Trump Georgia indictment, Wisconsin GOP chair mentioned by name
MILWAUKEE - Wisconsin was brought up in another indictment against former President Donald Trump. Trump and 18 allies were indicted in Georgia over efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state. The chairman of the Wisconsin GOP was mentioned by name.
Brian Schimming is mentioned twice in the 98-page indictment that says he communicated with and met with Trump allies who were integral in coming up with a plan to steal the election.
Schimming addressed the media Tuesday ahead of President Joe Biden's visit to Milwaukee, but Schimming ignored questions about his involvement in the fake elector scheme that prompted prosecutors to bring charges in Georgia against Trump and others.
John Tully for The Washington Post via Getty Images
The indictment references Wisconsin and five other states as being part of a Trump plan to steal the 2020 election.
The indictment mentions that Schimming, who wasn't the GOP chairman at the time, met and communicated with Trump allies in December 2020.
Prosecutors say he emailed with Kenneth Chesebro, thought of by prosecutors as the brainchild behind a fake elector plot, meeting with him two days later with Rudy Guiliani on the phone to keep the media in the dark.
(Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
Chesebro is named as a co-conspirator in the Georgia indictment.
Schimming issued this statement Tuesday:
"As stated previously, Republican electors met in accordance with state statutory guidelines, on the advice of attorneys, and with precedent, to preserve all legal options still pending before the courts. Had the courts ruled differently, the alternate electors would have been needed."
Brian Schimming
It echoes what Andrew Hitt, the former state GOP chair, said to the House Jan. 6 committee: "I was told these would only count if a court ruled in our favor."
Despite now four indictments filed against the former president, polling and fundraising have increased.
"It’s almost like he’s a Teflon candidate," said Mordecai Lee, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. "Nothing sticks to him."
(Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
Lee said the Georgia indictment with ties to Wisconsin could have little negative impact on Trump.
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"Mr. Trump is brilliant at public relations and brilliant at fundraising, and I think that this indictment will just trigger even more support for him," said Lee.