OSC Legislative Investigation Subjected to Three Simultaneous Dane County Lawsuits – Judicial Resources as Obstruction Tool (WI)

[Reasonable Inference – Resource drain on investigative function was the practical effect] The Wisconsin Legislature’s Office of the Special Counsel (OSC) under Special Counsel Michael Gableman faced three separate, simultaneous lawsuits filed against it in Dane County Circuit Court – a Democratic-leaning jurisdiction. These actions forced the OSC to expend significant investigative resources in defensive litigation rather than investigation. The OSC noted in its report that “the constitutional duty of the Legislature is still imperiled in the state courts.” Whether these suits were legally frivolous, whether they were coordinated with state officials resisting subpoenas, and whether any judicial officer exhibited partiality in their management is an open investigative question.