Wisconsin assembly speaker fires election investigator

Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, fresh off his primary victory against a Trump-backed challenger, on Friday fired the election investigator he hired to pursue fraud allegations related to the 2020 presidential election.

Vos on Tuesday defeated Trump-backed challenger Adam Steen, according to the Associated Press. Three days later, he announced that he had fired former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman, per The Hill.

Gableman featured prominently in Trump's remarks at a Wisconsin rally last Friday, given his assessment that "rampant fraud and abuse occurred statewide."

“After having many members of our caucus reach out to me over the past several days, it is beyond clear to me that we only have one choice in this matter, and that’s to close the Office of Special Counsel,” Vos said.

Vos hired Gableman 14 months ago to investigate alleged fraud in the 2020 presidential election, initially saying he was "supremely confident" in Gableman's efforts. He gradually drifted apart from the investigator and Trump as the investigation drew bipartisan criticism, prompting Trump to endorse a challenger.