AG Kaul charges three Trump allies in Wisconsin's fake elector scheme
MADISON, Wis. (CBS 58) -- After months of not saying whether there’s an active investigation into the Republican fake electors in Wisconsin, Attorney General Josh Kaul announced felony charges Tuesday against three individuals tied to the alleged scheme to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
Kaul filed the charges against Kenneth Chesebro, Jim Troupis and Mike Roman, who all worked for former President Donald Trump in 2020. Each face a single felony charge of forgery.
They are scheduled for an initial appearance in Dane County Court on September 19th.
Wisconsin now becomes the latest state to bring charges against fake electors involved in the Trump campaign's alleged plot to overturn Joe Biden's victory four years ago.
Other charges related to the elector scheme have been filed in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan and Neveda. Roman, a former Trump campaign aid, has also been indited in Trump federal election interference case in Georgia.
Earlier this year, Chesebro and Troupis settled a civil lawsuit in Wisconsin related to their involvement.
The Indictment
The indictment provides more details about how the plan unfolded days leading up to January 6th.
Chesebro, who spearheaded the fake elector plot, sent a memo on Nov. 18, 2020, to Troupis and others encouraging electors representing Trump to cast alternative slat of electoral votes when Congress meets to certify the results.
That triggered Wisconsin's 10 Republican electors to meet at the state Capitol in December to sign paperwork falsely stating the former president won the battleground state. Republicans have maintained they signed the documents to preserve Trump's legal options as the court cases challenging the election results played out.
In the end, court cases in state and federal court maintained Biden's more than 21,000 vote victory over Trump in the swing state.
The indictment also lays out additional communications between the three co-defendants leading up to Republicans meeting at the capitol in Madison.
Text messages between Chesebro and Roman on Dec. 12, 2020 show Roman responding "F--k these guys" when asked about the language in the certificates to be signed by then-Vice President Mike Pence.
The next day, Chesebro sent Troupis a message about the "endgame in Congress." Troupis responded later that evening affirming they are "good" and ready to "preserve our options."
In an email to Trump campaign officials, Roman and the Republican National Commitee named Troupis as the "one who floated" the idea of the electors voting on Dec. 14, according to the indictment.
On Dec. 16, 2020, the inditement also alleges Chesebro sent a message to Roman and another unnamed Republican that "things might have been different if we'd won Wisconsin." Chesebro later suggested the Trump campaign should "weaponize the Electoral Count Act" which could "put the Biden campaign in a no-win situation."
GOP, Democrats React to Charges
Republican were quick to dismiss Kaul's lawsuit. Sen. Ron Johnson called it "outrageous" in a post on "X".
"Now Democrats are weaponizing Wisconsin’s judiciary," Johnson said. "Apparently conservative lawyers advising clients is illegal under Democrat tyranny. Democrats are turning America into a banana republic."
The Republican Party of Wisconsin declined to comment on the charges.
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who has long supported an investigation into those involved in the 2020 scheme, responded to the felony charges with a one-word statement: "Good."
Some election officials in Dane and Milwaukee County also by praising the decision.
“As election officials in Wisconsin we are very glad to see that Attorney General Kaul is taking seriously the efforts to overthrow the legitimate votes of Wisconsin citizens in the 2020 Presidential election," said Dane County Clerk Scott McDonell and Milwaukee County Clerk George Christenson in a joint statement.
"The architects of the fake electors scheme should be brought to justice as a deterrent to any who may consider engaging in similar acts in the future."