Pro-Trump lawmakers seek to turn Wisconsin into the next Arizona with bogus election probes

Trump-loving Wisconsin Republicans have mounted a multi-pronged attack on their state's 2020 election results -- a mirror image of the "Big Lie" circus now performing in Arizona.

No fewer than four reviews are underway in Wisconsin despite the fact that recounts demanded by Donald Trump actually yielded additional votes for Biden, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported today. That was in addition to Trump suffering eight judicial defeats in 12 days last December in his futile attempt to overturn Biden's narrow victory.

"Among those ruling against Trump's side were the U.S. Supreme Court, the state Supreme Court and a federal judge appointed by Trump," the newspaper reported. "Undeterred, Trump and his backers are pursuing further review of Wisconsin's election. Republicans — some of whom are trying to seize ballots and voting machines from two counties — say they want to find out more to help build confidence in elections."

Of the four reviews, only one is headed up by someone who has served prison time for mail and bank fraud. But two of the others are run by Republican partisans and the fourth is a non-partisan examination ordered by a Republican-controlled committee of the State Assembly.

Here's a summary of the Journal-Sentinel reporting on the four reviews underway:

• The nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau was directed by the state Assembly "to look into how state and local officials run elections, process absentee ballots, conduct recounts, ensure voting machines are accurate and handle complaints about elections."
• Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos hired former state Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman to investigate the 2020 election, with subpoena power. Gableman this month visited Arizona to study the partisan review of Maricopa County's ballots conducted by Cyber Ninjas and he attended one MyPillow Guy Mike Lindell's forums on the subject.

Republican Rep. Janel Brandtjen, who was part of a delegation that visited the Arizona audit site in June, is heading up still another committee. It issued subpoenas to seize the voting machines, ballots and other election material from Brown and Milwaukee counties this month. Nonpartisan attorneys for the Legislature have written memos saying those subpoenas are invalid.

Under the auspices of a "citizen-led review," Peter Bernegger and Gary Wait launched their own review of the election with the help of others who they have declined to name. Bernegger, who is part of the family that started the Hillshire Farm brand, spent time in prison after he was convicted of mail fraud and bank fraud in Mississippi in 2009. Wait is a former private investigator.

The newspaper also reported that "Vos said he briefed Trump on the election review over the weekend.