MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Felony forgery charges were filed in Wisconsin on Tuesday against two lawyers and an aide who helped file documents that falsely said former President Donald Trump had won the battleground state in 2020.
The state charges are the first to come in Wisconsin and follow separate charges filed Arizona, Michigan, snowfall i Georgia related to the false voter scheme.
The Wisconsin charges were filed against Trump's attorney in the state, Jim Troupis, 62, attorney Kenneth Chesebro, 62, who advised the campaign, and Mike Roman, 51, who was the director of 'Trump's election day operations. Roman allegedly gave the fake Wisconsin voter paperwork to a Pennsylvania congressional staffer to take 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. They each face a felony charge punishable by up to six years in prison and fines of up to $10,000.
Troupis and Chesebro did not return voice messages left Tuesday. Roman's attorney, Kurt Altman, said he had just learned of the charges Tuesday morning and was in the process of reviewing them.
Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul, a Democrat, did not rule out bringing more charges, including against the 10 fraudulent voters, saying the investigation is ongoing.
“Our focus has been on following the facts where they lead,” he told a news conference.
Republican US Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin called the charges “outrageous”.
“Democrats are now weaponizing the Wisconsin judiciary,” Johnson posted on X. “Apparently conservative lawyers advising clients is illegal under Democrat tyranny. Democrats are turning America into a banana republic” .
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers offered a one-word response to news of the charges: “Good.”
Electors are people appointed to represent voters in presidential elections. The winner of each state's popular vote determines which party's electors are sent to the Electoral College, which meets in December after the election to certify the result.
Fake electoral efforts are essential for an August federal indictment filed against Trump alleging that he tried to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Federal prosecutors, investigating his conduct related to on January 6, 2021, riots at the United States Capitol, have also said the plan originated in Wisconsin. Trump also faces charges Georgia and has denied doing any harm.
Chesebro and Roman were among the 18 people indicted along with Trump in August in a racketeering indictment in Georgia. They are accused of participating in a broad scheme to illegally nullify the 2020 elections in that state.
Chesebro in October pled guilty to a felony of conspiracy to commit filing false documents after reaching a settlement with Georgia prosecutors. Roman has pleaded not guilty to racketeering and conspiracy charges related to a plans to rally Republican voters and cast Electoral College votes for Trump even though Biden had won Georgia.
roman also expensive nine felony charges in Arizona related to the bogus voter scheme there, including conspiracy, fraud and forgery.
All 10 Wisconsin electors, Chesebro and Troupis, who was Trump's attorney in Wisconsin, all settled a civil suit that was filed against them last year.
Documents released as part of these settlements showed that the strategy in Wisconsin movements replicated in six other swing states.
The complaint goes into detail, citing in large part those documents, interviews and testimony given to Congress about how the fake voter plan was drawn up.
The complaint details how Chesebro emailed a memo on Nov. 18, 2020, to Troupis and others arguing that electors representing Trump should meet on Dec. 14, 2020, to preserve Trump's electoral roll- Pence should a court or legislature determine them. to be the winners.
Chesebro argued in a later memo that Trump's electors could be counted by Congress if legal challenges to his loss were still pending. Troupis sent the two memos to the Trump White House, according to the complaint.
On December 9, 2020, Chesebro emailed Troupis a memo with instructions for constituent meetings on December 14, 2020. Two days later, Chesebro emailed Trump aide Roman the details of the plan, according to the complaint.
On or during the Dec. 14, 2020 meeting, Chesebro sent a message to Troupis and Roman that said, “The meeting of 'real' voters is a test!!!,” the complaint said. Troupis responded with a “thumbs up” emoji, according to the complaint.
The complaint also details how Alesha Guenther, a law student who works part-time for the Republican Party of Wisconsin, delivered the fake voter list from Wisconsin to Chesebro in Washington, DC on January 5, 2021. Roman tell Guenther to just give the paperwork to Chesebro.
“5 minutes until I download,” Guenther wrote at one point, according to the complaint. “I feel like a drug dealer.”
When Chesebro received the documents, he emailed Roman to let him know he had them.
Roman then arranged for a congressional staffer to meet with Chesebro and take the document. Chesebro sent Roman a message confirming it was done, according to the complaint.
Trump lost Wisconsin to Biden, a Democrat less than 21,000 votes Trump carried Wisconsin by a similar margin in 2016.
Government i external investigationshave found uniformly there was no evidence of widespread voter fraud that could have changed 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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