Wisconsin judge rules Trump aides must face trial in 2020 fake elector scheme

A Dane County Circuit judge ruled Monday that there is probable cause to proceed to trial on 11 felony forgery charges against Jim Troupis, a longtime Wisconsin campaign attorney, and Mike Roman, Trump’s director of Election Day operations in 2020, tied to the former president’s 2020 fake elector scheme. The ruling marks a procedural milestone for the case, which centers on alleged attempts to disrupt the normal process of certifying Wisconsin’s electoral votes. The decision comes as related efforts in other battleground states have faced hurdles, and as federal and state actions tied to the 2020 election continue to unfold in different jurisdictions. A federal case brought by a special prosecutor — alleging a conspiracy to overturn the election — was dropped last year, while another case in Nevada remains active.

The charges allege that the defendants defrauded the state’s 10 Republican electors who cast their ballots for Trump in 2020 by seeking to present a certificate that would award Wisconsin’s 10 electoral votes to Trump, regardless of the outcome in state courts. Prosecutors say the defendants intended to present the certificate as legitimate and usable by Congress, not merely as an option contingent on a court ruling. Hyland noted that communications among the defendants indicated an intention to treat the certificate as an official award to Trump, rather than as a document to be held in reserve until a court decision, which helped establish probable cause for forgery.

The defense has argued that the charges are misplaced and that the individuals were acting to preserve options in a fluid electoral process. The case’s focus centers on 11 felony forgery counts against Troupis and Roman, with former Trump attorney Ken Chesebro also charged and whose preliminary hearing was postponed as questions about the admissibility of statements he gave to investigators are resolved. Assistant Wisconsin Attorney General Adrienne Blais said Chesebro’s attorney’s move to exclude those statements at the preliminary hearing was a tactical maneuver that should not stall the process indefinitely.

Chesebro’s statements were given voluntarily, and prosecutors say there was no immunity agreement in exchange for cooperation. The hearing on whether those statements can be admitted at trial will be handled separately from the ongoing proceedings against Troupis and Roman.

In the courtroom, prosecutors put forward the state’s only witness thus far: a Wisconsin Department of Justice special agent who laid out the allegations that the electors were defrauded and that the purported use of the certificate did not align with the electors’ understanding of the process. The electors themselves told investigators that they did not believe their signatures would be submitted to Congress without a court ruling, and a majority said they did not consent to having their signatures presented as if Trump had won without such a ruling, according to the complaint.

Harvard Law School professor Lawrence Lessig testified for the defense, arguing that the legal framework around the elector process could permit the electors’ votes to be valid if certain conditions were met, including timely submission of a certificate signed by Republican electors. Lessig noted that if a court later ruled Trump had won Wisconsin, the electors’ votes would be valid only if the certificate was submitted on time; prosecutors countered that the evidence showed a deliberate attempt to present a certificate that could mislead Congress about the apparent winner.

Defense lawyers have also raised questions about the judge’s handling of the case. Troupis, who had previously served as a judge in the same county, accused Hyland of bias and sought to have the case moved, but Hyland rejected the bid and continued to oversee the proceedings.

The Wisconsin charges are the only ones currently arising from the state’s investigation into the 2020 fake electors scheme. None of the ten electors have been charged, and the electors and related actors have largely settled civil disputes that followed the case.

Outside of Wisconsin, related legal actions in Michigan and Georgia have encountered difficulties, while a Nevada case remains active. In a separate federal track, prosecutors previously pressed charges against Trump in connection with the 2020 election, but that case was dismissed by a special prosecutor last year. The Wisconsin proceeding stands as the most advanced state-level case connected to the 2020 electors scheme in the Midwest.

The next steps in Wisconsin will hinge on the ongoing consideration of Chesebro’s admissibility issues, as well as potential motions that could impact the trial date for Troupis and Roman. If the case proceeds to trial, jurors would be presented with the forgery charges and accompanying allegations about intent, with the possibility of further updates as additional witnesses testify and documents are reviewed.