MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin judge on Tuesday refused to resign at the request of President Donald Trump’s former lawyer, who faces a felony falsification case related to the state’s 2020 election.
The judge also refused to cancel Monday’s preliminary hearing for Trump’s former lawyer, who previously served as a judge in the same county where Trump was indicted, and two other former Trump aides.
Three former Trump aides face 11 felony charges each for their roles in the 2020 fake election scheme. They are: Jim Troupis, Trump’s Wisconsin attorney during the 2020 election; Kenneth Chesebro, a lawyer who advised the Trump campaign; and Mike Roman, Trump’s director of Election Day 2020 operations.
Troupis and two other defendants argued in a motion filed Monday that all Dane County judges are biased against him. Troupis served as the county judge for one year from 2015 to 2016.
He also claimed that the judge in his case, Dane County Circuit Judge John Hyland, sought help from a retired judge in writing an August order refusing to dismiss the case against him.
Troupis argued in the motion that it was the retired judge who actually wrote the order and who had “personal animosity” toward Troupis while they were both on the bench. Troupis requested an evidentiary hearing in another county.
He conducted an expert analysis of the writing style, comparing the order to that of retired Dane County Judge Frank Remington. Troupis’ attorney also attached a letter he wrote to Hyland on Nov. 25, claiming that other attorneys told him that Remington actually wrote the August order because the writing style matched Remington’s style in the civil case filed before him.
Hyland rejected those arguments and Trumpis’ call to move the case to another county.
“The Court is satisfied that no one other than myself and the assigned staff counsel was involved in drafting or editing the decision signed and rendered by this Court,” Hyland wrote.
Hyland also wrote that he had “no personal animosity or bias toward any of the litigants” and was satisfied that he was able to hear the case fairly. He refused to give up his seat as requested.
Hyland also said Troupis provided no evidence to support his claim that every other judge in the country was biased against him and therefore could not hear the case fairly.
Troupis’ attorney, Joe Bunny, did not respond to an email seeking comment.
Troupis, Chesebro and Roman each face 11 felony charges for allegedly using forged documents to try to deceive 10 Republican electors who voted for Trump in 2020 as part of submitting false documents claiming the Republican won battleground states that year.
Trump lost Wisconsin in 2020 but fought to overturn the defeat. He won the state in both 2016 and 2024.
The Wisconsin Department of Justice, which is prosecuting the case, did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
The state charges against Trump’s lawyers and aides are the only ones filed in Wisconsin. No voters have been charged. Wisconsin’s 10 electors, Chesbrough and Troupis, both settled lawsuits filed against them in 2023.
Federal prosecutors investigating Trump’s actions related to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol say the fake elector scheme originated in Wisconsin.
Wisconsin’s complaint details how Troupis, Chesbrough and Roman created a document that falsely claimed Trump won Wisconsin’s 10 Electoral College votes and then attempted to give the document to then-Vice President Mike Pence.
Trump associates argue no crime occurred. But a judge rejected their arguments in August, allowing the case to proceed.
In September, a judge dismissed a similar case in Michigan. Last year, a special prosecutor dropped a federal case accusing Trump of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election. Earlier last month, prosecutors dropped a Georgia election interference case, and another similar case remains open in Nevada.
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Associated Press writer Todd Richmond contributed to this report.