Little-known Wisconsin law may explain why 10 'fake electors' haven't been charged — yet

A relatively obscure Wisconsin law could explain why none of the state's 10 so-called "fake electors" have been charged, despite criminal cases being brought across several states.

Three Donald Trump allies were indicted this week on a single felony count on allegations that they plotted to keep former President Donald Trump in office following his loss to President Joe Biden in 2020. The trio charged were Mike Roman, the Trump campaign's head of Election Day operations; attorney Kenneth Chesebro, who last year pleaded guilty in a deal with prosecutors in a separate 2020 election case in Georgia; and former judge and Trump campaign attorney James Troupis.

But Wisconsin’s 10 fake electors have yet to be charged, and MSNBC legal correspondent and former litigator Lisa Rubin thinks she knows what's behind the feet-dragging.

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Rubin wrote Friday evening, citing a source familiar with prosecutions in the state, that the likely culprit is a state statute governing criminal matters related to elections. A defendant who is a Wisconsin resident, the statute reads, "shall be tried in circuit court for the county where the defendant resides.”

In other words, a resident who has been charged with an election-related crime "cannot be forced to stand trial where the crime happened; all that matters is where that person lives now," Rubin said.

That could lead to a slew of criminal cases — and outcomes, she said. Moreover, the state attorney general must receive cooperation or permission from local district attorneys to pursue criminal charges.

"For example, Kaul was only able to bring the case he has because the district attorney in Dane County, where Troupis lives, authorized the AG to do so," she said, noting that Chesebro and Roman both live out-of-state.

Prosecutors typically try to treat similar cases similarly, but the statute makes that a tough ask for the attorney general, who can’t promise the 10 fake electors would receive equal treatment under the law.