Pro-Trump lawyer investigated by Wisconsin in elector scheme, CNN says – The Capital Times
CNN is reporting the Wisconsin Department of Justice is investigating a pro-Trump attorney over a scheme to subvert the electoral college in 2020.
State Government Reporter
State Government Reporter
CNN is reporting the Wisconsin Department of Justice is investigating a pro-Trump attorney over a scheme to subvert the electoral college in 2020.
The Wisconsin Department of Justice is reportedly investigating an attorney who helped orchestrate a scheme where false electors pledged their support to former President Donald Trump in a bid to subvert the electoral college in 2020.
CNN reported Friday that Kenneth Chesebro has been cooperating with the state-level investigation, which comes after he pleaded guilty to charges in Georgia stemming from the same scheme.
Attorney General Josh Kaul has not publicly disclosed any investigation. Gillian Drummond, a spokesperson for the DOJ, said the agency “generally does not confirm or deny the existence of an investigation, except in unique public safety circumstances.”
“Attorney General Kaul strongly believes that those who committed crimes in an effort to unlawfully subvert the outcome of an election should be held accountable,” she said in an email.
A panel of Republicans met shortly after the state Supreme Court upheld Biden’s victory in Wisconsin — at the same time as Democratic electors met elsewhere in the state Capitol. They aimed to certify to the U.S. Senate that Trump had legitimately won the state, despite Biden’s 20,000-vote victory and without evidence of widespread election fraud in Wisconsin.
The meeting came after Chesebro and other pro-Trump attorneys authored memos outlining the false electors plan.
Charges against fake electors have been filed in three states, and CNN reported that Chesebro also has been cooperating with prosecutors in Nevada and Arizona.
An attorney representing Chesebro did not immediately respond to a request from the Cap Times for comment.
The CNN report comes two days after the 10 false electors agreed to settle a civil lawsuit over the matter. They admitted no wrongdoing and no money will change hands, but all 10 will agree not to serve as electors in 2024 and acknowledged President Joe Biden’s 2020 victory in the state.
The group of Republicans argued that their certification as electors was necessary in case Trump’s legal efforts to overturn the results of the election in Wisconsin were successful, saying they did not realize it would be part of a broader aim to subvert the Electoral College.
Text messages released as part of the settlement show some of the electors were skeptical of the ultimate aims of the plan.
As part of the settlement, the group stated that they “oppose any attempt to undermine the public’s faith in the ultimate results of the 2020 presidential election” and formally withdrew the documents they filed in 2020.
Andrew Bahl joined the Cap Times in September 2023, covering Wisconsin politics and government. He is a University of Wisconsin-Madison alum and has covered state government in Pennsylvania and Kansas.
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