MADISON, Wis. – Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul filed criminal forgery charges Tuesday against two lawyers and an aide who helped submit documents falsely saying former President Donald Trump had won the battleground state in 2020.
The charges were brought against attorneys Kenneth Chesebro, 62, and Jim Troupis, 70, and former Trump aide Mike Roman, 51, who allegedly handed fake Wisconsin election documents to a Pennsylvania congressman’s staffer to turn them over. to then-Vice President Mike Pence. on January 6, 2021.
All three are scheduled to appear in Dane County Circuit Court on Sept. 19, according to court records. Each faces a felony charge punishable by up to six years in prison and fines of up to $10,000.
Troupis and Chesebro did not return voicemail messages left Tuesday. Roman did not have an attorney listed in court records.
Kaul, a Democrat, has faced pressure to take action against the 10 fake voters, who have not yet been charged with any criminal wrongdoing. He had previously suggested that he was counting on federal investigators, but also did not rule out a state investigation.
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers offered a one-word response to news of the charges filed: “Good.”
Electors are people appointed to represent voters in presidential elections. The winner of the popular vote in each state determines which party’s electors will be sent to the Electoral College, which meets in December after the election to certify the result.
False electoral efforts are fundamental to a federal indictment filed against Trump, alleging that he attempted to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The Federal Prosecutor’s Office, investigating his related conduct January 6, 2021, riot at the US Capitol, also said the scheme originated in Wisconsin. Trump also faces charges in Georgia and denied any wrongdoing.
Michigan It is Nevada they also criminally charged false voters.
Chesebro and Roman were among the 18 people indicted alongside Trump in August in a wide-ranging racketeering indictment in Georgia. They are accused of participating in a wide-ranging scheme to illegally overturn the 2020 elections in that state.
Chesebro in October pleaded guilty to a criminal charge of conspiracy to commit false document filing after reaching a deal with prosecutors. Roman has pleaded not guilty to racketeering and conspiracy charges related to a plans for Republican voters to meet and voted in the Electoral College for Trump, even though Biden had won Georgia.
The 10 Wisconsin electors, Chesebro and Troupis, who was Trump’s Wisconsin lawyer, all resolved a civil action which was filed against them last year.
Documents released as part of these agreements showed that the strategy in Wisconsin moves replicated in six other swing states.
The complaint goes into detail, citing in large part the documents, interviews and statements given to Congress about how the false electoral scheme was devised.
The complaint details how Chesebro emailed a memo on November 18, 2020, to Troupis and others, arguing that electors representing Trump should meet on December 14, 2020, to preserve the Trump-Pence electoral ticket, if a court or legislature so determined. to be the winners.
Chesebro argued in a subsequent memo that Trump’s electors could be counted by Congress if legal challenges to their loss were still pending. Troupis sent both memos to the Trump White House, according to the complaint.
On December 9, 2020, Chesebro emailed Troupis a memo with instructions for the December 14, 2020 election meetings. Two days later, Chesebro emailed Trump advisor Roman with details of the plan, the complaint said.
During or around the December 14, 2020 meeting, Chesebro sent a message to Troupis and Roman that said, “WI meeting of ‘real’ voters is ready!!!,” the complaint said. Troupis responded with a “thumbs up” emoji, the complaint said.
The complaint also details how the fake election ticket was delivered to Chesebro from Wisconsin to Washington, D.C., on January 5, 2021, by Alesha Guenther, a law student who works part-time with the Wisconsin Republican Party. Roman told Guenther to only deliver the paperwork to Chesebro.
“5 minutes until I deliver,” Guenther texted at one point, according to the complaint. “I feel like a drug dealer.”
As soon as Chesebro received the documents, he emailed Roman that he had them.
Roman then arranged for a congressional staff member to meet with Chesebro and take the document. Chesebro sent Roman a message confirming this had been done, the complaint said.
Trump lost Wisconsin to Biden, a Democrat, by less than 21,000 wishes. Trump won Wisconsin by a similar margin in 2016.
Government It is external investigationsfound uniformly there was no evidence of widespread voter fraud that could have influenced the 2020 election. But Trump has continued to spread falsehoods about the election, especially in Wisconsin.
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Associated Press writer Kate Brumback in Atlanta contributed to this report.
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