His fourteen-month investigation resulted in various unsubstantiated accusations against municipal clerks and members of the Wisconsin Elections Commission, and cost the state more than two million dollars.
Gableman himself became a lightning rod for controversy and was the subject of several lawsuits and personal disputes with other officials; he was ultimately fired by Vos just three days after the August 2022 primary elections in Wisconsin.
[4] In a February 2024 settlement to one lawsuit, Assembly Republican leadership conceded that Gableman had also violated state public records laws during his investigation.
[18] Gableman claimed in the defense of his ad that his free speech rights were violated by the judicial conduct rule he was accused of breaking.
[23] In January 2011, the group 9to5 Milwaukee filed an ethics complaint with the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board against Gableman for failing to recuse himself from a case in which he allegedly had a financial interest.
Gableman's appointment came just 15 hours after former president Donald Trump had accused Vos and other Wisconsin Republicans of engaging in a "cover up" of the election results.
[27] Gableman issued subpoenas to a number of local officials in Green Bay and Milwaukee, subsequently admitting that he didn't actually understand how elections were supposed to be conducted.
[28] His fourteen-month investigation resulted in various unsubstantiated accusations against municipal clerks and members of the Wisconsin Elections Commission, but found nothing of substance.
The watchdog group American Oversight released documents obtained by an open record act request in a lawsuit against Assembly Speaker Republican Robin Vos.
They show that Gableman's staff for his Republican party review of the state's 2020 presidential election, was initially provided with a $676,000 budget in public funds for a process that was supposed to end by November.
The American Oversight-released document show that the review staff made amateur mistakes and communicated with conservative businessman Mike Lindell, the "My Pillow Guy."
In late November, Gableman requested a Waukesha County judge to order the local Sheriff’s Office to arrest the mayors of Green Bay and Madison for failure to appear to testify.
Such testimony demanded of local and state election officials has generated considerable contention with simultaneous court battles happening in widespread jurisdictions.
[38] On June 15, 2022, Gableman was found in contempt by Circuit Court Judge Frank D. Remington after he refused to answer questions in the courtroom after being subpoenaed to appear.
The Court stated, "Gableman's demeaning conduct has discredited the profession and every other person sworn 'to commit themselves to live by the constitutional processes of our system'."
He listed his occupation as senior counsel at the Thomas More Society in a presentation he delivered over the prior weekend at a conference hosted by Mike Lindell, which focused on election conspiracies.
[42] Although Gableman's position was terminated in August 2022, at least four lawsuits related to his contract, record keeping, and use of authority continued well into 2023, costing Wisconsin taxpayers additional millions in legal expenses.