The committee is interested in learning more about the attack through witness testimony, phone calls, texts, phone calls, documents and other evidence.
Hitt and Ruh must comply with Friday’s subpoenas and turn over documents by February 11, and testify on February 28.
The Select Committee is looking for information on a limited range of topics. We respect your privacy and aren’t seeking any information on your political views or efforts in 2020 presidential campaign. We are requesting information about your participation in the purported list of electors voting for Donald Trump, and, to the extent applicable, your involvement in the events of January 6, 2020,” U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, Mississippi, stated in the subpoena.
Hitt and Ruh were among a group made up of Wisconsin Republicans that met at the state Capitol Dec. 14th to create false voter paperwork, while Wisconsin’s actual members of the Electoral College (all Democrats) gathered at the Capitol to deliver the 10 electoral votes to Biden.
e Ruh, a De Pere alderwoman, is up for reelection.
Hitt stated in a statement that he would comply the subpoena. Hitt stated that he had followed legal advice when he was elected, but he didn’t say who.
Hitt stated that he would cooperate fully with the committee’s request for information. “As I have said before, the Wisconsin electors were following the advice of Wisconsin legal counsel in order to preserve the current Wisconsin legal strategy. There was no intention beyond that, and I’m happy that I can participate in this process to clarify any confusion.
Robert Spindell (Wisconsin Elections Commissioner), who met with Hitt, Ruh, and argued that the Wisconsin Republicans are following the Trump campaign’s directives.
They signed official-looking documents declaring Trump had won, even though the state Supreme Court had just ruled that Biden had been the victor an hour earlier. The material was sent to the U.S. Senate and the National Archives. It was also sent to Wisconsin Secretary of State Doug La Follette, a federal judge, and the Wisconsin Secretary-of-State Doug La Follette.
January 6, 2006: 14 subpoenas are issued to Republicans who act as fake electors
Two subpoenas were issued to Wisconsin officials as part of a larger set of 14 that the committee issued Friday to Republicans who had acted in a fake election in seven states, Arizona, Georgia Georgia, Michigan New Mexico Nevada Pennsylvania, Wisconsin.
Thompson stated in a statement that the Select Committee was seeking information on multiple attempts to reverse the results of the 2020 elections, as well as the coordination of efforts to send false ballots to the National Archives.
“We believe that the individuals we have subpoenaed today may have information on how these so-called alternative electors met, and who was behind it.”
According to the committee, Trump and his campaign used fake electors’ certificates to delay or block the certification of the election by Congress on January 6.
Paul Farrow, chairman of the state Republican Party, described the meeting with fake voters as routine, even though it was extremely unusual.
e Two days later, they sent their fake paperwork to National Archives.
Trump later appealed the decision of the state Supreme Court to the U.S. Supreme Court. e
Wisconsin Elections Commission is currently considering complaints vs. Republicans
Farrow stated in a statement that the Republicans who signed the paperwork were following legal advice. However, he did not say who provided the legal advice. Farrow also didn’t say whether the state Republican Party would offer Hitt or Ruh legal representation in order to respond to the subpoenas.
Farrow stated that Democrats were trying to create a story out of a simple procedure. This is nothing but a desperate attempt by Democrats to distract attention from their record when they face the electorate 2022.
After attorneys filed a complaint to the Wisconsin Elections Commission about the incident, they threatened to sue for failing to act quickly enough.
Nearly a year ago, the bipartisan state Elections Commission was examining a complaint alleging that Republicans committed fraud in signing paperwork claiming they were electors.
A lawyer representing the commission responded to the letter on Friday, saying that the commission would likely consider the matter behind closed doors on Wednesday, March 9.
Friday’s subpoenas came amid renewed attention on the would-be voters who gathered in Wisconsin, and half a dozen states where Trump lost.
Why did Republicans declare themselves fake electors after the 2020 presidential election?
In case of winning last-ditch lawsuits to overturn the presidential election, the Republicans claimed they filed paperwork as electors. Democrats claim that the Republicans committed fraud by pretending to be public officials and sending false documents to federal authorities.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced this week that it is investigating the matter. Gwen Moore and Mark Pocan, Democratic U.S. Reps., have requested that Attorney General Merrick Garland investigate the matter.
The Wisconsin complaint was being handled by the commission in private. Its deliberations were complicated by the fact that Spindell was one of the 10 Republicans who met to elect the president. Spindell refused to resign as a commissioner in the case and claimed that his colleagues tried to force him to do so.
