10 Wisconsin fake electors acknowledge actions were used to overturn 2020 election

MADISON, Wis. — Ten Wisconsin Republicans who posed as fake electors for former President Donald Trump have settled a lawsuit and admitted their actions were part of an attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election results, attorneys who filed the case announced Wednesday.

The lawsuit was filed against the fake electors by Democratic electors for President Joe Biden, which sought $2.4 million in damages. The fake electors said in a statement Wednesday that they met in the Wisconsin State Capitol to sign paperwork falsely claiming to be electors to be "in compliance with requests from the Trump campaign and Republican Party of Wisconsin."

As part of the settlement, the fake electors acknowledged that Biden won the state, withdrew their filings and agreed not to serve as presidential electors in the future or participate in the transmission of such documents again, among other terms. The defendants are also no longer facing paying damages.

"The Elector Defendants took the foregoing action because they were told that it was necessary to preserve their electoral votes in the event a court challenge may later change the outcome of the election in Wisconsin. That document was then used as part of an attempt to improperly overturn the 2020 presidential election results," the fake electors wrote.

"We oppose any attempt to undermine the public’s faith in the ultimate results of the 2020 presidential election. We hereby withdraw the documents we executed on December 14, 2020, and request that they be disregarded by the public and all entities to which they were submitted."

The settlement marks the first time Trump electors have withdrawn their filings claiming that the former president had won in seven battleground states during the 2020 election. Nevada on Wednesday became the third state to criminally charge fake electors, following Georgia and Michigan.

Attorneys named in the lawsuit

The 10 Republicans will no longer be part of the lawsuit because of the settlement, according to Jeff Mandell, who represents the plaintiffs in the case. But the attorneys named in the lawsuit, Jim Troupis and Kenneth Chesebro, will continue to stand trial in September, Mandell said.

Chesebro pleaded guilty to a felony charge of conspiracy to commit filing false documents after being charged with participating in efforts to overturn Trump’s loss in Georgia. Chesebro was also charged alongside Trump and 17 others with violating the state’s anti-racketeering law.

"Americans believe in democracy and the idea that the people choose their leaders through elections. The defendants’ actions violated those bedrock principles," Mandell said in a statement. "This settlement agreement provides one piece of that accountability and helps ensure that a similar effort to subvert our democracy will never happen again." 

The Wisconsin lawsuit cites a memo Chesebro sent to Troupis, who oversaw Trump's post-election legal strategy in Wisconsin, in November 2020 detailing the elector plan.

Here are the Wisconsin individuals who participated in the effort:

• Robert Spindell, an appointee to the Wisconsin Elections Commission and current chairman of the 4th Congressional District GOP.
• Andrew Hitt, then-chairman of the state Republican Party, is now a partner at Michael Best Strategies.
• Kelly Ruh, current chairwoman of the 8th Congressional District GOP.
• Carol Brunner, former vice chairwoman of the 1st Congressional District GOP.
• Scott Grabins, former chairman of the Dane County Republican Party.
• Bill Feehan, current chairman of the 3rd Congressional District GOP.
• Kathy Kiernan, current second vice chairwoman of the state Republican Party.
• Darryl Carlson, former chairman of the 6th Congressional District GOP.
• Pam Travis, former vice chairwoman of the 7th Congressional District GOP and former staffer for Sen. Ron Johnson’s 2022 reelection campaign.
• Mary Buestrin, former national committeewoman for the state Republican Party.

'Electors were tricked'

The settlement also comes as Trump is the leading candidate in the 2024 Republican primary for president. Trump has been indicted over his actions leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection − charges that focus heavily on the fake elector strategy.

Hitt said Wednesday he won't support Trump in 2024. Hitt also said he has been cooperating with the state Department of Justice since December 2022.

"The Wisconsin electors were tricked and misled into participating in what became the alternate elector scheme and would have never taken any actions had we known that there were ulterior reasons beyond preserving an ongoing legal strategy," Hitt said. "I will not be supporting Trump in 2024. We have serious problems facing this country and we need a President who will not repeat 2020 and will focus on tackling those difficult issues."

The filings from the fake electors in Wisconsin and elsewhere helped Trump and his allies argue the results were in dispute as they tried to prevent Congress from finalizing them.

Republicans in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, and Nevada also signed documents purporting to be electors. Republicans in New Mexico and Pennsylvania filled out paperwork saying they should be considered electors if courts found Trump had won their states. 

Michigan’s attorney general filed felony charges in July against 16 Republicans who acted as fake electors for Trump, accusing them of submitting false certificates that confirmed they were legitimate electors despite Biden’s victory in the state.

Nevada fake electors indicted:6 Nevada Republicans indicted as allegedly fraudulent presidential electors for Donald Trump in 2020

Contributing: The Associated Press

Molly Beck can be reached at molly.beck@jrn.com.