Wisconsin Judge Refuses Recusal Request From Former Trump Attorney in Fake-Elector Case

MADISON, Wis. — A Dane County judge on Tuesday declined to remove himself from a high-profile state prosecution of former President Donald Trump's Wisconsin attorney, rejecting claims of judicial bias and questions about who drafted a key court order.

Judge John Hyland refused both a request that he recuse himself and a bid to cancel a preliminary hearing scheduled for Monday for Jim Troupis and two other former Trump associates charged in Wisconsin's fake-elector probe.

Who Is Charged

Prosecutors say Jim Troupis, Kenneth Chesebro and Mike Roman each face 11 felony forgery charges tied to the 2020 effort to submit alternate electors in Wisconsin. The complaint alleges the trio prepared a document falsely stating that Donald Trump had won Wisconsin's 10 Electoral College votes and tried to deliver that paperwork to then–Vice President Mike Pence.

The Recusal Motion

Troupis — who previously served as a Dane County judge from 2015 to 2016 — and the other defendants argued in a motion filed Monday that every judge in Dane County is biased against him. Troupis accused Judge Hyland of soliciting help from retired Judge Frank Remington in drafting an August order that denied a motion to dismiss the charges.

As part of the motion, Troupis submitted an expert analysis comparing the writing style of the contested August order to Remington's writing in a prior civil case. Troupis’ lawyer also attached a Nov. 25 letter to Hyland saying other attorneys believed the style matched Remington's.

Judge Hyland’s Ruling

"The Court is satisfied that no person other than the assigned staff attorney and I had a hand in drafting or editing the decision which this Court signed and entered," Hyland wrote.

Hyland added that he has "no personal animus or prejudice toward any of the litigants" and that he is confident he can preside impartially. He said the filing presented no evidence that other Dane County judges are biased against Troupis and therefore denied the request to transfer the case out of the county.

Context And Related Cases

The state charges are the only criminal case in Wisconsin tied to the fake-elector scheme; none of the original alternate electors have been charged. In 2023, the 10 Wisconsin alternate electors, along with Chesebro and Troupis, settled a civil lawsuit that had been filed against them.

Federal investigators examining the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol breach have said the fake-elector plan had roots in Wisconsin. Other prosecutions tied to efforts to overturn the 2020 results have had mixed outcomes in different jurisdictions: a Michigan case was dismissed in September, a federal probe by a special prosecutor was dropped last year, a Georgia election-interference case was dropped this month, and a related matter remains pending in Nevada.

Troupis’ attorney Joe Bugni and the Wisconsin Department of Justice did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Associated Press writer Todd Richmond contributed to this report.