'Shut this fake investigation down': Wisconsin AG slams Trumpian election probe as a 'waste of taxpayer money'

Eleven months after now-President Joe Biden defeated then-President Donald Trump by more than 7 million votes, MAGA Republicans in Wisconsin — including State Assembly Speaker Robin Vos — are pandering to Trump by promoting a pointless review of the election results in that state. And Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul, a Democrat, called them out at a recent press conference in Madison.

Kaul, according to the Capital Times' Jack Kelly, told reporters, "This investigation suffers from glaring flaws that destroy any credibility that its results could have." The Wisconsin AG denounced the partisan review as "a waste of taxpayer money," slammed it as "corrosive to our democracy" and urged Vos to "shut this fake investigation down."

Kelly explains, "Beyond his issues with the partisanship that has driven the review, Kaul also outlined several legal questions he has about the investigation. Kaul said he has concerns about the seeming ambiguity over who seems to be leading the investigation — former State Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman or an Assembly committee — and the lack of communication between the reviewers and his office."

But Vos isn't about to say or do anything to offend Trump In response to the 40-year-old Kaul, Vos said, "Subpoenas have been issued correctly…. In order to restore confidence in our election system, Justice Gableman will continue his investigation."

Wisconsin was among the five states that Trump won in 2016 but lost to Biden in 2020; the others are Pennsylvania, Michigan, Georgia and Arizona. And Trump has been making the false and thoroughly debunked claim that he won all five of them.

Back in June, Trump attacked Vos for not doing enough to promote the Big Lie — and Vos assured Trump that the 2020 election would be thoroughly investigated in his state. Trump also received assurance from Wisconsin State Senate President Chris Kapenga, who praised him in a groveling letter that was brutally mocked by MSNBC's Chris Hayes.

In some states, attorneys general are appointed by governors; in others, they have to run for office — and Wisconsin is such a state. Kaul was elected Wisconsin attorney general when, in the 2018 midterms, he narrowly defeated Republican candidate Brad Schimel.