<mediadc-video-embed data-state="{"cms.site.owner":{"_ref":"00000161-3486-d333-a9e9-76c6fbf30000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b93390000"},"cms.content.publishDate":1654882102391,"cms.content.publishUser":{"_ref":"0000017d-00b6-db7d-abfd-7cb766d10000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"cms.content.updateDate":1654882102391,"cms.content.updateUser":{"_ref":"0000017d-00b6-db7d-abfd-7cb766d10000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"rawHtml":"
var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ "div": "Brid_54841205", "obj": {"id":"27789","width":"16","height":"9","video":"1029527"} }); ","_id":"00000181-4ea8-d590-a5f1-cebbe8250000","_type":"2f5a8339-a89a-3738-9cd2-3ddf0c8da574"}”>Video EmbedA Wisconsin judge held the Office of Special Counsel, which is tasked with investigating possible malfeasance during the 2020 election, in contempt of court on Friday.
Former state Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman, who helms the special counsel office, declined to answer questions about his approach to public records requests and scorned Dane County Circuit Court Judge Frank Remington during a fiery court appearance Friday.
WISCONSIN 2020 ELECTION INVESTIGATION SCREECHES TO HALT
“You don’t have a right to act as an advocate for one party over the other. I want personal counsel. If you are putting jail on the table, I want a personal attorney to represent me. I will not answer any more questions,” a defiant Gableman proclaimed, per the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “You want to put me in jail, Judge Remington. … I’m not going to be railroaded.”
Remington had directed Gableman to testify before him as he reviews a case brought by watchdog group American Oversight, which is demanding he comply with its public records requests. However, Gableman refused to answer questions beyond his occupation and name, invoking his Fifth Amendment rights, according to the outlet.
“This judge has abandoned his role as a neutral magistrate and is acting as an advocate,” he continued, according to WPR. “All of a sudden, I somehow think that my personal rights are at stake here.”
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The former state Supreme Court justice is ensnared in a fraught legal battle with American Oversight, which wants to get its hands on records about how his office has been handling its 2020 election investigation.
During a prior exchange with the watchdog, Gableman’s office claimed it had been destroying unimportant documents, which American Oversight said is a flagrant violation of state open records laws, and filed a lawsuit in response. He has previously been ordered not to destroy documents such as emails and texts.
“Mr. Gableman’s outrageous and disrespectful conduct in court today removed any last shred of credibility from this partisan charade. Far from increasing transparency and instilling greater confidence in the 2020 elections, by repeatedly flouting Wisconsin transparency laws, Mr. Gableman and [General Assembly] Speaker [Robin] Vos have shamed their offices and undermined their own investigation,” Melanie Sloan, senior adviser to American Oversight, said in a statement after the ruling.
Gableman previously sought to quash the subpoena compelling his Friday testimony, including during a hearing Wednesday and Friday morning but was unsuccessful. Gableman’s testimony was unnecessary because staffer Zakory Niemierowicz was the point man on records requests, his attorneys argued. Remington rebuffed that and encouraged Niemierowicz to consider hiring an attorney due to a looming threat of jail time for failure to comply with court orders.
His lawyers maintained he has publicly turned over hundreds of pages of documents tied to his inquiry and that the public records laws do not apply to him.
Vos hired Gableman to spearhead an inquiry into the 2020 election following grumblings from former President Donald Trump that widespread voter fraud deprived him of an electoral victory in the Badger State. Gableman has published some of his findings, including a first interim report last November and a second interim report in March. In the second report, he argued the state should consider decertifying the election due to malfeasance, alleging that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg had improper influence over the election by providing funds to a nonprofit group to help municipalities adjust election processes to the pandemic. Last month, Vos announced that Gableman’s inquiry was paused amid a flurry of lawsuits aimed at the special counsel’s office.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Sanctions against Gableman for the contempt of court finding will be determined in a written order by Remington at a later date.
The Washington Examiner reached out to a representative for Gableman for comment.
