Newsletter: Continued Consequences for Fake Electors Scheme
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This week, Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul filed felony forgery charges against three allies of former President Trump ([link removed]) who devised and helped implement the brazen scheme to subvert the 2020 vote by submitting false electoral certificates.
* American Oversight obtained and published copies of the seven fraudulent certificates ([link removed]) in 2021, documenting the involvement of the Trump backers who signed them.


The charges against attorneys Kenneth Chesebro and Jim Troupis and former Trump campaign aide Michael Roman are the first that Wisconsin prosecutors have brought against people involved in the fake electors scheme.
* Chesebro ([link removed]) , who was a principal architect ([link removed]) of the plan, was one of six unindicted co-conspirators mentioned in the Justice Department’s indictment of Trump in its election interference case. He was also indicted last August alongside Trump ([link removed]) in the Fulton County, Ga., case, and was an unindicted co-conspirator in the Arizona attorney general’s ([link removed]) fake-electors case.
* The charges against Troupis, who was Trump’s lead attorney ([link removed]) for both the 2020 recount and election challenge in Wisconsin, are the first he’s facing for his role in the effort.
* Roman, who served as director of Election Day operations for Trump’s 2020 campaign, was indicted ([link removed]) in the Georgia case and the Arizona case. This week, Roman and former Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows pleaded not guilty ([link removed]) in court in Arizona.
* On Tuesday, Chesebro, Roman and Troupis were charged with intent to forge the Wisconsin certificate, “knowing it to have been thus falsely made or altered, with one or more of the parties to the conspiracy doing an act to effect the objective of the conspiracy.”


In addition to the certificates themselves, American Oversight has also obtained records that shed light on the anti-democratic efforts of those involved in the fake electors scheme.
* A Nov. 18 memo that Chesebro sent to Troupis is one of the earliest records ([link removed]) pointing to the hatching of the fake electors plot. American Oversight obtained emails ([link removed]) indicating that in the weeks after Election Day, legislative leaders in Arizona and Wisconsin sought legal advice about whether legislators had the power to alter the selection of electors after the election had taken place.
* Documents we uncovered ([link removed]) show that Roman was involved in the Arizona Senate’s 2021 partisan election “audit” both operationally and as a funder. His name also appeared ([link removed]) on a list of employees ([link removed]) retained for the sham Maricopa County review by subcontractor Wake TSI, the firm that led the hand count of ballots until mid-May 2021.


Chesebro pleaded guilty ([link removed].) in the Georgia case in December, with CNN ([link removed]) reporting he was “now cooperating with Michigan and Wisconsin state investigators in hopes of avoiding more criminal charges.”
* In a legal settlement in December, the 10 fake electors from Wisconsin formally acknowledged ([link removed]) that Joe Biden had won the state and agreed ([link removed]) not to serve as presidential electors in 2024 or in any future election in which Trump is on the ballot.


Effort to Block Public Records Access in Louisiana
American Oversight released a statement Friday regarding Louisiana HB 767 ([link removed]) , which would rewrite portions of the Louisiana Public Records Act to restrict access to public documents from the governor’s office.
* “Transparency in Louisiana seems to be on the chopping block this year, with the state legislature making it easier for government officials to operate in the dark and more challenging for the public to obtain records aimed at exposing nefarious outside influences working within and across state lines,” American Oversight’s interim Executive Director Chioma Chukwu said.
* “This bill flies in the face of open government, restricting who can ask for records that belong to the public and placing an extra burden on resident requesters who seek to hold the Louisiana governor accountable,” she added. “We urge Gov. Landry to reject this bill.”
* Meanwhile, in New Jersey, the governor this week signed legislation that also limits access to public records. In its reporting on the new law, the New York Times ([link removed]) also cited our statement condemning ([link removed]) an anti-transparency law in Utah that was signed by the state’s governor earlier this year.


On the Records

Behind the Scenes of Abortion Travel Bans
Across the country, state and local officials have proposed abortion travel bans, which prohibit people from using certain public roads to obtain an abortion, with some bans going into effect in several cities and counties in Texas.
* In 2023, Texas’ Cochran, Goliad, Lubbock, and Mitchell counties all passed abortion travel ban ordinances ([link removed]) that relied on citizen reporting as the sole enforcement method, allowing private citizens to sue ([link removed]) individuals they believe assisted travel for an abortion.
* Each of those bans was ([link removed]) drafted ([link removed]) by anti-abortion activists Mark Lee Dickson and former Texas Solicitor General Jonathan Mitchell, who created Texas’ near-total abortion ban ([link removed]) .


Records ([link removed]) obtained by American Oversight provide new insight into how those activists have engaged with county officials in Texas.
* The ([link removed]) records ([link removed]) show Dickson and Mitchell contacting Mitchell County officials in July 2023 to advocate for a travel ban. In a letter ([link removed]) to Mitchell county commissioners, he offered to represent the county at no cost if it were sued over the ban.
* Other records ([link removed]) show the Lubbock County Commissioners were in possession of a “Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn” chart ([link removed]) of cities and counties that had prohibited abortion, as well as a letter ([link removed]) signed by several state lawmakers urging local officials to adopt similar ordinances.


Other Stories We're Following

Election Denial and Threats to Democracy
* A Republican election clerk vs. Trump die-hards in a world of lies (New York Times ([link removed]) )
* Trump allies sue to allow election officials to refuse to certify results (Rolling Stone ([link removed]) )
* Election certification disputes in a handful of states spark concerns over presidential contest (Associated Press ([link removed]) )
* Gray urges Wyoming to ditch ballot drop boxes; clerks say they’re safe, legal (WyoFile ([link removed]) )
* Republican who refused to certify Georgia primary a member of election denialist group (Guardian ([link removed]) )
* Election deniers stop repeal of Louisiana’s burdensome voting machines law (Louisiana Illuminator ([link removed]) )
* Right-wing media company Salem apologizes, stops distributing 2020 election conspiracy film ‘2000 Mules’ after lawsuit (CNN ([link removed]) )
* Michigan 2020 election cases delayed as Biden-Trump rematch looms (Bridge Michigan ([link removed]) )


Voting Rights
* 100 years after citizenship, Indigenous peoples continue to fight to vote (News From the States ([link removed]) )
* Republicans slowly rev up poll monitoring operation ahead of election, but questions remain about its scope (NBC News ([link removed]) )
* How Arizona hopes to avoid a ‘nightmare’ if November ballot stretches to a second page (Votebeat ([link removed]) )
* How to decide when voter’s ballot isn’t properly filled out: Florida proposes new rules (Tampa Bay Times ([link removed]) )
* Florida Republicans moved to make vote by mail harder. It worked. (Politico ([link removed]) )
* Colorado will offer in-person voting behind bars in November (NBC News ([link removed]) )


In the States
* UT professors sue Biden administration over new Title IX abortion, gender identity rules (Austin American-Statesman ([link removed]) )
* In Texas’ Rio Grande Valley, a push for more direct democracy (Texas Tribune ([link removed]) )
* The NRA's Dallas convention center deal: $5k to rent space, a $482k discount and a $445k subsidy (KERA News ([link removed]) )
* Florida Supreme Court sides with DeSantis in fight with Democratic prosecutor (Politico ([link removed]) )


National News
* Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas accepted gifts worth millions of dollars over 20 years, analysis finds (CNBC ([link removed]) )
* Lawmakers expensed millions in 2023 under new program that doesn’t require receipts (Washington Post ([link removed]) )
* Leader of conservative Federalist Society announces retirement (Washington Post ([link removed]) )


LGBTQ Rights
* Four proponents testify in support of Ohio drag ban bill — including a member of a hate group (Ohio Capital Journal ([link removed]) )
* Washington parental rights law criticized as a ‘forced outing’ measure is allowed to take effect (Associated Press ([link removed]) )
* Ninth Circuit appears skeptical of Montana’s drag ban (Daily Montanan ([link removed]) )


Abortion and Reproductive Rights
* States are already collecting more abortion data. And HIPAA won’t always keep it private. (News From the States ([link removed]) )
* Conservative attacks on birth control could threaten access (Washington Post ([link removed]) )
* Judge rules abortion drug can be taken at home in North Carolina (WUNC ([link removed]) )
* Conservatives tied to Trump want to limit insurance coverage for abortions (Washington Post ([link removed]) )


Threats to Education
* Billions in taxpayer dollars now go to religious schools via vouchers (Washington Post ([link removed]) )
* Trump elevates a conservative ‘warrior’ on education (New York Times ([link removed]) )
* Ohio Republican proposes bill that would defund libraries over materials government deems ‘harmful’ (Ohio Capital Journal ([link removed]) )
* Texas may pay schools to use curriculum critics call overtly Christian (Washington Post ([link removed]) )
* Bill on library book selection clears Assembly panel after four-hour hearing (New Jersey Monitor ([link removed]) )


Civil Rights
* ‘Cooking someone to death’: Southern states resist calls to add air conditioning to prisons (Politico ([link removed]) )
* Feds closed a prison notorious for abuse. Things only got worse (Rolling Stone ([link removed]) )
* Wisconsin warden and 8 staff members charged following probes into inmate deaths (Associated Press ([link removed]) )
* Parole plunges in South Carolina as governor-appointed board issues denial after denial (Bolts ([link removed]) )


Government Transparency and Public Records Law
* Quest for DeSantis’ travel records leads to 2-year delay, then denial (Orlando Sentinel ([link removed]) )
* Gov. Murphy signs bill revamping public records law, in blow to transparency advocates (New Jersey Monitor ([link removed]) )
* North Carolina Democrats propose constitutional amendment for public records access (NC Newsline ([link removed]) )


Immigration
* Arizona voters will decide if local police can arrest people for crossing into the US from Mexico (Associated Press ([link removed]) )
* Migrants are rattled and unsure as deportations begin under new rule halting asylum (Associated Press ([link removed]) )


Trump Accountability
* Georgia appeals court pauses lower-court proceedings in Trump election case (Washington Post ([link removed]) )
* Michigan 2020 election cases delayed as Biden-Trump rematch looms (Bridge Michigan ([link removed]) )
* Multiple Trump witnesses have received significant financial benefits from his businesses, campaign (ProPublica ([link removed]) )
* DeSantis says Trump can still vote in Florida despite felony conviction (Politico ([link removed]) )
* The evidence that led to Trump’s hush money conviction (Washington Post ([link removed]) )


Jan. 6 Investigations
* Steve Bannon ordered to prison while he challenges his conviction for defying Jan. 6 committee (Politico ([link removed]) )
* After Jan. 6, Twitter banned 70,000 right-wing accounts. Lies plummeted. (Washington Post ([link removed]) )

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