Judge allows GOP-led review of 2020 presidential election to go forward

Jan. 11 (UPI) -- A Wisconsin judge has denied a request by the state's attorney general to block Republican-led legal action to examine materials related to the 2020 presidential election, which is fueled by former President Donald Trump's false claims of electoral fraud.

Former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman, who's leading the GOP investigation, wants to interview election commissioner Meagan Wolfe in private. Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul has fought the subpoena.

Investigators want to conduct interviews and examine records related to the November 2020 vote. Wisconsin was one of the battleground states that helped Joe Biden win the White House.

The Republican-led review of the 2020 election in Wisconsin is based at least partly on former President Donald Trump's false claims of election fraud. File Photo by Chris Kleponis/UPI

Wolfe has said that she wants to be interviewed in public.

In a 22-page ruling, Dane County Circuit Court Judge Rhonda Lanford denied Kaul's effort to block Gableman's subpoena for Wolfe to testify.

"At this stage, plaintiffs have not shown irreparable injury, an inadequate remedy at law or preservation of the status quo -- elements necessary for the court to consider in deciding whether to grant a temporary injunction," Lanford said in the ruling.

However, Lanford also denied Gableman's bid to completely dismiss Kaul's challenges, allowing the attorney general to continue to his objection to the GOP investigation.

The subpoena is the latest obstacle that Wisconsin Democrats, led by Gov. Tony Evers, have faced with the Republican-led state assembly over voting since the 2020 election. In August, Evers vetoed multiple bills passed by state lawmakers that would have imposed more restrictions for absentee voting in the state, calling them "anti-democratic."