{"id":2357369,"date":"2024-10-21T07:10:02","date_gmt":"2024-10-21T11:10:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rep-wants-judiciary-committee-to-look-into-election-related-raid\/"},"modified":"2024-10-21T07:11:24","modified_gmt":"2024-10-21T11:11:24","slug":"rep-wants-judiciary-committee-to-look-into-election-related-raid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rep-wants-judiciary-committee-to-look-into-election-related-raid\/","title":{"rendered":"Rep Wants Judiciary Committee To Look Into Election-Related Raid"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Frep-wants-judiciary-committee-to-look-into-election-related-raid%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2357369&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The Wisconsin Department of Justice\u2064 (DOJ) recently conducted a raid on \u2062the office and home of\u2064 Wausau Mayor Douglas Diny, following \u2062his actions regarding an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/swing-states-have-a-long-way-to-go-to-safeguard-the-2024-election\/\" title=\"Swing states must do more to protect the 2024 election\">unsecured absentee ballot drop box<\/a> outside city \u200bhall. This incident stems from Diny&#8217;s removal and relocation of the drop box, \u200cwhich \u200che deemed insecure\u200d prior to the opening of early voting in Wisconsin. The investigation, led \u2063by Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul, sparked criticism from local Republican representatives, \u2062including Rep. Tom Tiffany and \u200cSen. Ron Johnson, who claimed it resembled politically motivated investigations similar to those conducted\u2064 under U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland.<\/p>\n<p>Tiffany requested the House Judiciary Committee investigate Kaul&#8217;s actions, suggesting they are \u200bpolitically charged. \u200bFollowing the\u2064 raid,\u200d which \u200dinvolved the seizure of\u200b electronic\u2064 devices, Diny\u2064 has not commented publicly, and his attorney has declined to provide details. The DOJ stated its commitment to ensuring fair\u2063 election practices and plans to \u200bsubmit findings of its investigation to\u2062 the local district attorney&#8217;s office. There are currently \u200cno charges filed related to the incident, and\u2062 there is concern \u2064among critics that this investigation is reminiscent of past politically motivated probes in Wisconsin.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Wisconsin&rsquo;s far-left top prosecutor still isn&rsquo;t commenting two days after The Federalist first <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/10\/18\/exclusive-wisconsins-leftist-led-doj-raids-wausau-mayors-home-in-ballot-drop-box-probe\/\">reported<\/a> the state Department of Justice led a raid on the office and home of Wausau Mayor Douglas Diny &mdash;&nbsp; a law enforcement operation tied to Diny&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/09\/26\/swing-state-wisconsins-ballot-drop-box-battle-heats-up\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">removal and relocation<\/a> of an unsecured absentee ballot drop box outside city hall.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Rep. Tom Tiffany, a Republican who represents Wausau in northern Wisconsin&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/legis.wisconsin.gov\/ltsb\/gisdocs\/CongressionalMaps\/Cong_07_Poster_Map.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">7th Congressional District<\/a>, said that he&rsquo;d like the House Judiciary Committee to investigate Attorney General Josh Kaul&rsquo;s politically driven probe. Tiffany, who <a href=\"https:\/\/tiffany.house.gov\/about\/committees-and-caucuses\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">serves on the committee<\/a>, told Wisconsin conservative talk show host <a href=\"https:\/\/www.iheart.com\/podcast\/426-the-vicki-mckenna-show-27246267\/episode\/vicki-mckenna-show-acts-of-228767377\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Vicki McKenna<\/a> that Kaul&rsquo;s actions reek of the kind of politically weaponized investigations and prosecutions Biden-Harris administration <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/06\/12\/merrick-garland-thinks-his-justice-department-is-above-criticism\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Attorney General Merrick Garland<\/a> has delivered during his tenure.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I see Merrick Garland doing stuff like this out in Washington, D.C., whether it&rsquo;s on <a href=\"https:\/\/judiciary.house.gov\/media\/press-releases\/new-report-details-extent-fbis-weaponization-law-enforcement-against\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Catholics<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2023\/03\/22\/politics\/house-gop-report-garland-memo\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">people in school board meetings,<\/a> whatever the case may be,&rdquo; said the congressman, referring to some of the U.S. Department of Justice&rsquo;s many targets. &ldquo;Now it appears Josh Kaul for Halloween wants to be the mini-Merrick Garland.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>&lsquo;Actions of Jack-Booted Thugs&rsquo;<\/h2>\n<p>On Friday, a source with knowledge of Wednesday&rsquo;s raid <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/10\/18\/exclusive-wisconsins-leftist-led-doj-raids-wausau-mayors-home-in-ballot-drop-box-probe\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">told The Federalist<\/a> that law enforcement officials seized cell phones and other electronic devices supposedly relevant to the Wausau investigation. That included Diny&rsquo;s wife&rsquo;s cell phone, said the source who asked not to be identified because of the developing nature of the case.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>An official in the attorney general&rsquo;s office told The Federalist the state justice department could provide more information on the raid. The agency has not returned several requests for comment, including a follow-up email asking law enforcement officials why it was necessary to, as sources told The Federalist, serve a warrant and seize the mayor&rsquo;s property in a dispute over Wisconsin&rsquo;s controversial absentee ballot drop box law.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Wausau radio station WSAU <a href=\"https:\/\/wsau.com\/2024\/10\/20\/report-mayors-home-raided-electronic-items-seized-in-drop-box-investigation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a> on Sunday that the state DOJ, &ldquo;led by democrat Attorney General Josh Kaul, has not commented on the raid.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Sen. Ron Johnson, Wisconsin&rsquo;s senior senator, wrote on his X account in response to The Federalist&rsquo;s story that Kaul&rsquo;s investigation into Diny and the accompanying raid &ldquo;are the actions of jack-booted thugs.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Democrats are the danger to our democracy. Case closed,&rdquo; Johnson said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<div lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\n<p>These are the actions of jack-booted thugs. <\/p>\n<p>Democrats are the danger to our democracy. <\/p>\n<p>Case closed. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/AUqaupYaef\">https:\/\/t.co\/AUqaupYaef<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&mdash; Senator Ron Johnson (@SenRonJohnson) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SenRonJohnson\/status\/1847362428167757895?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 18, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<h2>&lsquo;Conducted Freely and Fairly&rsquo;<\/h2>\n<p>The Wisconsin Department of Justice&rsquo;s Division of Criminal Investigation earlier this month took over the investigation into Diny&rsquo;s Sept. 22 removal of the drop box. The conservative mayor ticked off the left when photos showed him <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2024\/09\/25\/politics\/wisconsin-wausau-mayor-doug-diny-moved-drop-box\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">carting away the ballot receptacle<\/a>, which Diny said was not secured where it had been placed outside city hall in advance of the opening of Wisconsin&rsquo;s pre-Election Day voting. It has since been returned.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>As The Federalist <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/10\/18\/exclusive-wisconsins-leftist-led-doj-raids-wausau-mayors-home-in-ballot-drop-box-probe\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported,<\/a> Wausau <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wausauwi.gov\/Home\/Components\/StaffDirectory\/StaffDirectory\/20\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">City Clerk Kaitlyn Bernarde<\/a> had, <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/wisconsin-absentee-ballot-drop-box-mayor-0cb22602cb91b98051dff02a5e9be604\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">according to reports<\/a>, decided to bring back the drop box without approval from the Wausau City Council. After positioning it and bolting it down, Bernarde <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/2024\/09\/25\/wausau-mayor-doug-diny-ballot-drop-box\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">told<\/a> The Washington Post she noticed the drop box was missing and notified Theresa Wetzsteon, Marathon County&rsquo;s Democrat district attorney. Wetzsteon <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/2024\/09\/25\/wausau-mayor-doug-diny-ballot-drop-box\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">told<\/a> the Post that she quickly opened up an investigation. &nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In July, the liberal-led Wisconsin Supreme Court&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/07\/08\/leftists-get-what-they-paid-for-in-wisconsin-supreme-court-flip-flop-allowing-ballot-drop-boxes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reversed a previous ruling<\/a>&nbsp;by the court that had declared the widespread use of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wisconsin-supreme-court-drops-hammer-on-2020-election-shenanigans-ballot-drop-boxes-are-illegal-under-wisconsin-law\/\" title=\"Wisconsin Supreme Court Drops Hammer On 2020 Election Shenanigans: \u2018Ballot Drop Boxes Are Illegal\u2019 Under Wisconsin Law\">absentee ballot drop boxes illegal<\/a> under state law. The new ruling left it up to municipalities to decide whether to use the receptacles. Many communities have opted not to employ them.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The Supreme Court interprets the law, does not make the law. That was my logic,&rdquo; Diny said at a Wausau City Council <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Jq4qWq081x4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">meeting<\/a> earlier this month.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;Diny could not be reached for comment. His attorney, Joseph Bugni, has declined to comment on the matter. The mayor earlier this month attempted to persuade the city council to approve funding for drop box security. Council members refused to take up the measure.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In an interview with News 9 WAOW in Wausau last week, Kaul <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Wc76PGBE-CI\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a> his agency is committed &ldquo;to making sure that our elections are conducted freely and fairly and in compliance with the laws and we take any allegations of violations of our election laws seriously.&rdquo; The attorney general told the news outlet that the DOJ will forward the findings of its investigation to the Marathon County district attorney&rsquo;s office.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>As of Sunday, there were no charges or related documents filed on Wisconsin&rsquo;s online courts database. Officials from the Marathon County Sheriff&rsquo;s Department did not return The Federalist&rsquo;s questions about the reported warrant served in the raid.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>&lsquo;Show Me the Man and I&rsquo;ll Show You the Crime&rsquo;<\/h2>\n<p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s one man who can answer this right now, it&rsquo;s Attorney General Josh Kaul,&rdquo; Tiffany told McKenna on her show, which airs in Milwaukee and Madison. He said the DOJ probe, which followed outcry and legal action by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wmtv15news.com\/2024\/09\/26\/progressive-voting-organizations-urge-investigation-into-ballot-box-removal-wausau\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">leftist activist and lawfare groups<\/a>, is, &ldquo;Show me the man and I will show you the crime,&rdquo; referring to the infamous line from Lavrentiy Beria, Joseph Stalin&rsquo;s &ldquo;most ruthless and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republicans-refusal-to-wield-power-destroyed-conservatism-and-maybe-the-country\/\" title=\"Republicans&#039; Failure to Exercise Power Led to the Decline of Conservatism and Potentially the Nation\">longest-serving secret police chief<\/a>.&rdquo; As the Oxford Eagle <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oxfordeagle.com\/2018\/05\/09\/show-me-the-man-and-ill-show-you-the-crime\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">notes,<\/a> Beria &ldquo;bragged that he could prove criminal conduct on anyone, even the innocent.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;And boy does this have a strong aroma from a decade ago when the John Doe wrecked the state of Wisconsin, and we are seeing the same thing once again,&rdquo; Tiffany added.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The dark <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/06\/05\/the-ghost-of-wisconsins-unconstitutional-john-doe-investigation-haunts-trump-trials\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">John Doe investigations,<\/a> led by highly partisan Democrat district attorneys in Milwaukee and Dane counties and the now-defunct Government Accountability Board, were declared unconstitutional by the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 2015. The ruling ending the abusive, secret probes &mdash; including pre-dawn, armed raids on the homes of Wisconsin conservatives &mdash; described them as a &ldquo;perfect storm of wrongs.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Conservative activist Eric O&rsquo;Keefe, targeted in the John Doe investigations aimed at then-Republican Gov. Scott Walker and his allies, said the unnecessary raid on the Wausau mayor&rsquo;s home and the seizure of his possessions stirs up a lot of bad memories.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This should not be taken lightly. The idea that [the DOJ] need to take computers and phones before people have a chance to defend themselves, all for political speech, it&rsquo;s really bad,&rdquo; O&rsquo;Keefe told The Federalist in a phone interview.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Tiffany said the Republican-controlled state legislature has subpoena power to investigate the attorney general and his henchmen.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I think we on the Judiciary Committee, federally, we should should be looking into this,&rdquo; the congressman said. &nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Listen to the full interview with Rep. Tom Tiffany on the Vicki McKenna Show. <\/p>\n<figure><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Kittle-and-Tiffany-10-18-24.mp3\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n<p><em>For more election news and updates, visit&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/electionbriefing.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">electionbriefing.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Matt Kittle is a senior elections correspondent for The Federalist. An <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-knew-100-percent-he-was-fighting-for-the-little-guy-former-top-trump-economic-adviser\/\" title=\"Trump Knew \u2018100 Percent\u2019 He Was \u2018Fighting for the Little Guy\u2019: Former Top Trump Economic Adviser\">award-winning investigative reporter<\/a> and 30-year veteran of print, broadcast, and online journalism, Kittle previously served as the executive director of Empower Wisconsin.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Wisconsin&#8217;s top prosecutor remains silent after a raid on Wausau Mayor Diny&#8217;s home<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":656,"featured_media":2357371,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-20-at-6.31.35-PM-1024x530.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[3728,3976,43410,7952,7129],"class_list":["post-2357369","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-election","tag-investigation","tag-judiciary-committee","tag-raid","tag-rep"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-20-at-6.31.35-PM-1024x530.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2357369","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/656"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2357369"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2357369\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2357371"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2357369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2357369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2357369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}