Chesebro Charged With Election Interference

Kenneth Chesebro has been charged with ethics violations by the Illinois Administrator 

Between November 2, 2020 and January 6, 2021, Respondent chose not to accept that incumbent President Donald J. Trump (“Trump”) had lost the 2020 election to Joseph R. Biden (“Biden”), and joined in a scheme to unlawfully change the outcome of the election in Trump’s favor. Respondent’s participation in that scheme, first as a lawyer engaged by the Wisconsin Republican Party in recount efforts in that State and later as a lawyer working directly for the Trump Campaign, was wide-ranging and lasted over a period of two months. Through his participation in the scheme, Respondent attempted to unlawfully subvert the Electoral College process in seven different States where Trump lost the 2020 presidential election so that Trump could remain in power. The State of Georgia subsequently charged Respondent with multiple felony counts of fraud pertaining to his participation in the scheme, and Respondent pled guilty to one of those counts, admitting to felony offense of Conspiracy to Commit Filing False Documents.

The complaint lays out Respondent's contacts with several others post-election

In each of the legal theories and strategies Respondent communicated to individuals in the Trump Campaign, described...above, Respondent advocated to the Trump Campaign and to Trump’s personal lawyers that members of the Congress of the United States and various State legislators should take actions that exceeded their constitutional and statutory powers in order to prevent Biden being declared the winner of the 2020 presidential election. When Respondent advocated for these legal theories and strategies, he knew that they called for Members of the Congress and State legislators to assert powers they were not provided in either the Constitution of the United States or State constitutions.

Respondent’s role in the scheme was not limited to his advocacy in support of unlawful legal theories. He also executed those strategies by personally drafting fraudulent electoral ballots, organizing illegal meetings of purported Trump elector nominees, and arranging for those illegitimate slates of Trump elector nominees to be presented to Congress on January 6, 2021, as described below. In addition, Respondent attempted to keep those illegal meetings secret until the purported Trump elector nominees had cast their illegitimate ballots, as described below.

Consequences

Respondent’s advocacy for and coordination of lawless activity in the days and weeks leading up to January 6, 2021 had practical consequences. On January 5th and 6th of 2021, Trump made various public statements falsely asserting that then-Vice President Pence had the power to decline to count the electoral votes during the January 6, 2021 joint session of Congress. In making those statements, Trump in large part was repeating the arguments Respondent made to Giuliani in his December 13, 2020 “President of the Senate” email, described in paragraph 11, above.

Georgia criminal proceedings

On August 31, 2023, Respondent, through counsel, waived formal arraignment on the charges and pled not guilty to all counts alleged against him in the indictment. On October 20, 2023, Respondent appeared before Judge McAfee and entered a plea of guilty on Count 15 of the indictment, which charged that he had committed the felony offense of Conspiracy to Commit Filing False Documents in violation of Title 16, Section 16-4-8 of the Georgia Code. In exchange for Respondent’s plea of guilty to Count 15 of the indictment, the State of Georgia dismissed the remaining six counts against him. Judge McAfee sentenced Respondent to five years of probation as a first-time felony offender pursuant to Title 42, Section 8-60 of the Georgia Code. Special conditions of Respondent’s probation included that he perform 100 hours of community service, pay a fine of $5,000 to the Georgia Secretary of State, testify truthfully at all hearings or trials involving his codefendants, have no communication with co-defendants, witnesses, or media until all cases are closed, and write an apology letter to the State of Georgia. In accord with Title 42, Section 8-60 of the Georgia Code, Judge McAfee ordered that, upon fulfilment of his sentence or upon release of Respondent by the court prior to the termination of the sentence, Respondent will stand discharged of the offense without court adjudication of his guilt and shall be completely exonerated of guilt of the offense.

(Mike Frisch)