American Oversight Sues Wisconsin Assembly, Speaker Vos for Election ‘Investigation’ Records

On Friday, American Oversight sued the Wisconsin Assembly and Speaker Robin Vos for failing to release records related to the Assembly’s baseless investigation of the 2020 general election.

Vos announced the state’s sham investigation in May, adding Wisconsin to the growing list of states conducting groundless reviews of the election — reviews that perpetuate the Big Lie that widespread voter fraud “stole” the election from Donald Trump. 

Vos originally hired two retired police officers and an attorney, former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman, to conduct the investigation. This summer, American Oversight sent open records requests for documents related to the investigation to Vos and several other members of the Wisconsin Assembly. 

Under Wisconsin’s open records law, state officials are required to produce responsive documents “as soon as practicable and without delay.” Despite this, Vos and the Assembly have fought to shield the investigation from public scrutiny by refusing to release all of the requested documents. The Assembly has released some documents in response to our records requests, but it has not released any documents from the contractors hired to conduct the election review. 

The complaint was filed in Dane County Circuit Court and details the Assembly’s efforts to ignore its legal obligation to produce the requested public documents, including contracts with the hired investigators, project timelines, and internal and external communications. The Assembly’s attempts to withhold this information raise serious concerns about the true purpose and background of the election investigation.

“On Tuesday night, Special Counsel Gableman appeared at a Green Bay council meeting and stressed the importance of transparency to promote election integrity,” said American Oversight Executive Director Austin Evers. “He should talk to his boss, Speaker Vos, who has steadfastly failed to release records about the so-called investigation. Wisconsin has a right to know how this taxpayer-funded investigation is being orchestrated.”