Michael Gableman criticizes WEC administrator Meagan Wolfe’s clothing | Local Government

Speaking with WTAQ-AM host Joe Giganti on Tuesday, Michael Gableman, who was hired last summer to lead the election review at a cost of $676,000 to taxpayers, took aim at Wolfe’s attire.

“Black dress, white pearls, I’ve seen the act, I’ve seen the show,” Gableman said.

When Giganti responded that he recently saw Wolfe wearing a gold locket, rather than pearls, Gableman responded with, “Oh, Hillary Clinton.”

Gableman, who has not responded to multiple requests for interviews or comment, made his remarks in an interview that largely focused on the former justice’s ongoing and unfounded claims of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election. Gableman’s comments were first reported by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Gableman also took aim at Democratic lawmakers, including Gov. Tony Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul, two judges and five members of the state’s bipartisan Elections Commission. Wolfe was the only individual Gableman singled out for her choice of clothing.

“I’m a professional who takes my job seriously,” Wolfe said in a statement. “Comments directed at my appearance are a far cry from being serious, and are beneath anybody who purports to be undertaking a review of subject matter as important as election integrity.”

Gableman later went on to praise Assembly elections committee chair Rep. Janel Brandtjen, R-Menomonee Falls, who has called for a “full forensic audit” of the state’s 2020 election.

Gableman said Brandtjen is “smart, she’s tough, she’s persistent, she’s no-nonsense and she’s trustworthy.”

“I respect the hell out of that lady,” Gableman said. “We share resources all the time, we share information and compare notes all the time. We have a very positive working relationship.”

Hired by Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, last summer, Gableman’s ongoing review has become the focal point of mounting criticism, including from some Republicans, who have called on the probe to reach a conclusion.

The Wisconsin State Journal has documented multiple examples of Gableman presenting false information to Brandtjen’s committee related to nursing home voting rates.

Vos has extended Gableman’s contract through the end of April, but later said he is considering rescinding subpoenas issued by the former justice so that a Republican attorney general if elected in November could file criminal charges against the subpoenaed individuals, though he did not provide specifics on what charges could be pursued.

Speaking last week on a podcast hosted by former President Donald Trump adviser Steve Bannon, Gableman said he had recently been contacted by officials in Vos’ office notifying him of plans to dismantle his office within a matter of weeks.

Vos responded to Gableman’s comments that his goal is to now focus on resolving the several pending lawsuits surrounding the former justice’s review and the hope is to have Gableman “help us do that so we can once again focus on reforming the election process.”

“What I really need to do, not just want, what I need to do is pursue those subpoenas,” Gableman said Tuesday. “Speaker Vos knows if he ends this office, then everything has been for nothing.”

A recount, court decisions and multiple reviews have affirmed that President Joe Biden defeated Trump in Wisconsin by almost 21,000 votes. Only 24 people out of nearly 3.3 million who cast ballots have been charged with election fraud in Wisconsin.