Strike three: New ethics complaint filed against former Wis. Supreme Court judge over efforts to upend election

A third stinging ethics complaint has been filed against a former Wisconsin Supreme Court judge for his highly paid activities as a lawyer to trash the state's 2020 presidential vote.

The 108-page complaint by progressive legal firm Law Forward argues that Michael Gableman repeatedly violated state Supreme Court rules for attorneys and the oath he took as an lawyer as he led a 13-month review of baseless claims into election fraud. It called the probe a "taxpayer-funded boondoggle." A Wispolitics.com analysis found that the cost of of Gableman’s review totaled more than $2 million in public funds .

Gablemen uncovered no election irregularities in his extensive review.

Gableman repeatedly "misrepresented" his findings and used his role as the "special counsel" head of the investigation to harass his enemies, according to the complaint. He was eventually fired from his role by the speaker of the state Assembly, the Wisconsin Examiner reported.

“Gableman waged a shambolic, dishonest, and destructive campaign against Wisconsin’s democracy at taxpayer expense and in the guise of a public official,” Law Forward attorneys Dan Lenz and Jeffrey Mandell wrote in the complaint.

“In addition to incompetently practicing law, Gableman repeatedly failed in his duties of honesty and candor; used legal process to harass and maliciously injure his targets .... flouted additional basic rules of legal practice, and violated multiple provisions of the Attorney’s Oath," added.

The complaint was filed with the state court system’s Office of Lawyer Regulation, which will determine if a case against Gableman will proceed. If the case goes forward it will ultimately be decided by the state Supreme Court, according to the Examiner.

Two previous ethics complaints against Gableman were filed for his conduct during a hearing in Dane County and by a former lawyer in Milwaukee County for pressuring the state legislature to consider decertifying 2020 election results.