Wisconsin’s Democrat attorney general has charged two lawyers and an ex aide for former President Donald Trump with forgery over paperwork they filed to contest the results of the 2020 election.
Attorneys Kenneth Chesebro, 62, and Jim Troupis, 70, and 2020 Trump campaign staffer Mike Roman, 51, were each hit with a felony charge over their alleged roles in spearheading a “fake elector” scheme that sought to overturn the presidential election results, according to state Attorney General Josh Kaul.
“The criminal complaint in this case alleges that the defendants were part of a conspiracy to present a certificate of purported electoral votes from individuals who were not Wisconsin’s duly appointed electors,” Kaul said in a statement announcing the charges.
Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul filed felony forgery charges Tuesday against two attorneys and an aide who helped submit false paperwork saying that former President Donald Trump had won. APThe charges are tied to an alleged plot that centered on 10 Wisconsin Republicans meeting in the state Capitol back in December 2020 to secretly sign paperwork falsely claiming to be electors for Trump.
Electors are people officially appointed to represent voters in presidential elections. The winner of the popular vote in each state determines which party’s electors are then sent to the Electoral College in the wake of an election to certify the outcome.
Chesebro and Troupis are accused of hatching the plan to have the GOPers act as un-appointed electors to cast votes for Trump. Roman, meanwhile, allegedly delivered the state’s fake elector paperwork to a Pennsylvania congressman’s staffer in a bid to get them to then-Vice President Mike Pence on Jan. 6, 2021.
The charges mark the first time state prosecutors have moved to hold anyone accountable over the plot involving the 10 Republicans.
The 10 fake electors haven’t been charged with any criminal wrongdoing – despite Kaul, a Democrat, facing mounting pressure to bring action against them.
The charges were filed against attorneys Kenneth Chesebro (seen above), 62, and others who allegedly delivered Wisconsin’s fake elector paperwork to a Pennsylvania congressman’s staffer. APThe fake elector efforts are central to a federal indictment filed against Trump that alleges he, too, tried to overturn the 2020 election results.
Trump is also facing charges in Georgia tied to the election results. Chesebro and Troupis were among 18 people indicted alongside the former president in that case.
Chesebro pleaded guilty in Atlanta in October to a felony charge of conspiracy to commit filing false documents after reaching a deal with prosecutors.
Charges were also filed Trump’s former campaign attorney, Jim Troupis. APRoman, meanwhile, pleaded not guilty to racketeering and conspiracy charges tied to a plan to have GOP electors meet and cast Electoral College votes for Trump — even though Biden had won Georgia.
Separately, Chesebro and Troupis, as well as the 10 Wisconsin fake electors, all settled a civil lawsuit brought against them last year over the plot.
The three Trump allies charged in Wisconsin on Tuesday are due in Dane County Circuit Court on Sept. 19, court records show.
The 10 Wisconsin electors, Chesebro and Troupis, who was Trump’s attorney in Wisconsin, all settled a civil lawsuit that was brought against them last year. APThey each face a felony count punishable by up to six years in prison and fines of up to $10,000.
Troupis and Chesebro didn’t return messages, while Roman did not have an attorney listed in court records.
With Post wires
