By — Justin Stabley Justin Stabley By — Kenichi Serino Kenichi Serino Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/what-you-need-to-know-about-kenneth-chesebros-2020-election-charges Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter What you need to know about Kenneth Chesebro’s 2020 election charges Politics Updated on Oct 20, 2023 3:22 PM EDT — Published on Sep 7, 2023 4:18 PM EDT Who is indicted alongside former President Donald Trump in the Georgia election case? Meet some of his co-defendants and read more about their specific charges. Kenneth Chesebro, an attorney with Wisconsin roots, has pleaded guilty to a felony charge over efforts to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results. Chesebro was one of 18 people indicted alongside Trump, and is the third person to reach a deal with prosecutors. READ MORE: Read the full Georgia indictment against Trump and 18 allies The indictment accused Chesebro of writing memos in early December 2020 suggesting that alternate electors from key states – where former President Donald Trump’s campaign contested the election outcome – could cast votes for Trump, despite the fact he had lost in those states. Chesebro also allegedly helped coordinate logistics of this plan. Kenneth Chesebro in a police booking mugshot released by the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office on Aug. 23, 2023. Photo by Fulton County Sheriff’s Office/Handout via REUTERS The aim was to invalidate the elector votes with the presence of “alternate” or false electors, giving then-Vice President Mike Pence an opportunity to delay the Jan. 6 certification of Biden’s victory or declareTrump the winner because he had more uncontested votes. Along with memos about this fraudulent elector plan, Chesebro also wrote another email outlining ways to disrupt the Jan. 6 joint session of Congress, the indictment notes. “Trump and the other Defendants charged in this Indictment refused to accept that Trump lost, and they knowingly and willfully joined a conspiracy to unlawfully change the outcome of the election in favor of Trump,” indictment from Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis read. Chesebro’s guilty plea comes one day after his co-defendant, conservative lawyer Sidney Powell, pleaded guilty to six misdemeanor charges. What charge did Chesebro plead guilty to? Chesebro pleaded guilty to one felony charge of conspiracy to commit filing false documents. In return, he was sentenced to serve five years’ probation, perform 100 community service hours, pay a $5,000 fine and write an apology letter to Georgia’s residents. He has also agreed to testify truthfully, potentially against his co-defendants, in any future trial. Jury selection for both Powell and Chesebro had been scheduled to start Friday. Chesebro was originally charged on seven counts: Violation of Georgia’s RICO Act Conspiracy to commit impersonating a public officer 2 counts of conspiracy to commit forgery in the first degree 2 counts of conspiracy to commit false statements and writings Conspiracy to commit filing false documents What did the Fulton County indictment allege? All of the co-conspirators identified by name in the indictment, including Trump, have been charged under the state’s RICO law, which is typically used to prosecute criminal organizations. The indictment alleged that Chesebro helped devise the fake elector scheme, writing a memo in early December 2020 to a Trump campaign lawyer that outlines how electors for Trump could subvert the electoral vote in Wisconsin in mid-December. Trump legal advisor John Eastman shared the memo with Rudy Giuliani, according to the indictment. Chesebro followed up with another memo that included “detailed, state-specific instructions for how Trump presidential elector nominees in Georgia, Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin would meet and cast electoral votes” for Trump even though those votes should go toBiden. WATCH: Georgia judge rules that Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro can be tried together starting Oct. 23 Chesebro allegedly contacted Republican officials in different states to ask them to help execute the plan, and shared documents or suggested language that they could use. He was charged with multiple conspiracy crimes, including for trying “to cause certain individuals to falsely hold themselves out as the duly elected and qualified presidential electors from the State of Georgia.” Another email penned by Chesebro two days before Jan. 6 outlined “multiple strategies for disrupting and delaying the joint session of Congress,” the indictment says. Chesebro allegedly wrote these strategies were “preferable to allowing the Electoral Count Act to operate by its terms.” Is Chesebro involved in other investigations? Chesebro is believed to be one of the six unnamed co-conspirators in the federal indictment brought by special counsel Jack Smith. Documents uncovered by the House Jan. 6 committee and details shared in the indictment suggest that Chesebro is co-conspirator 5, “an attorney who assisted in devising and attempting to implement a plan to submit fraudulent slates of presidential electors to obstruct the certification proceeding.” The special counsel indictment describes how memos written by this co-conspirator evolved from a November 2020 “legal strategy to preserve [Trump’s] rights” in contesting the Wisconsin election results “to a corrupt plan to subvert the federal government function.” The report from the House Jan. 6 committee investigation also details how Chesebro, Eastman and Trump continued to pursue the “fake electors scheme” after all the 2020 election lawsuits had concluded despite warnings from the campaign election lawyers that the idea was not lawful or feasible. What did Chesebro do before his connection to Trump? Chesebro’s role in trying to keep Trump in office belies a long legal career working for liberal causes. Born and raised in Wisconsin, Chesebro graduated in 1986 from Harvard Law School, where he studied under prominent legal scholar Laurence Tribe. Chesebro “idolized” his professor, according to an acquaintance quoted in a Washington Post profile. READ MORE: What you need to know about Rudy Giuliani’s 2020 election charges After graduation he worked in litigation against the tobacco industry, the pharmaceutical industry and helped Tribe when he joined former Vice President Al Gore’s legal team during the contested 2020 election recount in Florida. Tribe wrote in an essay last month that Chesebro’s memo suggesting that alternate electors could ultimately change the outcome of the election was based on a “misrepresentation” of his own work analyzing Florida state election law. According to the Washington Post, Chesebro’s politics seemed to change in the years after he began making a small fortune by investing in cryptocurrency. By 2016, Chesebro had switched his political affiliation from “Democrat” to “unaffiliated.” Around this time, Chesebro worked on an amicus brief with Eastman, who is now one of his co-defendants in the Georgia case. Chesebro now has a legal residence in Puerto Rico, the Washington Post also reported. We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now By — Justin Stabley Justin Stabley Justin Stabley is a digital editor at the PBS NewsHour. @JustinStabley By — Kenichi Serino Kenichi Serino
Who is indicted alongside former President Donald Trump in the Georgia election case? Meet some of his co-defendants and read more about their specific charges. Kenneth Chesebro, an attorney with Wisconsin roots, has pleaded guilty to a felony charge over efforts to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results. Chesebro was one of 18 people indicted alongside Trump, and is the third person to reach a deal with prosecutors. READ MORE: Read the full Georgia indictment against Trump and 18 allies The indictment accused Chesebro of writing memos in early December 2020 suggesting that alternate electors from key states – where former President Donald Trump’s campaign contested the election outcome – could cast votes for Trump, despite the fact he had lost in those states. Chesebro also allegedly helped coordinate logistics of this plan. Kenneth Chesebro in a police booking mugshot released by the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office on Aug. 23, 2023. Photo by Fulton County Sheriff’s Office/Handout via REUTERS The aim was to invalidate the elector votes with the presence of “alternate” or false electors, giving then-Vice President Mike Pence an opportunity to delay the Jan. 6 certification of Biden’s victory or declareTrump the winner because he had more uncontested votes. Along with memos about this fraudulent elector plan, Chesebro also wrote another email outlining ways to disrupt the Jan. 6 joint session of Congress, the indictment notes. “Trump and the other Defendants charged in this Indictment refused to accept that Trump lost, and they knowingly and willfully joined a conspiracy to unlawfully change the outcome of the election in favor of Trump,” indictment from Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis read. Chesebro’s guilty plea comes one day after his co-defendant, conservative lawyer Sidney Powell, pleaded guilty to six misdemeanor charges. What charge did Chesebro plead guilty to? Chesebro pleaded guilty to one felony charge of conspiracy to commit filing false documents. In return, he was sentenced to serve five years’ probation, perform 100 community service hours, pay a $5,000 fine and write an apology letter to Georgia’s residents. He has also agreed to testify truthfully, potentially against his co-defendants, in any future trial. Jury selection for both Powell and Chesebro had been scheduled to start Friday. Chesebro was originally charged on seven counts: Violation of Georgia’s RICO Act Conspiracy to commit impersonating a public officer 2 counts of conspiracy to commit forgery in the first degree 2 counts of conspiracy to commit false statements and writings Conspiracy to commit filing false documents What did the Fulton County indictment allege? All of the co-conspirators identified by name in the indictment, including Trump, have been charged under the state’s RICO law, which is typically used to prosecute criminal organizations. The indictment alleged that Chesebro helped devise the fake elector scheme, writing a memo in early December 2020 to a Trump campaign lawyer that outlines how electors for Trump could subvert the electoral vote in Wisconsin in mid-December. Trump legal advisor John Eastman shared the memo with Rudy Giuliani, according to the indictment. Chesebro followed up with another memo that included “detailed, state-specific instructions for how Trump presidential elector nominees in Georgia, Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin would meet and cast electoral votes” for Trump even though those votes should go toBiden. WATCH: Georgia judge rules that Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro can be tried together starting Oct. 23 Chesebro allegedly contacted Republican officials in different states to ask them to help execute the plan, and shared documents or suggested language that they could use. He was charged with multiple conspiracy crimes, including for trying “to cause certain individuals to falsely hold themselves out as the duly elected and qualified presidential electors from the State of Georgia.” Another email penned by Chesebro two days before Jan. 6 outlined “multiple strategies for disrupting and delaying the joint session of Congress,” the indictment says. Chesebro allegedly wrote these strategies were “preferable to allowing the Electoral Count Act to operate by its terms.” Is Chesebro involved in other investigations? Chesebro is believed to be one of the six unnamed co-conspirators in the federal indictment brought by special counsel Jack Smith. Documents uncovered by the House Jan. 6 committee and details shared in the indictment suggest that Chesebro is co-conspirator 5, “an attorney who assisted in devising and attempting to implement a plan to submit fraudulent slates of presidential electors to obstruct the certification proceeding.” The special counsel indictment describes how memos written by this co-conspirator evolved from a November 2020 “legal strategy to preserve [Trump’s] rights” in contesting the Wisconsin election results “to a corrupt plan to subvert the federal government function.” The report from the House Jan. 6 committee investigation also details how Chesebro, Eastman and Trump continued to pursue the “fake electors scheme” after all the 2020 election lawsuits had concluded despite warnings from the campaign election lawyers that the idea was not lawful or feasible. What did Chesebro do before his connection to Trump? Chesebro’s role in trying to keep Trump in office belies a long legal career working for liberal causes. Born and raised in Wisconsin, Chesebro graduated in 1986 from Harvard Law School, where he studied under prominent legal scholar Laurence Tribe. Chesebro “idolized” his professor, according to an acquaintance quoted in a Washington Post profile. READ MORE: What you need to know about Rudy Giuliani’s 2020 election charges After graduation he worked in litigation against the tobacco industry, the pharmaceutical industry and helped Tribe when he joined former Vice President Al Gore’s legal team during the contested 2020 election recount in Florida. Tribe wrote in an essay last month that Chesebro’s memo suggesting that alternate electors could ultimately change the outcome of the election was based on a “misrepresentation” of his own work analyzing Florida state election law. According to the Washington Post, Chesebro’s politics seemed to change in the years after he began making a small fortune by investing in cryptocurrency. By 2016, Chesebro had switched his political affiliation from “Democrat” to “unaffiliated.” Around this time, Chesebro worked on an amicus brief with Eastman, who is now one of his co-defendants in the Georgia case. Chesebro now has a legal residence in Puerto Rico, the Washington Post also reported. We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now