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Wisconsin's Vos gives J6 committee testimony — reversing course after having sued to block subpoena
December 01, 2022
After initially going to federal court to fight a subpoena from the Congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos gave testimony to committee members Wednesday.
“Today I met with the January 6th Select Committee after previously receiving a subpoena for my testimony. I did not have any involvement with the events of January 6, 2021,” Vos said in a statement emailed shortly after 3:30 p.m. Wednesday. “My meeting with the Select Committee was brief, and I answered their questions regarding Wisconsin’s 2020 Presidential Election.”
Vos (R-Rochester) did not add any specifics of his testimony and did not address his decision to testify despite his pending lawsuit to block the suboena and did not respond to the Wisconsin Examiner’s inquiry Wednesday afternoon about either.
Press representatives for the committee — officially called the U.S. House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol — have not responded to inquiries about the subpoena, which was issued Friday, Sept. 23, and served on Vos a day later.
The subpoena directed Vos to give the committee a deposition “concerning your interactions with former President [Donald] Trump regarding overturning the results of the 2020 election.”
The committee issued the subpoena after Vos described in a July television interview a telephone conversation with Trump that followed a Wisconsin Supreme Court opinion banning the longstanding practice of using drop boxes for voters to return absentee ballots. Vos said the former president urged him to decertify the results of Wisconsin’s 2020 presidential election.
“After you reportedly told Mr. Trump that what he was requesting is not allowed under the Wisconsin constitution, Mr. Trump posted derogatory statements about you on Truth Social and endorsed your challenger in the 2022 Republican primary,” the subpoena states. “The circumstances and details regarding your interaction with former President Trump related to the 2020 election are relevant to the Select Committee’s investigation and proposed recommendations.”
Vos sued in federal court to block the subpoena, asserting that his 2022 conversation with Trump was “entirely outside of the Committee’s authorized scope” and had “no bearing on the events and causes of January 6, 2021.”
In the weeks that followed lawyers for Vos and for the Jan. 6 committee submitted briefs arguing for and against blocking the subpoena. Then, on Oct. 24, the day that had been scheduled for oral arguments in the lawsuit, the judge postponed the case after a joint request from lawyers for both sides.
As of Wednesday arguments had not been rescheduled. Vos’ decision to testify Wednesday would appear to suggest that the lawsuit will soon be dropped.
The Associated Press reported that the Jan. 6 committee chair, U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, told reporters that the panel wanted to know “if there’s any more information that we can glean” about the Trump-Vos phone call. Committee members reportedly said Vos’ deposition was their last before completing a final report on the investigation, to be released later this month.
This story has been updated.
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Wisconsin Examiner is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Wisconsin Examiner maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Ruth Conniff for questions: info@wisconsinexaminer.com. Follow Wisconsin Examiner on Facebook and Twitter.
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Former deputy to election conspiracist Tina Peters pleads guilty — and agrees to testify for prosecution
December 01, 2022
A former deputy to indicted Mesa County Clerk and Recorder Tina Peters pleaded guilty Wednesday to a felony and misdemeanor charge and agreed to testify against Peters in her upcoming election security trial.
Sandra Brown, the county’s former elections manager, pleaded guilty to the felony count of attempting to influence a public servant and the misdemeanor count of official misconduct.
“All of this stems back to an email I sent to the Secretary of State’s office. At the time I sent the email, I did not know that the person I was referring to as an employee was not an employee. But I found out later and I did not bring it forward. I need to take responsibility for my actions or lack thereof,” Brown said during her plea hearing Wednesday afternoon.
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Brown misrepresented to the Secretary of State’s office who would be attending a sensitive election software update in May 2021, according to Brown’s arrest warrant. Brown indicated that a man named Gerald Wood would be present at the update, but authorities allege the plan was for him to never attend, but instead have someone else assume his identity.
Investigators allege that Peters presented Conan Hayes, an election conspiracy theorist, as Wood during the software update. Afterwards, images of passwords from the update and a copy of Mesa County’s election system hard drive were posted online.
“My job was to protect the integrity of the elections. There were steps that I could have taken that would have done that in a better (way). There were things going on that I should have questioned, and I didn’t,” Brown said.
Under the plea deal, prosecutors asked for a maximum of 30 days in jail for Brown. It calls for two years of unsupervised deferred judgment, which means she will not be subject to additional penalties as long as she doesn’t break any more laws in that period.
Brown will be sentenced immediately after she testifies against Peters in court in March.
Mesa County Deputy Clerk Belinda Knisley also pleaded guilty in August to charges related to the security breach and agreed to testify against Peters.
The jury trial for Peters is set for late January 2023.
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Colorado Newsline is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Colorado Newsline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Quentin Young for questions: info@coloradonewsline.com. Follow Colorado Newsline on Facebook and Twitter.
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Deep-red Arizona county 'may go to court without an attorney' in election certification dispute: report
December 01, 2022
Cochise County, a deep-red county in Arizona that has refused to certify its vote tallies in the 2022 elections, is being hauled into court and it may not even have a lawyer there to defend it.
The Arizona Republic reports that Cochise County officials this week were caught "flat footed" when the attorney they announced would represent them in court this week declined to appear in court on their behalf.
Making matters worse, the newspaper writes, the attorney that he recommended to the county as an alternative also turned down their offer.
The Cochise County officials are due in court this afternoon, as Governor-elect Katie Hobbs has demanded that they certify their results, which were supposed to have been certified by this past Monday.
IN OTHER NEWS: Freedom Caucusers want Kevin McCarthy's 'head on a pike': DC insider
The officials' refusal to certify the election results comes amid pressure from the campaign of failed Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, who has refused to concede her race and who has accused Hobbs of fraudulently stealing the election from her.
So far, Lake has provided no evidence to back up that claim, and the state's largest county, Maricopa County, voted to certify its election results this week over her objections.
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