The leader of a sprawling, taxpayer-funded probe of Joe Biden s victory in battleground Wisconsin ignited his political career in 2008 by unseating the first Black justice on the state Supreme Court capitalizing on an ad that sparked ethics complaints and allegations of racism.
Michael Gableman's commercial against then-Justice Louis Butler drew comparisons with the infamous Willie Horton ad from the 1988 presidential race and an official complaint from the state judicial commission. But the ad paid off as Gableman, then a little-known circuit judge in rural Wisconsin, became the first challenger to defeat a sitting justice in 40 years, tilting the court's balance in favor of conservatives.
Gableman, 55, who left the high court after one 10-year term, is now bringing the same bruising — and, to his critics, fact-challenged — approach to the election probe. Biden's narrow 2020 victory in Wisconsin has withstood recounts, lawsuits and multiple reviews. There is no evidence of widespread fraud.
