{"id":2359738,"date":"2024-10-25T16:56:02","date_gmt":"2024-10-25T20:56:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wisconsin-gop-mayor-faces-aftermath-of-very-political-raid\/"},"modified":"2024-10-25T16:59:32","modified_gmt":"2024-10-25T20:59:32","slug":"wisconsin-gop-mayor-faces-aftermath-of-very-political-raid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wisconsin-gop-mayor-faces-aftermath-of-very-political-raid\/","title":{"rendered":"Wisconsin GOP Mayor Faces Aftermath Of &#8216;Very Political&#8217; Raid"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><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%2Fwisconsin-gop-mayor-faces-aftermath-of-very-political-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=2359738&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 recently reported incident involving Wausau Mayor Doug Diny \u2064has drawn significant attention\u2062 and controversy.\u200c Following a \u2064city directors meeting, Diny returned to find\u2062 law enforcement agents searching his office as part of an investigation led by Wisconsin Attorney General Josh\u2064 Kaul. The \u2063inquiry relates to Diny\u2019s removal of 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 \u200dcity hall, an action he\u200c argued was necessary to maintain \u2063the integrity of local elections.<\/p>\n<p>Diny \u200cexpressed \u2064his surprise at the\u2062 raid,\u2063 which he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/billionaire-bill-ackman-a-longtime-democrat-likely-to-back-trump-over-biden-report\/\" title=\"Billionaire Bill Ackman, a Democrat for years, may support Trump over Biden, says report\">deemed politically motivated<\/a> and excessive\u2063 given the nature of the alleged infraction. \u2062During \u2063the search, \u200claw enforcement demanded his phone, limiting his communication with his attorney, which further\u200b frustrated \u200chim. Meanwhile, another group of agents raided the Diny home while\u200d his\u200c wife \u200bwas babysitting\u200b their grandson, further complicating the situation.<\/p>\n<p>The \u2064search\u2062 warrant allowed agents\u2062 to seize personal devices,\u200d conduct digital forensics, and\u200c search the premises for evidence \u2062related to \u2062potential election fraud. Diny, who had campaigned on\u200c addressing concerns\u200c related to\u200c election security, argued that the investigation was disproportionate\u200d to his actions and \u200cquestioned the authority \u2063of the state to prosecute based on his pre-election communications regarding the drop box.<\/p>\n<p>The incident has sparked political tensions, with critics accusing the\u200c attorney general&#8217;s office\u200b of using\u2064 the investigation to \u2062intimidate Diny,\u200b a Republican, \u200bfollowing his victory\u200d over the previous Democratic incumbent. The \u200dcontroversy \u2064around \u2062this case touches on broader themes of \u200belection security and\u200b political partisanship in Wisconsin, particularly in the wake of\u2063 changing\u2063 legal \u2064standards regarding <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-republicans-urge-dismissal-of-doj-lawsuit-against-georgia-election-law\/\" title=\"House Republicans Urge Dismissal Of DOJ Lawsuit Against Georgia Election Law\">absentee ballot drop boxes<\/a> in the\u2063 state.  <\/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>Wausau Mayor Doug Diny had just finished a city directors meeting when he walked into his office to find three law enforcement agents rooting through his possessions. Suffice to say, the mayor was &ldquo;surprised.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>But Diny said he knew what this raid was all about. 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\"> first reported <\/a>a week ago, Democrat <a href=\"https:\/\/www.doj.state.wi.us\/exec-profile\/josh-kaul\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Attorney General Josh Kaul<\/a> has ratcheted up his nationally watched investigation into the mayor for removing an unsecured absentee ballot drop box from outside city hall. For Diny, it all feels &ldquo;very political,&rdquo; an investigation and a raid the Wall Street Journal editorial board has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/opinion\/election-lawfare-wisconsin-mayor-doug-diny-ballot-drop-box-josh-kaul-d893ae9d\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">described <\/a>as &ldquo;out of proportion to Mr. Diny&rsquo;s action.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Diny told the lead state Department of Justice investigator, special agent Mary Van Schoyck, that if the raid squad wanted to talk to him they should first contact his attorney. She showed him a search warrant, signed off by an Eau Claire County judge, and told him to sit down and read it.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The whole time they were badgering me to turn my phone over,&rdquo; Diny told me in a phone interview from his office Thursday evening. He did as he was told, he said but realized he then had no way to call his attorney. The contact was, of course, in his cellphone.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;She [Van Schoyck] said, &lsquo;Who is your attorney? I&rsquo;ll Google it for you,&rsquo; Diny said. &ldquo;That part pissed me off. I said, &lsquo;You&rsquo;re the lead investigator and the right-hand man for Josh Kaul, you don&rsquo;t know who my attorney is?&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The mayor was more concerned about his wife.&nbsp;Simultaneously, at 3:15 p.m. on Oct. 16, five agents dressed in black were raiding the Diny home, a few blocks from city hall. Jean Diny was taking care of the couple&rsquo;s 18-month-old grandson.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;She was caught off guard,&rdquo; the mayor said, noting that his wife is &ldquo;former military&rdquo; and &ldquo;doesn&rsquo;t take sh-t from anyone.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;She was a little perturbed at first and let them know. One of the guys said to her, &lsquo;Maybe we shouldn&rsquo;t do this in front of the toddler.&rsquo; My wife said, &lsquo;I&rsquo;m babysitting. I&rsquo;m certainly not going to hand him over to you.&rsquo;&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Sweeping Search Warrant<\/h2>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wispolitics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/241123Warrant.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">warrant<\/a>, obtained by Wispolitics, notes the list of items to be seized. &ldquo;All personal computers. Mobile communication devices, or digital devices owned, utilized and\/or possessed&rdquo; by the mayor. Agents seized Jean Diny&rsquo;s phone, too.&nbsp;They searched the couple&rsquo;s vehicles. The warrant also gave agents the right to search the mayor and his wife&rsquo;s bodies.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Diny said the law enforcement officials asked a neighbor to help them access the secured multifamily, brick apartment building where the couple reside.&nbsp;Van Schoyck sought the authority to search for &ldquo;certain things which evidence, or tend to evidence the crime of: Election fraud &hellip; and\/or are relevant to&rdquo; the Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation&rsquo;s probe into Diny&rsquo;s removal of the ballot drop box.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The warrant allowed agents to take photographs and to videotape Diny&rsquo;s office and personal property. They sought to &ldquo;obtain exact forensic copies of the content[s)oftheharddrivesorinternalstoragemediaoroperatingsystemofanyseizeddeviceandthecontentsofanyseizedexternalstoragemediaforthepurposeofpermittingandconductingafullorpartialdigitalforensicanalysis&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>&lsquo;Preposterous&rsquo;<\/h2>\n<p>It&rsquo;s quite an investigation into a small-city mayor who says he was simply trying to do his job and protect the integrity of Wausau&rsquo;s elections. It seems the state is accusing Diny of election fraud for attempting to prevent election fraud through an unsecured ballot receptacle.&nbsp;Wisconsin&rsquo;s current governor is a Democrat.<\/p>\n<p>While officials from the attorney general&rsquo;s office and the Department of Justice have not responded to The Federalist&rsquo;s multiple requests for comment, the warrant claims the investigation is looking for &ldquo;evidence of communication reference [sic] the City of Wausau Official Drop Box.&rdquo; Evidence suggests, according to the search warrant, that Diny was involved in discussions about the drop box before he was sworn in as mayor on April 16.<\/p>\n<p>It must be noted that conservative Diny had defeated incumbent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jsonline.com\/story\/news\/politics\/elections\/2024\/04\/02\/rising-democrat-katie-rosenberg-loses-wausau-mayoral-race\/73186735007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Mayor Katie Rosenberg,<\/a> darling of Wisconsin&rsquo;s leftist elite and absentee ballot drop box twerker (yes, you read that right) in Wisconsin&rsquo;s spring elections.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure><\/figure>\n<p>Van Schoyck&rsquo;s warrant seeks &ldquo;authorization&rdquo; to grab Diny&rsquo;s communications going back to April 1 &mdash; before he was elected &mdash; through Oct. 16.<\/p>\n<p>The mayor called the search timeline &ldquo;preposterous,&rdquo; noting that the Wisconsin Supreme Court had yet to decide on the use of absentee ballot drop boxes in elections.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In July, more than three months after Diny was elected, the leftist-controlled court <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 2022 conservative-majority ruling<\/a> that had declared the widespread use of <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">absentee ballot drop boxes illegal<\/a> under state law. In the 4-3 July <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/07\/08\/leftists-get-what-they-paid-for-in-wisconsin-supreme-court-flip-flop-allowing-ballot-drop-boxes\/\">ruling<\/a>, the Supreme Court gave Wisconsin communities the ability to decide whether they want to use drop boxes. <\/p>\n<p>As The Federalist <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/09\/26\/swing-state-wisconsins-ballot-drop-box-battle-heats-up\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a> last month, many election offices have opted out. More than 60 local governments have decided against their use, All Voting is Local <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbs58.com\/news\/voting-rights-advocates-slam-communities-prohibiting-ballot-drop-boxes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">complained<\/a> to CBS 58 in Milwaukee. Four years ago, drop boxes were found in 66 of 72 counties, according to the news outlet.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Diny said Wausau&rsquo;s ballot drop box was in a state of disrepair by the time he was elected, with rusted locks and other security concerns. He did run for mayor on a pledge to remove the drop box, which could not be legally used at the time. But he has said that he wanted the Wausau City Council to vote on the future of the drop box after this past summer&rsquo;s Supreme Court decision. The council never did. In fact, the council <a href=\"https:\/\/www.msn.com\/en-us\/news\/politics\/wausau-council-doesn-t-hear-mayor-s-drop-box-security-resolution\/ar-AA1s77hC?ocid=Peregrine\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">recently refused to take up<\/a> Diny&rsquo;s request for funds to better secure the drop box.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>&lsquo;Infuriating Abuse of Power&rsquo;<\/h2>\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> last week, the left went ballistic after the mayor was photographed carting away the ballot box and placing it inside city hall. It was not bolted down and was subject to security breaches before Wisconsin&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wi-congressman-wants-answers-on-2200-duplicate-ballots\/\" title=\"WI Congressman Wants Answers On 2,200 Duplicate Ballots\">absentee ballot season<\/a> got underway, he said. The city clerk quickly returned the drop to its position outside city hall. It has been in operation since.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>But leftist lawfare groups have been out for blood since the mayor acted on Sept. 22. As the local paper reported, a group of four residents, including Marathon County Supervisor Randy Radtke, delivered a request to the U.S. Attorney&rsquo;s Office for the Western District seeking intervention.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We believe that Mr. Diny may have broken federal law by using his official position to interfere with citizens&rsquo; right to vote,&rdquo; the residents wrote in their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wisdc.org\/images\/files\/pdf_imported\/US-Attorney-Letter-From-Wausau-Residents.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">letter<\/a> to U.S. Attorney Timothy O&rsquo;Shea. &ldquo;The drop box was set to be secured and ready for use by Monday, September 23, which Mr. Diny has now prevented. Citizens prepared to use this drop box for voting are now deprived of their right to do so.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>But the fact that anyone, including the mayor who is responsible for upholding the laws of the city, could cart away a ballot box on a hand trolly &ldquo;should itself prove that the drop box wasn&rsquo;t appropriately secured,&rdquo; the Wall Street Journal editorial board <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/opinion\/election-lawfare-wisconsin-mayor-doug-diny-ballot-drop-box-josh-kaul-d893ae9d\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">opined<\/a> in a piece headlined, &ldquo;Election Lawfare Escalates in Wisconsin: The State AG uses his office to intimidate a Republican mayor.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The warrant and raid are all out of proportion to Mr. Diny&rsquo;s action, and Mr. Kaul has succeeded if his goal is to stir partisan suspicion and passions,&rdquo; the board wrote.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., has <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/10\/21\/wi-rep-wants-judiciary-committee-to-look-into-election-related-raid-on-wausau-mayors-home\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a> the probe and the accompanying raid &ldquo;are the actions of jack-booted thugs.&rdquo;&nbsp;Rep. Tom Tiffany, a Republican who represents Wausau in Wisconsin&rsquo;s 7th Congressional District, <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/10\/21\/wi-rep-wants-judiciary-committee-to-look-into-election-related-raid-on-wausau-mayors-home\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">told <\/a>conservative talk show host Vicki McKenna last week that he would like the House Judiciary Committee, of which he is a member, to look into Kaul&rsquo;s politically driven probe. State Sen. Cory Tomczyk, R-Mosinee, called the raid &ldquo;an infuriating abuse of power.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It appalls me that we fund Josh Kaul&rsquo;s department to conduct politically motivated actions such as this. With all the issues our state has at the moment, this is what Josh Kaul has prioritized?&rdquo; the lawmaker <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wispolitics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Mayor-Diny-House-Raid-Press-Release.pdf\">said<\/a> in a statement.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>But Kaul&rsquo;s investigation goes on.&nbsp;Diny&rsquo;s supporters, listed as &ldquo;Wausau Taxpayers,&rdquo; have set up a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.givesendgo.com\/SupportDougDiny\">GiveSendGo page <\/a>for the mayor.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I retired 2 1\/2 years ago from a private sector job,&rdquo; the 62-year-old mayor said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t have a political career. I&rsquo;m not running for anything. I just want to do a good job here.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>For more election news and updates, visit&nbsp;<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/electionbriefing.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>electionbriefing.com<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Matt Kittle is a senior elections correspondent for The Federalist. An award-winning investigative reporter 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>Wausau Mayor Doug Diny was surprised to find law enforcement in his office after a meeting, but he understood the reason for the raid<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":656,"featured_media":2359739,"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-2024-10-25-at-2.19.24-PM.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[8195,4602,43746,39176],"class_list":["post-2359738","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-aftermath","tag-mayor","tag-political-raid","tag-wisconsin-gop"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-25-at-2.19.24-PM.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2359738","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=2359738"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2359738\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2359739"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2359738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2359738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2359738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}