the 2020 election was stolen in Wisconsin, the investigation by Michael Gableman was put on hold.
This wasn’t because it had run its course. And it certainly wasn’t because of a court order. It was stopped by none other than Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, because of pending lawsuits. There might, at some point, be a court order pertaining to the investigation into voter fraud in Wisconsin. That day hasn’t come yet.
And Gableman has already delivered results. He has affidavits, quotes and recorded interviews with nursing home residents who were pressured to vote and were ballot-harvested. He has detailed the bloated and inaccurate voter rolls, filled with names of people who’ve died or moved away. He detailed the Wisconsin Elections Commission’s propensity to make up election law, which is the sole province of the state legislature.
But now Vos has stopped his own investigation because of pending legal action… lawsuits that the courts haven’t even ruled on.
And two of the lawsuits are frivolous. One asks whether the investigation is legal. That’s not even a serious question for a court to decide. The state legislature has investigative powers. It has a constitutional right to oversee the Wisconsin Elections Commission and its decisions. The other question is whether Gableman has subpoena power, and can force the mayors of Madison and Green Bay to testify. This also is not even close. State law gives investigators the right to issue subpoenas and to question witnesses under oath. Failure to comply is a criminal offense.
Consider the improbability that a court shuts down the investigation. How would rival Democrats handle it? Known for their ruthlessness, findings would be leaked to the media. The unofficial, incomplete report would find its way to the public.
Vos, by contrast, voluntarily shut down his own investigation – over lawsuits that he is certain to win. Many people have long suspected that Vos’ investigation is half-hearted. They certainly seem right.
Chris Conley
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