Dane County judge rules immigrants’ rights group can join case challenging GOP subpoenas

A Dane County judge has ruled an immigrants’ rights group can join a lawsuit challenging the subpoena power of a Republican hired to investigate the 2020 election.

Judge Rhonda Lanford granted a request to intervene in the case filed by attorneys for Voces de la Frontera, which was recently subpoenaed by former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman. Republicans in the Wisconsin Assembly hired Gableman to lead a taxpayer-funded investigation of the 2020 presidential election at a cost of up to $676,000.

Gableman previously issued subpoenas to the Wisconsin Elections Commission, at the time seeking a private interview with the agency’s top administrator, Meagan Wolfe. The Wisconsin Department of Justice, led by Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul, sued to block the move, arguing Gableman overstepped his authority.

Gableman has since expanded his investigation to private entities. According to a legal filing from Voces de la Frontera, Gableman’s subpoena sought “any and all communications,” including internal communications, related to the 2020 general election “or any future Wisconsin election.” Gableman’s subpoena also called on the group to turn over its internal financial information.

In a court hearing Wednesday, Voces de la Frontera attorney Dan Lenz argued the group was raising some of the same issues as the Wisconsin Elections Commission.

“They all get to the same question which is: What are the rules for these subpoenas?” Lenz, an attorney for the liberal firm Law Forward, said.

George Burnett, the attorney for Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, argued allowing Voces to join the case would slow it down, which could defeat the purpose of Gableman’s investigation.

“This is a legislative investigation of an important tissue,” Burnett argued. “The longer this matter drags on, the longer it is complicated, the more legal issues that are interjected, the more difficult it becomes to conclude this investigation. And if any legislation is appropriate, to introduce it.”

But Lanford was unswayed by that argument, ruling the Wisconsin Elections Commission and Voces de la Frontera were arguing the subpoenas had violated their constitutional rights.

“They’re alleging serious deficiencies and constitutional issues,” Lanford said. “And to say the court should hurry along so that the Legislature can keep to a timeline in this investigation seems a little out of balance given the issues in this case.”

Lanford issued a ruling in this case last month rejecting the request by the DOJ to immediately block the subpoenas, but she also rejected a request by Gableman to dismiss the lawsuit entirely.

In addition to the Wisconsin Elections Commission, Gableman subpoenaed the mayors of Madison and Green Bay in an effort to compel them to testify privately, suing both officials in Waukesha County Circuit Court to enforce the move. Gableman initially threatened the mayors with jail time if they did not comply in that case, but he has since backed away from that position.

Gableman has also issued subpoenas to voting machine companies, to Ann Jacobs, the current chair of the Wisconsin Elections Commission, and to Gov. Tony Evers’ administration.

President Joe Biden defeated former President Donald Trump by about 21,000 votes in Wisconsin, a victory affirmed by a partial recount, multiple court cases and a nonpartisan state audit.