MADISON, Wis. — The Republican-led review of Wisconsin’s 2020 election abruptly ended Friday when the GOP Assembly speaker who launched the inquiry last summer fired the former state Supreme Court justice he had hired to lead it.
The firing came a week after Michael Gableman, who had led the investigation, joined former president Donald Trump in turning against Speaker Robin Vos amid the veteran Wisconsin politician’s effort to fend off a primary challenge from the right.
The haphazard, year-old inquiry was marked by meetings with conspiracy theorists, violations of the state’s public records laws and a call by Gableman to explore the legally impossible task of decertifying the election results. It did not uncover evidence of widespread fraud, though Trump and Gableman tried to suggest otherwise.
“After having many members of our caucus reach out to me over the past several days, it is beyond clear to me that we only have one choice in this matter, and that’s to close the Office of Special Counsel,” Vos said in a written statement.
Vos has had a tenuous relationship with Trump, who supported the Wisconsin review but repeatedly pressed Vos to go further with it. Last week, Trump and Gableman endorsed the longtime speaker’s Republican primary opponent, with the former president holding a rally urging voters to throw out Vos.
Vos won Tuesday’s primary against Adam Steen, but just barely, claiming 51 percent of the vote. Steen had called for decertifying the election and...
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