Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson slammed the federal probe into the 2020 presidential election as Vice President JD Vance heads to Wisconsin’s largest city to talk about the Trump administration’s work to combat fraud.
Johnson, a Democrat, also invited the Republican vice president to talk with election officials during his July 8 stop in Milwaukee.
“Federal law enforcement agents, deployed at the direction of the President’s administration, have been present in my city, interviewing election officials,” Johnson wrote in a July 7 letter to Vance. “I know of no justification for this activity. Evidence of wrongdoing is entirely absent.”
He added that Vance should “see our election operation, to talk to officials who conduct our elections, and scrutinize, firsthand, the extensive security and accuracy in place.”
The vice president’s office could not be immediately reached for comment.
Johnson’s comments come as the Federal Bureau of Investigation has sought interviews with a host of Milwaukee election officials and staff who helped administer the 2020 election at a time the Trump administration is relitigating his 2020 loss in key battleground states. The FBI has also interviewed police officers as part of the probe.
Joe Biden defeated Trump by about 21,000 votes in Wisconsin – a result that has been confirmed by lawsuits, recounts paid for by Trump, audits, and election reviews. Still, Trump contends his loss was a result of widespread voter fraud that has, so far, not been proven to be true.
The Journal Sentinel first reported that the FBI was investigating Wisconsin’s 2020 election and that an agent had spoken with the Wisconsin Elections Commission’s deputy administrator, Robert Kehoe.
Agents also sought to question one of Milwaukee County’s top election officials at her home and reached out to at least two people who helped administer Milwaukee’s 2020 election.
At least two police officers were interviewed last month, sources with knowledge of the interviews told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. None of the officers interviewed is under investigation, the sources said.
The FBI’s investigation is in a preliminary phase, and no ballots have been seized in Wisconsin, sources have told the Journal Sentinel.
The Wisconsin probe comes after federal officials in January seized hundreds of boxes of ballots related to the 2020 election in Fulton County, Georgia, and after the FBI issued a grand jury subpoena in March for voting information in Maricopa County, Arizona.
“Ongoing repetition of false allegations regarding election integrity has undermined faith in America’s democracy. Such inaccurate attacks are an affront to the honest and hardworking people who manage elections here in Milwaukee and across the country,” Johnson wrote in his letter. “I will not speculate about the motives for these falsehoods other than to say it appears to be an intentional strategy to damage a fundamental pillar of our government.”
At a July 7 news conference, Johnson repeated that Trump won elections in 2016 and 2024 but lost in 2020.
“Donald Trump did not win the election for president of the United States in 2020,” Johnson said.
He said that the investigation is intimidating honest public servants.
Vance’s visit comes shortly after the U.S. Department of Justice announced a nationwide, $6.5 billion health care fraud takedown. More than 450 people across 45 states have been charged in connection with the effort, including some in Wisconsin.
Trump has tapped Vance to lead the White House’s anti-fraud task force.
Vance is also set to headline a $10,000-per couple fundraiser for the Republican National Committee while in town, according to an invitation posted on the fundraising website WinRed. The event costs $35,000 per couple for a photo opportunity and $100,000 per couple serving on the host committee, the invitation says.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee mayor slams 2020 election probe ahead of JD Vance’s visit
Reporting by Mary Spicuzza, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Mary Spicuzza, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
