Former Trump lawyer in Wisconsin suspended by state judicial ethics panel

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Tuesday suspended former President Donald Trump’s Wisconsin lawyer from a state ethics panel, a week after he charged with a crime for his role in the 2020 election fraud.

Liberal supporters have called for the resignation of Jim Troupis from the Advisory Committee on Judicial Conductand said he was unsuitable because of his role as an adviser to Republicans who had tried to cast Wisconsin’s electoral votes for Trump after he lost the 2020 election in the state to Democrat Joe Biden.

Troupis, a former judge, Kenneth Chesebro, another Trump lawyer, and former Trump adviser Mike Roman were indicted last week by federal prosecutor Josh Kaul for their roles in the conspiracy to obtain false electors.

Troupis did not respond to a voicemail or text message seeking comment Tuesday.

In its order, the Wisconsin Supreme Court informed Troupis and the legal council that he was “temporarily suspended” from serving on the panel, effective immediately. The court did not provide a reason for the suspension.

Justice Rebecca Bradley, one of the court’s three conservative minority members, did not attend. Bradley was one of four conservative justices on the court who reappointed Troupis to a second term in March 2023. The Liberals currently hold a 4-3 majority on the court.

Troupis has served on the Judiciary Committee since 2020 and was re-elected to a second three-year term 15 months ago. The committee is tasked with providing formal opinions and informal advice to judges and judicial officers on the state’s Code of Conduct for Judges. The advice includes whether potential actions would be consistent with the code.

The committee rarely issues formal written opinions and has not issued any since 2019, according to its website. Informal opinions are issued several times a year, the committee’s chairman, Winnebago County District Judge Bryan Keberlein, said in December.

Calls for replacement for Troupis in the Justice Commission repeat the statements of the Democrats who want one of the fraudulent electors, Bob Spindell, removed from the nonpartisan state election commission. The Republican Senate Majority Leader who appointed Spindell has refused to reverse the appointment.

The 10 false electors from Wisconsin, Troupis and Chesebro, settled a civil case that was brought against her last year.

Troupis said after the agreement that the “alternative ballots” were “a reasonable approach” because the results of 2020 contestable before the U.S. Supreme Court. He said the settlement was made to “avoid endless litigation” and that he admitted no wrongdoing.

Documents released as part of these agreements showed that the strategy in Wisconsin Repetition of measures in six other swing states.

At Troupis’ urging, Chesebro wrote memos in the final months of 2020 detailing how to create and sign fake ballot certificates. Troupis was also involved in communicating with the White House about the plan.

After the fake Wisconsin electors met on December 14, 2020, Troupis contacted U.S. Senator Ron Johnson’s staff and asked Johnson Handing over the documents of the wrong voters in Wisconsin and Michigan to Vice President Mike Pence. A Pence aide refused to accept them.

Biden won Wisconsin in 2020 by less than 21,000 votes. Trump’s campaign team tried to overturn the result by arguing that Complaints by Troupisthat tens of thousands of legally cast mail-in ballots should not have been counted. The Wisconsin Supreme Court rejected the Trump lawsuit with a 4-3 decision confirming Biden’s victory.