In a surprising turn of events, three individuals involved in the “fake electors” scheme to ensure election integrity in the wake of the 2020 presidential election have been charged in Wisconsin. The charges were announced on the same day that the Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) financial report scandal broke into the mainstream media, raising questions about the timing of the announcement.
Mike Roman, a Philadelphia native who served as the Trump campaign’s head of Election Day operations, along with Kenneth Chesebro, an attorney who struck a plea deal with prosecutors in a separate 2020 election case in Georgia, and James Troupis, a former judge and Trump campaign attorney, have been charged with felony forgery.
The charges stem from their alleged roles in getting a slate of pro-Trump electors to sign paperwork attesting that President Trump had won Wisconsin in the 2020 election.
The fake electors scheme is a major component of the charges that special counsel Jack Smith has brought against President Trump in federal court in Washington, D.C. The case is currently on hold while the Supreme Court decides on President Trump’s claim of absolute immunity from prosecution, with the trial unlikely to go forward before Election Day.
The charges in Wisconsin mark the first time state prosecutors have moved to hold anyone accountable over the plot involving the 10 Wisconsin Republicans who met in the state Capitol in December 2020 to sign paperwork claiming to be electors for President Trump.
The 10 electors haven’t been charged with any criminal wrongdoing – despite Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul, a Democrat, facing mounting pressure to bring action against them.
The timing of the announcement, coinciding with the MPS financial report scandal breaking into the mainstream media, has raised questions about the motivations behind the charges. Some critics have suggested that the charges were strategically announced to divert attention from the MPS scandal and to further tarnish the reputation of President Trump and his associates.
Roman, Chesebro, and Troupis each face a felony count punishable by up to six years in prison and fines of up to $10,000.