Former Trump attorney lashes out at ‘lawfare’ after court appearance in Wisconsin fake electors case

MADISON, Wis. — Former aides to newly-elected President Donald Trump appeared in a Wisconsin court for the first time on Thursday misdemeanor charges related to a plan to file paperwork falsely claiming Trump won the swing state in 2020.

Jim Troupis, Trump’s lawyer in Wisconsin, lashed out after the hearing, saying he was the victim of “legal politics” waged against him by the state’s Democratic attorney general.

Troupis, Kenneth Chesebro, a lawyer who advised the campaign, and Mike Roman, Trump’s director of 2020 Election Day operations, are all charged with 11 felony counts of forgery. Each charge carries a maximum penalty of six years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Troupis appeared in person, while the other two appeared by telephone with their attorneys in the Dane County courtroom.

Troupis said in comments after the brief hearing was over that Wisconsin Attorney General Josh “has doubled down on a vicious strategy to destroy our faith in the justice system by using the courts for his own personal political game.”

“My family and I have endured non-stop brutal and brutal attacks on my reputation and on my livelihood,” Troupis said outside the courtroom, surrounded by supporters including former Republican Gov. Scott McCallum. “My children have been interrogated. My long-standing friendships and professional life have been destroyed.”

A court commissioner has scheduled a preliminary hearing for all three on Jan. 28. They will enter their pleas at their arraignment, which has not yet been scheduled.

They were ordered not to have contact with the 10 voters or three others who were not named in the indictment. They had no objection to these conditions and were allowed to leave without paying a deposit.

Troupis defended the strategy of convening Republican voters, saying it was necessary in case a court ruled that Trump won Wisconsin.

“We thought this would end,” Troupis said. “The country has asked for it to end in November, but the practice of law in all its despicable forms will not end in Wisconsin.”

The state charges against Trump’s lawyers and aides are the only ones in Wisconsin. None of the voters have been charged. The ten voters of Wisconsin, Chesebro and Troupis all settled a lawsuit which was filed against them in 2023.

There are pending charges related to the fake voter program in state and federal courts Arizona, Michigan, Nevada And Georgia. Federal prosecutors are investigating Trump’s conduct in connection with the US Capitol riot on January 6, 2021 said the fake voter program originated in Wisconsin.

Electors are people appointed to represent voters in presidential elections. The winner of the popular vote in each state determines which electors are sent to the Electoral College, which meets in December after the presidential election to determine the outcome.

The Wisconsin complaint details how Troupis, Chesebro and Roman created a document falsely claiming Trump had won the 10 Electoral College votes and attempted to deliver it to then-Vice President Mike Pence for certification by Congress.

Prosecutors said in the complaint that most of the 10 voters told investigators they were required to sign the voter certification, indicating Trump won only to preserve his legal options if a court changed the outcome of the election in Wisconsin. Most voters also said they did not agree to have their signatures presented as if Trump had won without such a court ruling, the complaint said.

Troupis and Roman filed four motions to dismiss the charges before Thursday’s hearing. The court commissioner did not take this into account.

The lawsuit against Wisconsin was filed by Kaul, Wisconsin’s attorney general. One forgery charge was filed against each of the three defendants in June, and another 10 were added on Tuesday relating to the defendants’ interactions with the 10 voters.

The fake election efforts were central to a 2023 federal racketeering indictment filed against Trump, alleging he attempted to overturn the outcome of the 2020 election. Special Prosecutor Jack Smith moved to give up that case last month, admitting it was Trump’s return to the White House in January will rule out attempts to prosecute him federally.

Trump was also indicted in Georgia, along with 18 others accused of participating in an elaborate scheme to illegally overturn the 2020 presidential election there. Trump is trying let that case be dismissedarguing that state courts will have no jurisdiction over him when he returns to the White House next month.

Chesebro and Roman were among them sued Trump in Georgia.

Roman has pleaded not guilty there to charges of racketeering and conspiracy, as well as nine felonies in Arizona related to the bogus electoral system in that state.

Chesebro pleaded guilty to one crime of conspiracy to submit false documents in a deal Prosecutors of Georgia. He is trying to have the plea declared invalid after the judge in September threw the load away against Trump and others.

___

Associated Press writer Todd Richmond contributed to this story.