The chairwoman of the Republican-led Wisconsin State Assembly’s elections committee announced the issuance of subpoenas to two counties requesting materials in pursuit of a “top-to-bottom” investigation into the 2020 election.
State Rep. Janel Brandtjen said Friday that Milwaukee and Brown counties were the subpoena recipients, an announcement that followed her commitment on July 26 to “helping facilitate” a “comprehensive, forensic examination” of the election in search of fraud and other improprieties.
“Legislators have been hearing from thousands of disgruntled constituents regarding their concerns with the November 2020 election,” Brandtjen said in a Friday news release, citing “outside money pouring into Democrat controlled communities” and “individuals engaging in questionable activities” among the concerns about how the election was handled.
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Brandtjen, who traveled to Arizona in June and indicated that she wants to emulate the controversial audit being performed in Maricopa County, said the subpoenas were issued “as the first step towards a full, cyber-forensic audit of tabulators and inspection of physical ballots” used in the election, though her statement did not reveal the content of the subpoenas or exactly which materials were requested. She said previously that IP addresses, chain of custody on ballots, and audit trail logs were among the materials that should be reviewed.
Two other investigations into the 2020 election in Wisconsin are underway, including one led by the state’s Legislative Audit Bureau, which among other things is reviewing whether the state’s Elections Commission and municipal clerks followed Wisconsin election laws, and another authorized by Assembly Speaker Robin Vos.
Brandtjen “welcomed” the two other investigations but added that constituents objected to the duration and extent of the investigations, saying a more extensive review is necessary.
“The clock is ticking as the 2022 elections will commence in just a matter of months,” she said.
Even though Vos authorized one of the investigations, he has been something of a foil to the most strident election fraud claimants, including former President Donald Trump, who accused him and other Republican leaders of obstructing an in-depth look at the election in Wisconsin.
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Vos also questioned the value of Brandtjen’s inquiry in light of the two that were already open.
“Certainly, if she wants to add extra resources from her two staff people in the office to be able to assist the investigators that we have … we welcome everybody to offer whatever evidence that they have,” Vos said on July 27. “But as far as her launching her own investigation, I don’t know what that would prove.”
