Head of election investigation has been living large at taxpayer expense

It is already well over deadline, and over budget, and we still don’t know what we’re getting for our money. But finally we are getting a peek behind the curtain. The Wisconsin Legislature allocated $700,000 and counting of taxpayer money to investigate the 2020 presidential election. The deadline for finishing the report has been extended and the budget increased, with still no finished product. Now we’re finally learning a little bit about how our tax dollars are being spent in this investigation. The political watchdog group American Oversight filed a public records request to see where the money is going. In short, motels, meals, and transportation. The head of the investigation, Michael Gableman, spent more than $1600 of our money on meals, more than $6000 on rental cars and cab rides, more than $6000 on airline flights and more than $10,000 in hotel stays. Just in September, October and November. Sounds like someone has been living large. But equally shocking is that there is no oversight of this investigation by our elected officials. It is not clear if Gableman has an actual contract, or whether his duties are being fulfilled. Taxpayers should not be writing a black check. We should be able to see how every dollar is being spent, without having to go to court to do so.