Head of GOP-led election probe says mayors could be jailed

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A retired state Supreme Court justice hired by Republicans to investigate Wisconsin’s 2020 election says the mayors of Madison and Green Bay should face punishment and possibly jail time if they don’t meet with him, according to court documents.

Michael Gableman filed lawsuits Monday seeking to force Green Bay Mayor Eric Genrich and Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway to submit to depositions because they have “simply failed without reason or excuse to appear.” Gableman said he tried to arrange the meeting a the two leaders on Nov. 15 and heard nothing from them.

Although online court records do not list the lawsuits, copies of them were obtained by Wisconsin Public Radio and posted online on Thursday. Gableman’s petition asks for a subpoena that if ignored “may constitute contempt of the legislature” and “be subject to punishment, including imprisonment.”

Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul has dismissed Gableman’s probe as a “fake investigation” and has sought a restraining order barring Gableman from seeking interviews outside of a public legislative meeting. A hearing on Kaul’s lawsuit is scheduled for Dec. 23.

Gableman said so far he has spent about $175,000 of the $675,000 in taxpayer funds that Assembly Republicans authorized for the investigation in August.

President Joe Biden beat Trump by nearly 21,000 votes, an outcome that has withstood recounts and lawsuits. False claims of widespread fraud have not been proven, with just five people out of more than 3 million who cast ballots in 2020 charged with election fraud.