2022-09-02 03:58:16
Ron Johnson rebukes Robin Vos for canceling Gableman election subpoenas, signaling ongoing Wisconsin GOP rift:
MADISON – U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson blasted Wisconsin's Republican Assembly speaker this week for withdrawing subpoenas issued by former Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman to state and local officials for their testimony behind closed doors about the 2020 election.
Johnson told a Fox Valley business group Wednesday that he did not agree with Speaker Robin Vos' decision last week to withdraw subpoenas issued by Gableman to the mayors of Madison and Green Bay and Wisconsin Elections Commission officials.
"I can’t tell you how much I disagree with Robin Vos canceling those subpoenas," Johnson said at a Wednesday event hosted by the Fox West Chamber of Commerce in Neenah, according to a recording obtained by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
"You just gave up. You conceded legislative oversight over an entity you created. And you’re going to let that entity have a leader, that entity the Wisconsin Elections Commission just say, you know, give you the middle finger and say, ‘we’re not going to tell you what we did. We’re not going to show you the records.'
“So now those election records are required by law to be held for 22 months, why? So you can go back and look at them. We were never able to look at them, so now they’ll be destroyed. I’m not happy with that. But we're going to be watching. We’re going to be trying to prevent (fraud). Our goal ought to be to restore confidence in our election system, which we don’t have right now.”
In a statement, Vos said his focus is on enacting legislation for future elections.
“I agree with Senator Johnson that election integrity is important. It’s why I’m focused on electing a Republican governor who will sign the extensive list of bills that were passed by the Legislature last session, but vetoed by Governor Evers," Vos said.
Still, Johnson's criticism comes at a sensitive time for Wisconsin Republicans who are dealing with internal rifts over the continued focus on the settled 2020 election and the senator's tight reelection match with Democrat Mandela Barnes — a contest that is likely to turn on energized turnout from the parties' base voters. Vos, meanwhile, barely survived his primary challenge from Trump-backed candidate Adam Steen, who has launched a write-in bid against Vos in November.
https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/09/01/ron-johnson-rebukes-robin-vos-ending-michael-gableman-wisconsin-election-subpoenas/7953929001/
1.5K viewsIvan Raiklin, 00:58
I
