Hans von Spakovsky, a member of President Trump’s voter fraud commission, on Wednesday blasted critics he said had launched “vicious and defamatory attacks” against the panel and its members.

“Members of this commission, including me, have already been subjected to vicious and defamatory personal attacks,” the former Federal Election Commission member said during the commission’s first public meeting at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.

“Those who want to ensure the integrity of the election process are only interested in preserving our great democracy.”

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The commission has been shrouded in controversy since it was created in May, following Trump's claims, presented without evidence, that millions of illegally cast votes cost him the popular vote to Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonJeff Flake: Republicans 'should hold the same position' on SCOTUS vacancy as 2016 Momentum growing among Republicans for Supreme Court vote before Election Day Warning signs flash for Lindsey Graham in South Carolina MORE.

Critics have accused von Spakovsky, who now runs the Election Law Reform Initiative at the conservative Heritage Foundation, and other panel members of trying to clamp down on voting rights.

“The scurrilous charges that have been made are reprehensible and a tactic frankly to avoid a substantive debate on important issues and to prevent the research, inquiry and study that is necessary to identify the problems in our election process, determine what the solutions are therefore to ensure we have the best election and best democratic system in the world,” he said.

Spakovsky said America has lost a “valuable part of our democratic process” — the ability to have spirited but civil debates on contentious issues.

Trump created the commission to investigate his claims of voter fraud in last year's presidential election. Republican and Democratic officials in 44 states and the District of Columbia have refused to provide the voter fraud commission with all of the voter roll information it requested.