Lawyer Kenneth Chesebro thought highly of his own cleverness. He is reported to have played a key role in the fraudulent-elector scheme, which has led to federal and state indictments in Georgia. Chesebro outlined the plan in a memo dated December 6, 2020, and even found himself hanging out with Alex Jones on January 6, 2021. Little did he know that he would end up being charged alongside his client, former President Donald Trump. Chesebro is now facing both state and federal indictments, being named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the federal case.
Chesebro made matters worse for himself last week when he tried to catch Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis off guard. He filed a motion for a speedy trial, hoping to catch Willis unprepared. To his surprise, Willis retaliated by announcing that she will try all 19 defendants simultaneously, starting on October 23. This ruling came as a blow to Chesebro, as he now faces a trial on the same date.
Former President Trump, who has been indicted four times, has petitioned to have his case separated from Chesebro’s. Trump’s intention is to delay any trial or conviction until after the 2024 election. However, this strategy may backfire, as Chesebro’s quick trial could undermine Trump’s claims that he needs years to prepare. It is expected that other defendants will also seek separate trials, leaving Chesebro to face charges of racketeering, conspiracy to commit impersonation of a public official, conspiracy to commit forgery, and conspiracy to commit filing false documents by himself.
This situation puts Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis in a strong position to go after a single defendant with an abundance of evidence. A televised trial will showcase the alleged criminal enterprise and expose the stark contrast between reality and right-wing media narratives. While Trump may hope for a hung jury, the chances of finding someone as committed to exonerating Chesebro are slim. With a trial imminent, the pressure on Chesebro to cooperate may become overwhelming. This does not bode well for both Trump and Chesebro, as a conviction of one of Trump’s alleged co-conspirators is the last thing Trump wants.
Willis has a strong case against Chesebro. He composed a memo on November 18, 2020, suggesting an alternative slate of electors in states where legal battles were ongoing. In a memo dated December 6, 2020, Chesebro advised how phony electors could be created in six states to give Vice President Mike Pence the opportunity to tip the election in Trump’s favor. Legal experts Norman Eisen and Joshua Kolb explained on MSNBC:
“Chesebro himself indicated in the memo that he knew this legal theory was dubious, using euphemisms like ‘bold’ and ‘controversial’ to describe it. He acknowledged that the Supreme Court would ‘likely’ reject it. Nevertheless, the memo bluntly declares a goal that was allegedly criminal: to ‘prevent Biden from amassing 270 electoral votes’ even though Biden had legitimately won more than that number. . . . It’s clear Chesebro’s true intention was not to present a neutral or even novel legal theory. This was fundamentally a political strategy, cloaked in the garb of the law.”
Chesebro’s misrepresentation of Laurence H. Tribe’s work in the December 6 memo makes it even more damaging. Tribe exposed Chesebro’s scheme, stating that he completely misused his constitutional law treatise in an attempt to bypass the binding force of the Electoral Count Act. Tribe never suggested that Pence or Congress could choose different electors at will or extend the finalization date for electors. Tribe, along with others, filed an ethics complaint against Chesebro with the New York bar.
In other developments, U.S. District Judge David Carter found that one of Chesebro’s memos likely furthered federal crimes during a dispute over whether Trump attorney John Eastman’s writings were protected by attorney-client privilege. Ryan Goodman, founder of Just Security, highlighted a Chesebro email in which he admits to modeling the phony-elector slate after real Georgia elector documents.
Chesebro’s arrogance in believing he has nothing to worry about because he was providing ordinary legal advice is misguided. When lawyers become involved in illegal schemes and actively participate in them, they transition from being lawyers to becoming defendants. The fraud-crime exception disregards attorney-client privilege, ensuring that lawyers cannot shield their clients from criminal liability by engaging in criminal activity alongside them.
Chesebro’s penchant for wild schemes can be attributed, in part, to his fascination with new and novel ideas. He often prioritizes ideas and arguments over practical implications, which shows a lack of good judgment. As legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin discovered during an investigation into Chesebro’s background and training, a former colleague noted, “Ken gets so fascinated with ideas and arguments, and if it’s something novel, he liked it better… The practical implications were always less important to him.” This lack of judgment may explain Chesebro’s involvement in this criminal enterprise.
Thanks to Chesebro’s actions, Willis now has the opportunity to expose the alleged criminal enterprise directed by Trump to the entire nation sooner than expected.
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