Brief

AG Kaul on false electors: Feds should prosecute any actions that further ‘seditious conspiracy’

By: Melanie Conklin - January 14, 2022 2:53 pm

Attorney General Josh Kaul | Dept. of Justice

A complaint against 10 Republicans in Wisconsin who posed as official electors, signing and submitting falsified certification papers to Congress is in front of the Wisconsin Elections Commission and Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm, filed by Law Forward attorneys Jeff Mandell and Mel Barnes.

They filed the complaint nearly a year ago and so far there have been no charges, penalties or findings on the actions, which could potentially constitute a felony.

After the attorney general in Michigan — which also had imposter electors submitting papers declaring Donald Trump the victor despite a clear Biden win — asked the federal Justice Department to step in, Wisconsin’s attorney general appeared open to a similar path.

Asked if he would consider such an action, Attorney General Josh Kaul responded, “I believe it’s critical that the federal government fully investigates and prosecutes any unlawful actions in furtherance of any seditious conspiracy.”

In Michigan, Attorney General Dana Nessel, a Democrat, is asking federal prosecutors to investigate.

Attorney General Dana Nessel | Susan J. Demas

“Under state law, I think clearly you have forgery of a public record, which is a 14-year offense, and election law forgery, which is a five-year offense,” Nessel told MSNBC. However, she added, the federal Justice Department and U.S. attorneys are best suited to investigate the situation and prosecute the participants if warranted.

Wisconsin is one of seven states that sent phony electoral ballots for Trump to Congress, feeding into the Jan. 6 insurrection by providing bogus documents that then-Vice President Mike Pence could use to throw the election to Trump. The other states are Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico and Pennsylvania.

The 10 Wisconsin Republicans who signed the falsified documents declaring Trump the winner in Wisconsin were Elections Commissioner Bob Spindell, then Republican Party of Wisconsin chair Andrew Hitt, Carol Brunner, Edward Scott Grabins, Bill Feehan, Kathy Kiernan, Darryl Carlson, Pam Travis, Kelly Ruh and Mary Buestrin.

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Melanie Conklin

Melanie Conklin was the Wisconsin Examiner's founding Deputy Editor, serving from its launch July 1, 2019, until Feb. 1, 2022. She is proud to be a native of the state of Wisconsin, which gave humankind the typewriter, progressivism and deep-fried cheese curds. Her several decades in journalism include political beats and columns at Isthmus newspaper, the Wisconsin State Journal and other publications. When not an ink-stained wretch, she served time inside state, local and federal government in communications before returning to journalism at the Examiner. It’s what she’s loved ever since getting her master’s degree in journalism from the UW-Madison. Her family includes one husband, two kids, four dogs and five (or more) chinchillas.