Judge says lawmaker in contempt

Failure to produce records in ’20 vote probe violates order

A Wisconsin judge has ordered one of the state’s top Republican lawmakers to be held in contempt after he failed to produce records from an investigation he had launched into the 2020 presidential election.

Rep. Robin Vos, speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly, announced in May that he had hired retired police officers and a lawyer to investigate alleged voter fraud in the election, echoing claims by former president Donald Trump that the presidential race was illegitimate.

In October, the nonprofit legal watchdog group American Oversight filed a lawsuit against Vos and the Wisconsin State Assembly seeking the release of records related to the investigation.

On Wednesday, Dane County Circuit Court Judge Valerie Bailey-Rihn issued a ruling finding both Vos and the Wisconsin State Assembly in contempt of court for failing to provide those records, despite a court order in November to do so. Bailey-Rihn also ordered Vos and the State Assembly to pay American Oversight’s legal fees and costs.

In her ruling, the judge noted that trial testimony had revealed that a representative for Vos had taken “no reasonable steps to procure records from any contractors,” “no steps at all to review the records he did procure” and “no steps at all to prevent the loss or destruction of the contractors’ records.”

“Robin Vos and the assembly, after hearing and notice, continue to willfully violate a court order, and are therefore in contempt of court,” Bailey-Rihn wrote.

According to the ruling, Vos and the State Assembly have 14 days to submit proof that they have complied with Wisconsin’s public records law and have searched for records that were “deleted, lost, missing or otherwise unavailable,” or to provide an explanation of why a search would not be reasonable. After the 14-day period, they will be fined $1,000 per day until they comply.

Vos and his attorney did not immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday morning.

According to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, taxpayers are likely to bear the costs of these penalties, which could go beyond the $676,000 in public funds that Vos had approved for the initial partisan investigation.

In a statement, American Oversight noted that Bailey-Rihn’s ruling was a response to only one of three lawsuits the group is pursuing against Wisconsin officials and lawmakers over the Republican-led investigation.

“Speaker Vos and the Assembly have had ample opportunity to comply with the court’s order and produce records,” Melanie Sloan, a senior adviser at American Oversight, said in a statement. “Maybe the threat of a $1,000/day fine until the records are produced will finally encourage compliance and give the people of Wisconsin the answers they deserve.”

On Wednesday, Dane County Circuit Court Judge Valerie Bailey-Rihn issued a ruling finding both Vos and the Wisconsin State Assembly in contempt of court for failing to provide those records, despite a court order in November to do so.