We have important news to share from our ongoing legal battle to uncover the facts about Wisconsin’s partisan election inquiry. 

In a hearing on Friday morning, the Wisconsin Assembly’s Office of Special Counsel — the office run by Michael Gableman that has been conducting a review of the 2020 election — was found in contempt of court for failing to comply with a court order. Gableman had been ordered to appear in court, and after taking the stand, he openly accused the judge of bias and refused to answer questions.

This means that the OSC, like the Wisconsin Assembly and Speaker Robin Vos before it, is now in contempt of court for refusing to comply with the law and release records to the public in response to lawsuits brought by American Oversight. 

Help us uncover the truth in Wisconsin and hold the leaders of the 2020 election inquiry accountable

Even before Friday’s hearing, Gableman’s investigation had stalled as he and Speaker Vos focused their efforts on blocking public transparency. In May, Speaker Vos had announced that the election investigation would be paused pending the resolution of five lawsuits, three of which were brought by American Oversight. 

Last month, in a hearing on one of those cases, a different Wisconsin judge said that Gableman had “gone rogue” and “run amok.” Friday’s contempt ruling, and Gableman’s outrageous and disrespectful conduct in court, sadly confirms that assessment — and it removes any last shred of credibility from this partisan charade. 

American Oversight has been working for more than a year to investigate Wisconsin’s baseless review of the 2020 election. We’ve uncovered troubling details about the involvement of partisan operatives and right-wing groups, questionable travel expenses, and most critically, the failure of Gableman’s investigation to turn up any meaningful evidence to support former President Donald Trump’s false claims of election fraud. 

As the whole nation saw in the select committee hearing on Thursday night, those false claims were at the heart of the deadly, Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Our work in Wisconsin, Arizona, Pennsylvania, and other states has revealed how the stolen election lie has persisted in bogus election “audits” across the country — and how it continues to undermine our democracy. 

Thanks to your support, we’re going to continue fighting to expose the truth and stand up for democracy in Wisconsin and beyond. Follow the latest updates on our investigation here, and please consider making a contribution to support our efforts here.