Former GOP officials slam Wisconsin Republicans' 'bad faith stunt' in pushing Arizona-style 'audit'

On Wednesday, ABC News reported that Wisconsin's new GOP-ordered "audit" of the 2020 election results is taking fire — from Republicans.

"Former Republican officeholders and elections experts said Wednesday that the GOP-ordered investigation into the 2020 presidential election in Wisconsin lacks credibility, transparency and raises security risks and legal concerns," reported Scott Bauer. "And a Republican Wisconsin lawmaker who heads the state Senate's election committee separately defended the integrity of the state's election process after a two-hour informational hearing attended by other Republicans who have pushed for investigations."

State Sen. Kathy Bernier said of the election, "I'm sorry, but there is not a reason to spread misinformation about this past election when we have all the evidence that shows otherwise."

Former GOP New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman agreed, saying "It's clear these are bad faith efforts, not fact-finding missions but rather political stunts to keep the lies of the 2020 election alive."

Whitman's bipartisan group, the States United Democracy Center, also released a memo comparing the Wisconsin audit to the controversial GOP-led audit of ballots in Maricopa County, Arizona — which has become an embarrassment even for Trump supporters in the state. That audit, run by a private pro-Trump security firm in Florida called "Cyber Ninjas," has operated with little transparency and pursued conspiracy theories, like hunting for bamboo in ballots to try to prove they were Asian forgeries.

Wisconsin Republicans, who approved the audit last week, have spent months trying to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the election, with state House Speaker Robin Vos even paying retired police officers $20,000 to investigate for election irregularities. There is no basis to support the claims by former President Donald Trump that the election was stolen or corrupted.