Wisconsin prosecutors have filed 10 additional felony charges against two attorneys and an aide to President-elect Trump for their involvement in a plan to submit paperwork claiming Trump won the battleground state in the 2020 election.
Jim Troupis, Trump’s attorney in Wisconsin; Kenneth Chesebro, a campaign advisor; and Mike Roman, Trump’s 2020 director of Election Day operations, initially faced one felony forgery charge each. The Wisconsin Department of Justice filed new charges Tuesday, two days before their scheduled court appearances. Each now faces 11 felony charges, including forgery in attempting to defraud the 10 Republican electors who cast votes for Trump.
Each charge carries a maximum penalty of six years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Attorneys for the defendants did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Wisconsin case is the only state prosecution related to the fake electors scheme. None of the Republican electors who participated have been charged. Troupis, Chesebro, and the 10 electors settled a related lawsuit in 2023.
The amended complaint alleges the defendants created a document falsely certifying Trump as the winner of Wisconsin’s Electoral College votes and attempted to deliver it to then-Vice President Mike Pence. Prosecutors noted that most electors claimed they were told their signatures were necessary only to preserve Trump’s legal options if a court overturned the election results. These electors reportedly did not consent to their signatures being used without a court ruling.
Troupis has filed four motions to dismiss the charges, arguing that convening Republican electors was a lawful measure to safeguard legal options and that federal law precludes state charges. He also contends that the case should be dismissed because prosecution for election crimes must be initiated by county district attorneys, not the state attorney general.
The Wisconsin charges, brought by Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul, were filed in June 2024.
Chesebro and Roman are also facing charges in Georgia as part of a racketeering case against Trump and 18 others. Roman has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy and racketeering charges in Georgia and nine felony charges in Arizona related to a similar fake electors scheme. Chesebro, who pleaded guilty to one charge in Georgia last year, is now attempting to invalidate his plea after the charge was dismissed by the court.
Federal prosecutors, who linked the fake electors scheme to Wisconsin, abandoned a related case last month, citing Trump’s imminent return to the White House as a barrier to prosecution. Meanwhile, Trump is seeking to dismiss the Georgia case, arguing state courts will lack jurisdiction once he assumes office.
