On Wednesday, June 4, the news broke that Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul had filed criminal charges against three allies of former President Donald Trump in connection with their efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in their state: James Troupis, Michael Roman and Kenneth Chesebro.
Trump himself, however, has not been indicted in Kaul's case, which follows criminal indictments of Trump allies in separate election interference cases being prosecuted by Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis and Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes.
On X, formerly Twitter, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin) — a far-right Trump loyalist — was quick to attack Kaul's indictment, posting, "This is outrageous. Now Democrats are weaponizing Wisconsin's judiciary. Apparently conservative lawyers advising clients is illegal under Democrat tyranny. Democrats are turning America into a banana republic."
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In an op-ed published by MSNBC's website on June 7, Never Trump conservative Charlie Sykes lays out some reasons why Kaul's case presents an "awkward situation for Wisconsin's senior senator." And they involve the fake electors scheme in Wisconsin.
"According to this week's indictment, after a meeting at the Wisconsin Capitol on December 14, 2020, where Trump electors signed the fake certificates, Chesebro and Troupis arranged for the documents to be flown to Washington by a young GOP volunteer," the Wisconsin-based Sykes explains. "According to the charging document, the young aide sent a January 5 text message saying, '5 mins until I make the drop' and added, 'I feel like a drug dealer.' She later told '60 Minutes' that when she handed the certificates to Chesebro, the attorney took 'a dramatic step back and looked at me and said: You might have just made history.'"
Sykes continues, "This is where Johnson comes in. According to the House January 6 Committee, Johnson connected Troupis with his chief of staff, Sean Riley, who texted (Mike) Pence staff member Chris Hodgson at 12:37 p.m. on January 6, (2021) saying, 'Johnson needs to hand something to VPOTUS please advise'…. Riley told Hodgson that they hoped to deliver an 'alternate slate of electors for MI and WI because archivist didn't receive them.'"
But an aide for then-Vice President Pence, Sykes notes, told Riley, "Do not give them to him."
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In a text sent to Johnson on January 6, 2021, Troupis said, "We need to get a document on the Wisconsin electors to you for the VP immediately."
Sykes argues, "The new documents shred his tortured explanations, and the new criminal charges guarantee that he will face more questions — a lot more questions — about what he knew and when he knew it."
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Charlie Sykes' full column for MSNBC is available at this link.