Michael Gableman may request more taxpayer money for GOP election review
Lawmakers initially allocated $676,000
Lawmakers initially allocated $676,000
Lawmakers initially allocated $676,000
On the brink of the new year, the attorney overseeing the Republican-led review of the 2020 election is pushing forward and poised to ask lawmakers for more taxpayer money and time.
Michael Gableman, the special counsel and former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice hired by Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, told a group of Republican supporters in Chippewa County his work will continue into 2020, past the initial contract ending Dec. 31.
"Now that I am getting a much better picture of how systemic and how broad and how wide the problem is, I demand quite frankly what I really need, what I really need to do it right," Gableman told the crowd. "Please don’t be surprised if you read that I have asked Speaker Vos for a revised budget."
The Chippewa County Republican Party posted the event on its Facebook page.
Lawmakers initially approved $676,000 in taxpayer funds for the review.
"It’s a sham, it's a disgrace," U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wisconsin) said. "It's an embarrassment quite frankly."
Democrats and some Republicans are highly critical of the review and Gableman himself.
Republican State Sen. Kathy Bernier recently called for the probe to end. In response, Gableman has called on her to resign.
"I resent taxpayer dollars going into it considering all the plethora of needs we have in this state," Moore said.
Several lawsuits surrounding the investigation are ongoing.
Gableman has indicated he still wants to talk with election officials in the state’s largest cities, including Milwaukee.
