A lawyer associated with President Donald J. Trump initially devised a plan to use false electors to undermine the 2020 election, according to an internal campaign memo that has recently come to light. Prosecutors view this memo as a crucial piece of evidence in demonstrating how the Trump team’s efforts evolved into a criminal conspiracy. The lawyer, Kenneth Chesebro, acknowledged in the memo that his proposal was a “bold, controversial strategy” likely to be rejected by the Supreme Court. However, he believed it would help focus attention on voter fraud claims and buy the Trump campaign more time to win legal battles that would swing the election in their favor.
The memo fills a gap in the public record of how Trump’s allies developed their strategy to overturn Joe Biden’s victory. It reveals Chesebro’s proposed messaging strategy to explain why pro-Trump electors were meeting in states where Biden had been declared the winner. He suggested presenting it as a routine measure to ensure the correct electoral slate could be counted if courts or legislatures later determined Trump had actually won those states.
Chesebro had previously mentioned the idea of creating alternate electors in November, specifically in Wisconsin, to protect Trump’s rights if he won a court battle and was declared the certified winner of that state. However, the December 6 memo was described as a departure from that earlier proposal and was seen by prosecutors as a criminal plot to obstruct Biden’s certification as president-elect.
The scheme involving false electors was one of Trump’s extensive efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. It involved lawyers working on Trump’s campaign in seven states, numerous electors claiming Trump had won those states, and resistance from some potential electors who viewed the plan as illegal or treasonous. The false electors’ scheme forms a key part of the indictment against Trump.
While John Eastman is portrayed as a key figure in championing the plan, Kenneth Chesebro is regarded as one of its architects. Chesebro was initially brought in by the Trump campaign in Wisconsin to assist with legal challenges to the election results there.
Prosecutors are still collecting evidence related to the investigation, even after charging Trump. Chesebro’s memos were shared with allies in the states working on the fake electors’ plan, but the December 6 memo was not included in those messages. It outlined a more audacious idea for Vice President Mike Pence to resolve the slate dispute by counting the alternate electors for Trump, even if Biden remained the certified winner. The newly disclosed memo also referenced writings by Harvard Law School professor Laurence H. Tribe as support for its legal arguments, though Tribe has stated that Chesebro misrepresented his scholarship.
Overall, the content describes how a lawyer allied with Trump proposed using false electors to subvert the 2020 election, providing new details about the origins and discussions of this strategy. The memo serves as key evidence in the ongoing investigation into Trump’s endeavors to overturn the election results.
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