Judge says not to delete Wisconsin election probe records

MADISON, Wis. — For the second time in as many weeks, a judge on Wednesday ordered that records related to the Republican-ordered investigation funded by taxpayers into the 2020 election in Wisconsin not be deleted, saying she was “amazed” such an order was necessary. Dane County Circuit Judge Frank Remington on April 21 ordered Gableman “not to delete or destroy any record that is or may be responsive” to the group’s open records requests. Remington made the order after Gableman’s attorney told American Oversight that it “routinely deletes documents and text messages that are not of use to the investigation.” On Wednesday, another judge issued a similar order directed at Vos not to destroy records collected during a three-month period requested by American Oversight, saying he has control over Gableman since he contracted with him to do the work. “I don’t want any records destroyed,” Dane County Circuit Judge Valeria Bailey-Rihn said. All of us know what the law is.” Vos’ attorney Ronald Stadler argued that Gableman knows what the open records law requires, and has been ordered by Remington not to destroy records, so it does nothing to order Vos to tell him not to delete records.