Key facts
- Jim Troupis, Mike Roman, and Ken Chesebro pleaded not guilty to felony forgery charges in Wisconsin.
- The charges are related to a fake elector scheme intended to overturn Donald Trump's 2020 election loss.
- Prosecutors allege the defendants lied to electors about the use of their ballots.
- The defendants claim they committed no crime and were preserving options.
- Troupis and Roman are seeking to move their trial venue, citing negative publicity.
- The defendants also argued that a pardon from Donald Trump should apply to one of the charges.
President Donald Trump’s former attorney for the 2020 campaign in Wisconsin, along with two former aides, have pleaded not guilty to felony forgery charges. The charges stem from their alleged involvement in a fake elector scheme designed to overturn Trump's loss in the state.
Jim Troupis, who served as Trump's Wisconsin campaign attorney, Mike Roman, Trump’s director of Election Day operations in 2020, and Ken Chesebro, a former Trump legal adviser, entered their pleas in Dane County Circuit Court. Troupis appeared in person, while Roman and Chesebro appeared via Zoom.
Prosecutors contend that the three defendants defrauded 10 Wisconsin Republican electors who cast ballots for Trump in 2020. The prosecution alleges that Troupis, Chesebro, and Roman misled the electors about how their signed documents would be used as part of a plan to falsely claim Trump had won the state. Many electors reportedly stated they did not believe their signatures would be submitted to Congress without a court ruling, nor did they consent to their signatures being presented as if Trump had won without such a ruling.
The arraignment follows the initial charges brought by Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul two years and two weeks prior. Each defendant faces 11 felony forgery counts, punishable by up to six years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Attorneys for Troupis and Roman have filed motions seeking to move the trial from Dane County to Jefferson County, arguing that negative publicity has tainted the potential jury pool. They also contend that one of the felony counts should be dismissed because Trump issued a pardon for federal crimes related to the fake elector scheme, asserting state prosecution is preempted.
The judge is expected to schedule a hearing to address these motions. These state charges are the only ones of their kind in Wisconsin related to the fake elector scheme, and none of the electors have been charged. Troupis, Chesebro, and the 10 electors previously settled a civil lawsuit brought by Democrats.