Lawyers for former President Donald Trump used a "fog of deceit" in their fake electors plot in Wisconsin during the 2020 election, a legal analyst said on Tuesday.
Appearing on CNN News Central, Jeremy Saland, a criminal defense attorney in New York, discussed the recent release of text messages between two former Trump attorneys, Kenneth Chesebro and Jim Troupis, in which they discussed alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election results in Wisconsin.
Speaking about one text where Chesebro used the term "cloud of confusion" Saland said, "it's more like a fog of deceit."
"He has this real intention of saying 'we're going to sort of throw a wrench...not sort of, we, in fact, are going to try and throw a wrench in the system,'" Saland said. "'We in fact are going to try and make this confusion so we can seize control and overturn that election.'"
Newsweek reached out to Trump's spokesperson via email for comment.
The context:
On Monday, a lawsuit settlement was reached in Wisconsin for the fake electors plot. The settlement required Chesebro and Troupis to provide over 1,400 pages of evidence, including text messages and emails, relating to the plot's origins in the state.
Democrats in Wisconsin filed a civil lawsuit in 2022 against the two former Trump lawyers and others in the state who allegedly posed as fake electors during the 2020 election.
In a statement to the Associated Press this week, Troupis said that "alternate elector ballots" served as "a reasonable course of action" during the 2020 election.
"The settlement was made to avoid endless litigation, and nothing in today's settlement constitutes an admission of fault, nor should it," Troupis said.
What we know:
In one text that Saland referenced, Chesebro wrote that "at minimum, with such a cloud of confusion from [Wisconsin] (and perhaps also [Michigan] and [Pennsylvania]) should be counted, perhaps enough to throw the election to the House."
Trump was federally indicted by Special Counsel Jack Smith for alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election results and other alleged crimes relating to the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. Trump has denied any wrongdoing in the case.
The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear arguments regarding Trump's claims of presidential immunity in the coming weeks, which could impact the federal indictment.
Views:
Mary McCord, an attorney with the Georgetown Institute who helped negotiate the settlement in Wisconsin this week, told the Associated Press: "This all came out of Wisconsin and expanded to other states...that was a significant part of the narrative that led to the violence on Jan 6."
What's next:
Chesebro previously pleaded guilty in Georgia following the indictment by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis against him, Trump, and other co-defendants who were accused of attempting to overturn the 2020 election results in the state and violating Georgia's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.
However, there have been attempts to disqualify Willis from the case over a relationship she had with special prosecutor Nathan Wade. A judge is expected to announce a decision on that case in the coming days.
Update 3/5/24, 10:28 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
Update 3/5/24, 11:04 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
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Matthew Impelli is a Newsweek staff writer based in New York. His focus is reporting social issues and crime. In ... Read more
