Michael Gableman to Testify at Friday Hearing in American Oversight’s Lawsuit for Election Investigation Records

On Wednesday, a Wisconsin judge ruled that Special Counsel Michael Gableman, who has led the State Assembly’s partisan investigation of the 2020 election, must appear and testify at a hearing this Friday, June 10, regarding his office’s failure to release public records in violation of a court order. 

The ruling came after American Oversight subpoenaed Gableman to appear at the hearing, which will address whether his office should be held in contempt for failing to release records related to the election investigation. 

The Office of Special Counsel (OSC) filed a motion to quash the subpoena, with counsel for OSC arguing that Gableman’s appearance on Friday would be unnecessary and that Gableman did not compile or produce records held by OSC. Judge Frank Remington of the Dane County Circuit Court denied that motion, noting that Gableman is a custodian of OSC records, and ruled that Gableman must comply with the subpoena and appear on Friday.

The hearing will address issues in American Oversight’s lawsuit for public records from the Wisconsin Assembly, Speaker Robin Vos, and the OSC related to the state’s election investigation. The lawsuit is one of three that American Oversight is currently litigating in Wisconsin seeking related records.

Remington had previously ordered OSC to release to American Oversight a set of documents that the office had attempted to shield from public access. In a written ruling issued prior to that order, Remington found that Vos, the Wisconsin Assembly, and OSC had violated the state’s Open Records Law by refusing to release public records related to the ongoing election review.

Weeks after those records were obtained, OSC turned over additional documents responsive to our requests that had been omitted from the office’s earlier production.

On April 21, Remington ordered OSC to stop deleting records that may be responsive to American Oversight’s requests, which the office admitted in a letter it had done. American Oversight requested that the court consider modifying its earlier judgment, either with a contempt order or increased punitive damages, in light of OSC’s admissions that it had deleted and omitted records that should have been produced in response to American Oversight’s public records requests. 

The hearing on Friday, June 10, is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. ET. American Oversight will provide updates as they become available.