New charges filed against Trump allies tied to Wisconsin's fake elector plot
MADISON, Wis. (CBS 58) -- New felony charges have been filed against three individuals tied to the alleged scheme to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Wisconsin.
The new charges allege attorney Jim Troupis, Kenneth Chesebro and Mike Roman, who all worked for former President Donald Trump in 2020, defrauded Wisconsin's 10 GOP electors who signed paperwork claiming Trump won.
On Tuesday, Attorney General Josh Kaul filed 10 additional charges against the three Trump allies in an updated complaint. That's in addition to a single felony forgery charge each previously faced in June when Kaul filed his criminal case.
Most of the GOP electors told investigators the three men tricked them into signing an alternate slate of electors for Trump during a December meeting at the state Capitol four years ago, according to new court documents.
In the updated complaint, a majority of the electors said they signed the document "under the belief and understanding that their signatures would have no legal effect" unless a court changed the outcome of the election.
They also told law enforcement they didn't believe their signatures would be presented to Congress on Jan. 6 or to then-Vice President Mike Pence, who oversaw certifying the 2020 election.
The new charges against Troupis, Chesebro and Roman come two days before each are scheduled to appear for their initial court appearance in Dane County Court Thursday.
Each felony count carries up to $10,000 in fines and a maximum six-year prison sentence.
Troupis has filed four motions seeking to drop the first felony charge against him ahead of Thursday's hearing.
One of them claims the Department of Justice failed to show probable cause the crimes were committed because the electors had to preserve their legal options in case the courts ruled in Trump's favor, challenging the results.
Another motion argues the case cannot proceed because Kaul "refused to abide by the Legislature’s demand” that election-related charges must be referred to by the Wisconsin Elections Commission or a local district attorney.
Last year, Troupis, Chesebro and Wisconsin's 10 fake electors reached a settlement with Democrats acknowledging their signatures were used "in an attempt to improperly overturn the 2020 presidential election results.”