MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul on Tuesday filed forgery charges against two lawyers and an assistant who helped file paperwork falsely saying former President Donald Trump won the battleground state in 2020.
The charges were filed against Trump attorneys Kenneth Chesebro, 62, and Jim Troupis, 70, and former Trump aide Mike Roman, 51, who allegedly handed Wisconsin’s fake voter ID credentials to a Pennsylvania congressman’s staffer to use at then-Vice President Mike. Pence on January 6, 2021.
All three are scheduled to appear in Dane County Circuit Court on September 19, according to court records. They each face one misdemeanor charge, which carries a penalty of up to six years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
Troupis and Chesebro did not return voicemail messages Tuesday. Roman did not have an attorney listed in the lawsuits.
Kaul, a Democrat, has been under pressure to take action against the 10 fake voters, who have not yet been charged with any criminal wrongdoing. He has previously suggested he relied on federal investigators, but has not ruled out a state investigation either.
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers responded to news of the filed charges in one word: “Good.”
Electors are people appointed to represent voters in presidential elections. The winner of the popular vote in each state determines which party’s electors will be sent to the Electoral College, which meets in December after the election to determine the outcome.
The fake voter efforts are at the center of an August federal indictment filed against Trump, alleging he tried to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Federal prosecutors are investigating his conduct in connection with the US Capitol riot on January 6, 2021, have also said the plan originated in Wisconsin. Trump also faces charges Georgia and has denied wrongdoing.
Michigan And Nevada have also criminally charged fake voters.
Chesebro and Roman were among the 18 people indicted along with Trump in August in a sweeping racketeering indictment in Georgia. They are accused of participating in a vast scheme to illegally overturn the 2020 election in that state.
Chesebro in October pleaded guilty to one crime of conspiring to file false documents after reaching a deal with prosecutors. Roman has pleaded not guilty to racketeering and conspiracy charges in connection with a plan to rally Republican voters and cast Electoral College votes for Trump even though Biden had won Georgia.
The voters of Wisconsin, Chesebro and Troup all resolved a civil lawsuit filed against them last year.
Documents released as part of those settlements showed that the strategy in Wisconsin repeated moves in six other swing states.
Trump lost Wisconsin to Biden, a Democrat, by less than 21,000 to vote. Trump carried Wisconsin by a similar margin in 2016.
Wisconsin is again one of the few swing states this year.
Government And external investigationsfound uniform there was no evidence of widespread voter fraud that could have affected the 2020 election. But Trump did continued to spread untruths about the elections, especially in Wisconsin.
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Associated Press writer Kate Brumback in Atlanta contributed to this report.