Exclusive: Leftist-Led Wisconsin DOJ Raids Wausau Mayor’s Home

Democrat Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul’s Department of Justice raided the home and office of conservative Wausau Mayor Doug Diny in connection to Diny’s removal of an unsecured absentee ballot drop box, sources tell The Federalist. 

The raid took place Wednesday afternoon, according to a source with information on the stunning law enforcement operation. The source, who asked not to be identified because of the developing nature of the case, tells The Federalist that law enforcement officials took cell phones and other electronic devices supposedly relevant to the investigation. That included Diny’s wife’s cell phone, the source said. 

An official in the attorney general’s office told The Federalist the state justice department could provide more information on the raid. The agency has not returned a call seeking comment.

Diny could not be reached for comment Friday morning. Madison attorney Joseph Bugni, the mayor’s attorney, declined to comment.

Leftist Lawfare Activists Out for Blood

As The Federalist reported last month, Diny removed the controversial absentee ballot box positioned outside city hall because he said it was not secure. Wausau City Clerk Kaitlyn Bernarde had, according to reports, decided to bring back the drop box without approval from the Wausau City Council. Bernarde told The Washington Post she noticed the drop box was missing and notified Theresa Wetzsteon, Marathon County’s Democrat district attorney. Wetzsteon told the Post that her office is now investigating. 

Diny has defended his decision to remove the drop box and place it inside city hall. 

The liberal-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court in July reversed a previous 2022 conservative majority ruling by the court that had declared the widespread use of absentee ballot drop boxes illegal under state law. In the 4-3 July ruling, the Supreme Court gave Wisconsin communities the right to decide whether they want to use drop boxes or not, and where they want to place them. As The Federalist reported last month, many election offices have opted out. More than 60 local governments have decided against their use, All Voting is Local complained to CBS 58 in Milwaukee. Four years ago, drop boxes were found in 66 of 72 counties, according to the news outlet. 

Wausau’s city council had yet to decide the matter when the city clerk rolled the old drop box back out. Her defenders argue that it’s up to the clerk, the city’s top election official, to ultimately decide the matter. 

“The majority in this case overrules [the 2022 decision] not because it is legally erroneous, but because the majority finds it politically inconvenient,” Justice Rebecca G. Bradley wrote in a dissenting opinion. “The majority’s activism marks another triumph of political power over legal principle in this court.”

The Wisconsin Department of Justice’s Division of Criminal Investigation is acting as “lead investigator” in the probe, the Wausau Daily Herald reported earlier this month. Portage County Sheriff’s Department deputies had launched the original outside investigation, the publication noted, citing a “news release from Marathon County District Attorney Theresa Wetzsteon.” 

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’s Office for the Western District seeking intervention. 

“We believe that Mr. Diny may have broken federal law by using his official position to interfere with citizens’ right to vote,” the residents wrote in their letter to U.S. Attorney Timothy O’Shea. “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.”

Kaul, Wisconsin’s highly partisan Democrat attorney general, who previously worked for leftist lawfare king Marc Elias’ old law firm, Perkins Coie, has been stepping up his attacks on conservatives of late. In June, the attorney announced charges in his phony “fake electors” case against a respected former Dane County judge and attorney for former President Donald Trump’s 2020 campaign. As The Federalist has reported, that trumped-up case appears to be unraveling by the facts, not the least of which is the fact that Kaul’s Department of Justice had previously concluded there was no crime committed. 

For more election news and updates, visit electionbriefing.com.

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.