Gableman Election Review $220,500 Over Budget
Partisan election review has cost taxpayers nearly $900,000, largely due to lawsuits.
Former Justice Michael Gableman | Screenshot from YouTube
The review of the 2020 presidential election being conducted by former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman has surpassed the initial budget it was given from the Legislature last summer, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Wednesday.
Gableman was initially given a budget of $676,000 by Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) to look into baseless Republican allegations that the election was stolen. Now, the review has missed several deadlines and, as of this week, spent $896,500.
A spokesperson for Vos told the Journal-Sentinel that Gableman isn’t over his budget because legal costs don’t count.
“We had no idea the magnitude of obstruction through litigation by the Democrats when the budget was established for the investigation,” spokesperson Angela Joyce said.
Gableman is currently involved in five lawsuits, one of which he filed himself. Three of the suits were brought by government watchdog group American Oversight which has sought to force Gableman and Vos to comply with the state’s open records laws and provide documents related to the review.
The judges in those cases have repeatedly sided with American Oversight and expressed confusion at Vos and Gableman’s decisions to ignore the open records laws. One of the judges has even found Vos in contempt of court for not providing records.
Gableman also filed a lawsuit seeking to jail the mayors of three Democratic-voting cities and other people he believes haven’t cooperated with his review. The officials say they’ve cooperated.
The costs of the lawsuits will only go up as they continue and likely get appealed once decisions are made in the circuit courts.
On Wednesday, Gov. Tony Evers said the entire review has been a nearly million dollar waste of time.
“He spent about a million dollars that clearly could be used for more productive things rather than revisiting an election that’s already been determined to be safe and fair and secure,” Evers said.
Gableman review over budget, costing taxpayers nearly $900,000 was originally published by the Wisconsin Examiner.
More about the 2020 General Election
- Senator Agard Statement on Senator Knodl’s Continued Relitigation of the 2020 Presidential Election - State Sen. Melissa Agard, Senate Democratic Leader - Aug 29th, 2023
- Report Calls For Criminally Charging State’s Fake Electors - Henry Redman - Dec 19th, 2022
- Vos Withdraws Subpoenas, Ends Gableman Probe - Henry Redman - Aug 30th, 2022
- Judge Blasts Gableman Probe, Deleted Records - Henry Redman - Aug 17th, 2022
- Vos Fires Gableman, Ends Election Probe - Shawn Johnson - Aug 14th, 2022
- Judge Orders Gableman To Pay $163,000 In Legal Fees - Rich Kremer - Aug 2nd, 2022
- Prosecute 2020 Fake Electors, Advocates Demand - Erik Gunn - Aug 1st, 2022
- Trump Calls For Nullification of Wisconsin’s 2020 Election - Henry Redman - Jul 12th, 2022
- Legal Fight Over Gableman Probe Keeps Growing - Shawn Johnson - Jun 30th, 2022
- Back In the News: Fake Elector Scheme Dogs Ron Johnson - Bruce Murphy - Jun 28th, 2022
Read more about 2020 General Election here
A shameful waste! I want my tax money back.
How many programs could be funded at city community centers with $900,000? How many neighborhood health clinics? Food banks? Vocational trade programs?
Oh wait! The Republican agenda in Madison is to starve Milwaukee of funds and restrict their ability to raise funds through a local sales tax so the city fails. Gotcha!
Gableman is a severely stunted human form. A sans sexual sicko trumper fanboy. Having him go about spouting lies and nonsense is why there’s nothing to love about republicans in Wisco. Fitz and RoJo are also treasonous bastards and must be removed from public office.
If this scenario had played out in the business world, the executive in charge would have been demoted or terminated.
Vos is clearly fully respondible and should be similarly dispatched by the voters of State Assembly Dist. 93.
Additionally, his political contrubutors from around the country need to realize that they are throwing away their money.
Gableman? Give this lost, supreme court jester a red rubber nose and point him toward the Baraboo Circus Museum and the shrinking little two ringed tent of Wisconsin G.O.P. There he can spend whatever remains in his state funded budget preparing for a grand celebration of Robin Vos’ impending and involuntary retirement.
What a garbled mess!
That every single repub in the state is not humiliated by this kindergarten silliness I do not know.
I also want my tax dollars back.
This stupidity is no longer funny, strategic or relevant.
Kindergartners would be sent to sit in the corner for this silliness/stupidity/attack on democracy.