Latest news with #Gableman
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Probe of 2020 election did incalculable damage to Wisconsin's justice system
Regarding the April 9 article, 'Agreement would cost Gableman law license,' former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice Michael Gableman has done incalculable damage to Wisconsin's justice system. He lied at nearly every turn of his so-called election investigation, was uncooperative in his own ethics investigation and brought national disrepute to the Wisconsin. His incompetence was breathtaking. I sincerely hope he is stripped of his law license as he is a menace to the public. Phillip Trobaugh, St. Paul, Minnesota Opinion: Changes to Social Security would cost average Wisconsin resident $7,000 a year Letters: Wisconsin Republicans keep trotting out Milwaukee vote trope as built-in excuse Here are some tips to get your views shared with your friends, family, neighbors and across our state: Please include your name, street address and daytime phone. Generally, we limit letters to 200 words. Cite sources of where you found information or the article that prompted your letter. Be civil and constructive, especially when criticizing. Avoid ad hominem attacks, take issue with a position, not a person. We cannot acknowledge receipt of submissions. We don't publish poetry, anonymous or open letters. Each writer is limited to one published letter every two months. All letters are subject to editing. Write: Letters to the editor, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 330 E. Kilbourn Avenue, Suite 500, Milwaukee, WI, 53202. Fax: (414)-223-5444. E-mail: jsedit@ or submit using the form that can be found on the on the bottom of this page. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Incompetence of Gableman's election probe was breathtaking | Letters
Reuters
09-04-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Ex-Wisconsin justice poised to lose law license over 2020 election review
April 8 (Reuters) - A former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice who led a Republican review of the state's 2020 election results has agreed to surrender his law license after he was accused of violating Wisconsin's professional rules for lawyers. The former justice, Michael Gableman, filed a stipulation, opens new tab with the Wisconsin Office of Lawyer Regulation (OLR) on Monday to suspend his license for three years. The agreement requires approval from the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which has final say on all disciplinary matters. Gableman said in the filing that a November 2024 complaint OLR filed against him provides "an adequate factual basis in the record" and that he "cannot successfully defend against" the allegations. A spokesperson for OLR declined to comment. An attorney for Gableman, who served on the state high court from 2008 to 2018, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos hired Gableman in June 2021 to investigate alleged voter fraud in Wisconsin's 2020 presidential election. Vos later fired Gableman in August 2022. In March 2022, Gableman called on Wisconsin lawmakers to dissolve the state's bipartisan election commission, and suggested decertifying the results of the 2020 election. Democrat Joe Biden beat Republican Donald Trump in the battleground state by nearly 21,000 votes, according to recounts and a state audit affirming the result. Gableman allegedly violated multiple professional rules during his investigation. He repeatedly made false statements, such as accusing city officials of refusing to cooperate with his investigation when they actually did, according to OLR's complaint. He also made disparaging remarks about his opposing counsel and a state judge. The Wisconsin State Assembly paid $2.3 million for Gableman's investigation. The attorney regulators also said Gableman violated confidentiality rules related to his representation of Vos while participating in failed efforts to have him recalled in the spring of 2024.
Washington Post
07-04-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Former Wisconsin justice to give up law license over 2020 election review
MADISON, Wisconsin — A former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice agreed Monday to give up his law license for three years after facing a string of ethics allegations stemming from his error-riddled review of the 2020 election for Republican state lawmakers. In a filing with the state Supreme Court, former justice Michael Gableman conceded that legal regulators had produced enough evidence to find he had violated state ethics rules for lawyers. He gave up his legal fight over the matter a week after a candidate backed by Democrats won a seat on the state's high court and locked in a likely liberal majority for years. In a 10-count complaint in November, Wisconsin's Office of Lawyer Regulation alleged Gableman had filed false information with a judge, repeatedly engaged in dishonesty, unfairly disparaged a judge and an attorney, failed to perform competent legal work, did not follow the directions of his client, released confidential information and lied to the lawyer who investigated him. Gableman on Monday said he would no longer contest the complaint and would agree to have his law license suspended for three years. The state Supreme Court will have the final say on whether to suspend his license. 'Gableman hereby stipulates that he cannot successfully defend against the allegations of misconduct contained in the Complaint, and agrees that the allegations of the Complaint provide an adequate factual basis in the record for a determination of [ethics] violations as alleged in each of the ten counts of the Complaint,' Gableman, his attorney and an attorney for the state wrote in Monday's joint filing. An attorney for Gableman had no immediate comment on the filing. After Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential race, Republicans who control the Wisconsin Assembly hired Gableman to review how the election was conducted in the swing state. Gableman falsely claimed the election was stolen, consulted with conspiracy theorists, kept shoddy records and unsuccessfully sought to jail mayors and local election officials who he contended weren't cooperating with him. He publicly urged lawmakers to try to revoke the state's 10 electoral votes, even as he privately acknowledged doing so was a 'practical impossibility.' His review came as courts and independent studies found the 2020 election was properly decided. Trump narrowly won Wisconsin in 2016, narrowly lost it in 2020 and narrowly won it in 2024. In litigation over his election review, Gableman was dishonest and left out important information that he should have reported to the courts, according to the Office of Lawyer Regulation complaint. In addition, he gave false statements when he testified before a legislative committee, according to the complaint. Gableman improperly maintained records and didn't appropriately respond to public records requests, according to the complaint and separate court rulings. When he was sued over his handling of records, he disparaged the judge overseeing the case and an attorney who sued him, according to the complaint. Gableman also did not follow the directions of Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, the GOP legislative leader who hired him, according to the complaint. Soon after Vos hired him, Gableman turned on the speaker and campaigned for his 2022 primary opponent. Vos won his race and fired Gableman soon afterward. Amid their clash, Gableman disclosed information about his legal work that should have remained confidential, according to the complaint. Gableman also failed to cooperate with the ethics investigation and falsely claimed he hadn't been practicing law when he worked for the legislature, according to the complaint.
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Michael Gableman refusing to testify before lawyer disciplinary board over issues tied to election review
MADISON – A former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice who cost taxpayers millions of dollars while conducting a fruitless review of the 2020 presidential election is refusing to testify before a state disciplinary board in a case alleging he violated rules governing attorneys' behavior. The state Office of Lawyer Regulation filed a motion Friday to compel former Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman to sit for a deposition in two weeks after Gableman canceled with short notice on a previously agreed upon meeting in February. Instead of seeking an order to limit or stop the deposition, Gableman "simply had his attorney send an email saying he would not attend the deposition because of '5th Amendment concerns,'" violating state discovery laws, according to the motion. More: Audit concludes all votes cast in Wisconsin's 2024 presidential election were counted accurately He instead sought to meet privately with the board attorney to "resolve" the matter. was first to report on the ORL motion. Donald Schott, an attorney for the board, argued in the motion that Gableman could invoke 5th Amendment privileges when facing criminal charges based on the allegations against him but cannot use the 5th Amendment to avoid sitting for a deposition before the state board. Gableman is seeking to resolve the matter privately and is trying to raise money for his legal defense, according to Schott. Gableman, who served one 10-year term on the state's high court starting in 2008, was hired by Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos in 2021 to review the previous presidential election. The probe catapulted him to a national platform with election conspiracy theorists and made him a favorite of Republican former President Donald Trump, who was reelected in November. But Vos has since said he regrets hiring the former justice. Taxpayers paid more than $2.3 million for the investigation, which yielded a steady drumbeat of explosive court hearings and rulings in lawsuits over his desire to jail election officials and mayors who refused to be interviewed behind closed doors, and his decision to ignore requests from the public for records related to his probe. The OLR board filed a disciplinary complaint in November after the board received more than one complaint, including from Dane County Circuit Judge Frank Remington following a 2022 court hearing in a lawsuit filed over Gableman's review during which Gableman shouted at Remington and refused to testify. The complaint from OLR alleges violations of the Wisconsin Rules of Professional Conduct for Attorneys. According to the OLR complaint, Vos and Gableman discussed that the review's objective was to gather facts about the administration of recent elections and suggest potential legislative changes for the Assembly to consider. The review never revealed any evidence of significant fraud or new facts related to the election not previously known. The 2020 election was run unlike previous contests because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some polling locations changed. Voters turned to absentee voting in unprecedented numbers, and ballots were mailed to nursing homes instead of being delivered by special poll workers who could assist residents. Joe Biden beat Trump by nearly 21,000 votes out of 3.3 million, or 0.6 percentage points. Recounts and state and federal courts confirmed his victory. The OLR complaint alleges that Gableman: Filed petitions containing false statements when he attempted to seize property from the mayors of Green Bay and Madison. Made false statements to and withheld information from a state Assembly committee regarding the responses from Green Bay and Madison's mayors to subpoenas issued to them. Engaged in "disruptive behavior" at a June 2021 court hearing. Made false statements about the integrity of a judge. Made "false, derogatory and demeaning public statements" about opposing counsel. Violated the state's open records law. Accepted his role in the probe without disclosing conflicts of interest. Abandoned his duty to former clients by publicly promoting efforts to recall Vos. Submitted a false affidavit to OLR. Molly Beck can be reached at This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Michael Gableman refusing to testify before lawyer disciplinary board
