Monthly Archives: March, 2022
‘Election Bribery Scheme’ Among Zuckerberg 5 Included in Gableman Investigation
(The Center Square) – The probe into the 2020 presidential election from Wisconsin’s special election investigator covers exactly what lawmakers were expecting. And it goes into previously unknown detail.
Former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Mike Gableman on Tuesday delivered his 136-page report to the State Assembly, alleging an “election bribery scheme” existed, voting in nursing homes was at an unprecedented high, and multiple incidents involved unlawful election activities.
The sweeping investigation covers the lead-up to the November 2020 election former President Donald Trump claims was stolen from him, the effort to count the Badger State votes, and Gableman's assessment of what happened. He argues that Wisconsin lawmakers can recall the state’s electors, but also said that would not cancel President Biden’s victory in Wisconsin.
“I have doubts,” Gableman told lawmakers at a marathon hearing into the report at the Capitol.
Voter turnout exceeded 72 percent. With more than 3.2 million popular votes cast, Trump lost by 20,682. Biden captured all 10 Electoral College votes from the state, and won by 74.
Specifically Gableman said he has questions about the relationship between the Mark Zuckerberg-funded Center for Tech and Civic Life and the election operations in Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay, Racine, and Kenosha.
“As part of the election bribery scheme, CTCL was reaching out to the five largest cities in Wisconsin, and CTCL wanted information from those cities in determining how to provide money to those cities to facilitate increased in-person and absentee voting,” read the report.
“This program and the larger amount of grant money was not available to any cities or counties in Wisconsin other than the five largest cities. These five cities began to identify themselves and to be identified by CTCL as the ‘Zuckerberg 5,’ including a letterhead with the five cities’ seals.”
The report from Gableman, a Republican on the state's highest court from 2008 to 2018, goes into detail about the relationship between CTCL, its outside partners, and election managers in the five cities.
One email exchange shows CTCL partners asking for special access to the voter rolls in Milwaukee.
One of the new pieces of information focuses on voting machines in Green Bay.
“All machines in Green Bay were ESS machines and were connected to a secret, hidden Wi-Fi access point at the Grand Hyatt hotel, which was the location used by the City of Green Bay on the day of the 2020 Presidential election,” the report noted. “The [Office of the Special Counsel] discovered the Wi-Fi, machines, and ballots were controlled by a single individual who was not a government employee but an agent of a special interest group operating in Wisconsin."
Perhaps the most stunning revelation in the report is that in the Zuckerberg 5 cities, voting in nursing homes hit unprecedented levels.
Gableman said 100% of the people living in the nursing homes he investigated in Milwaukee, Racine, and Dane counties voted during the November 2020 election. He said 97% of elderly people in some Kenosha County nursing homes voted, and 95% of people in select Brown County nursing homes all cast ballots.
Gablemen presented a video of some of those voters, who he said were clearly not in the proper mental state to vote.
The report recognized eight instances of “unlawful conduct and irregularities,” and 11 times when “Wisconsin engaged private companies in election administration in unlawful ways for the 2020 Presidential election.”
Gableman said his investigation is not complete, because he has not received any cooperation from the mayors of the Zuckerberg 5 or the voting machine companies which he subpoenaed.
Gableman ends his report with an appendix about recalling Wisconsin’s 2020 electoral votes.
Gableman later told lawmakers they would have to decide what to do with the information in his report.
Biden Takes on Ukraine, Inflation in State of the Union address
(The Center Square) – President Joe Biden delivered the State of the Union address for the first time in his presidency Tuesday night, tackling a range of issues from the invasion of Ukraine and the status of the economy to funding police and securing the border.
“Last year, COVID-19 kept us apart,” Biden said to kick off the address. “This year, we're finally together again.”
Biden quickly turned to Russia, rebuking Russian President Vladimir Putin for the invasion of Ukraine.
“Tonight, I'm announcing that we will join our allies in closing off American airspace to all Russian flights, further isolating Russia and adding an additional squeeze on their economy,” Biden said.
The ambassador from Ukraine attended the address and received a standing ovation. Biden also praised the resolve of the Ukrainian people.
“From President Zelenskyy to every Ukrainian, their fearlessness, their courage, their determination, literally inspires the world,” Biden said.
“Putin may circle Kyiv with tanks, but he will never gain the hearts and souls of the Ukrainian people,” he said. “He will never extinguish their love of freedom. He will never weaken the resolve of the free world.”
Biden took a shot at the tax cuts passed during the Trump administration, which was met by boos from some Republicans and cheers from Democrats.
“Unlike the $2 trillion tax cut passed in the previous administration that benefits the top 1% ... the American Rescue Plan helped working people and left no one behind,” Biden said.
Biden called for background checks and a ban on firearms with high capacity magazines and went out of his way to emphasize the need for funding police as he hit a litany of issues.
“Fund them,” Biden said. “Fund them. Fund them with resources and training. …They need to protect our communities.”
Biden touted his Supreme Court nominee, Ketanji Brown Jackson, calling her “one of our nation’s top legal minds who will continue in Justice Breyer’s legacy of excellence.”
Biden called for securing the border and fixing the immigration system and pointed to new border technology, joint patrols and dedicated immigration judges. He also called for providing a pathway to citizenship for “Dreamers.”
Biden touted job creation last year, a result of the rebound from lifting COVID-19-era lockdowns. He also touted his proposal of a global minimum tax rate for corporations.
“What are we waiting for?” he asked. “Let’s get this done.”
Biden called for lowering energy costs, child care costs and drug prices, saying Medicare should be able to negotiate the price of prescription drugs, emphasizing the cost of insulin.
“They already set the price for VA drugs,” he argued.
Critics pointed out the Biden administration overturned a Trump-era rule that would have lowered the price of insulin.
“Donald Trump cut the price of insulin and Joe Biden ended it,” said Brigitte Gabriel, founder of Act For America.
Biden announced there would be a chief prosecutor for pandemic fraud, which has been rampant since Congress passed pandemic relief funding.
Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds gave the Republican response to Biden’s speech. She compared America today with the America of the late 1970s and early 1980s with soaring inflation, violent crime and a dangerous Soviet Union.
“We shouldn’t ignore what happened in the run up to Putin's invasion: waiving sanctions on Russian pipelines while eliminating oil production here at home, focusing on political correctness rather than military readiness, reacting to world events instead of driving them," Reynolds said. "Weakness on the world stage has a cost, and the president's approach to foreign policy has consistently been too little too late.
“It’s time for America to once again project confidence,” she said. "It's time to lead."
Reynolds turned to domestic issues such as inflation and gas prices, saying, "We can't project strength abroad if we are weak at home."
"The president and Democrats in congress have spent the last year either ignoring the issues facing Americans or making them worse," she said. "They were warned that spending trillions would lead to soaring inflation. They were told that their anti-energy policies would send gas prices to new heights, but they plowed ahead anyway."
Other Republicans released statements in response to the president’s speech and pointed at the economic issues since Biden took office.
“Under President Trump, our economy was booming,” U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., said. “We need to replicate that success. Americans are anxious for those days to return. To build optimism and prosperity again, we must ease regulatory burdens, strengthen critical American supply chains, unleash American energy and stop the Left’s extreme spending and socialist agenda.”
Other Republicans pointed to the chaotic and deadly withdrawal from Afghanistan and Biden’s handling of Putin and Ukraine.
“Are you better off than you were a year ago?” House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said. “For most people, the answer is, 'no.' ”
Biden ended his more-than-an-hour-long speech by painting an optimistic picture for the nation.
“The state of the Union is strong because you, the American people, are strong,” Biden said.
Gableman Report: 8 Election ‘Unlawful Conduct and Irregularities’ He Found
Satisfaction with Biden’s Performance Low Ahead of State of the Union Address
(The Center Square) – Newly released polling data shows President Joe Biden’s poll numbers remain low ahead of Tuesday night's state of the union address.
Gallup released data Tuesday that showed nearly the lowest satisfaction rates for Americans since Biden took office in January 2021.
“When thinking about the state of the nation, just 21% of Americans say they are satisfied with the way things are going, and 78% are dissatisfied,” Gallup said. “This reading, from a Feb. 1-17 Gallup poll, is slightly improved from the 17% recorded in January, but still among the lowest since President Joe Biden took office.”
Biden is expected to tackle a range of issues during Tuesday night's speech, with the struggling economy and the invasion of Ukraine likely topping the list.
CBS News released polling Tuesday that put Biden’s approval rating at 44% with 56% disapproving. His disapproval rates climb higher on certain issues, including inflation and the economy.
The poll found 61% disapproved of Biden’s work on crime, 62% disapproved on the economy, 63% disapproved on immigration and 70% disapproved on inflation.
“Tonight, I’ll be taking the stage to deliver my State of the Union address to the nation,” Biden said on Twitter. “Folks in every corner of the country are hosting parties to watch the address and discuss our vision for America.”
The White House said Tuesday that Biden will announce a strategy to address the nation’s mental health crisis.
“In his first State of the Union, the President will outline a unity agenda consisting of policy where there has historically been support from both Republicans and Democrats, and call on Congress to send bills to his desk to deliver progress for the American people,” the White House said in a statement. “As part of this unity agenda, he will announce a strategy to address our national mental health crisis. Our youth have been particularly impacted as losses from COVID and disruptions in routines and relationships have led to increased social isolation, anxiety, and learning loss.”
Wisconsin Reps Brandtjen & Dittrich Opposing Views on the Monday Count Bill
Eau Claire School Board Candidates: Teachers Were Told Parents ‘Are Not Entitled to Know Their Kids’ Identities’
WILL Represents Concordia Professor Suspended for Criticism of University’s ‘WOKE-NESS’
Gableman’s Election Investigation Report Expected Today
(The Center Square) – Wisconsin voters will finally see what months of investigation into the 2020 presidential election have uncovered.
Former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Mike Gableman is expected to unveil his report into the 2020 vote at a statehouse hearing Tuesday morning.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel originally reported that Gableman would deliver the report to Assembly Speaker Robin Vos on Monday. The report would then be released to the public.
The paper later said the report will not be made public until Tuesday.
Gableman has worked since September of last year to get a sense of just what happened at the Wisconsin Elections Commission, and in a handful of cities leading up to the vote in November of 2020.
Gableman has repeatedly said he is not looking to overturn the election, rather he simply wants to see if there are any loopholes that were exploited during the last vote for president.
Much of Gableman’s focus has been on the so-called Zuckerbucks, the nearly $9 million in donations from the Mark Zuckerberg-funded Center for Tech and Civic Life that went to Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay, Racine and Kenosha. Gableman has tried to see just what those donations paid for, and whether CTCL broke any of Wisconsin’s election laws.
The mayors of Madison and Green Bay, in particular, have fought Gableman’s investigation by refusing to cooperate with his subpoenas.
There are some to-be decided lawsuits about those subpoenas.
Republicans at the Wisconsin Capitol last week approved a sweeping set of election law changes, many of them inspired by Gableman’s investigation. But those proposals are almost certainly doomed once they arrive at Gov. Tony Evers’ desk.
Gableman is scheduled to testify in front of the Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections at 10 a.m. Tuesday.