Kenneth Chesebro, one of the architects of former President Donald Trump's Jan. 6 scheme who pleaded guilty in October to the fake elector conspiracy in Georgia, is now cooperating with Michigan and Wisconsin state investigators in an effort to avoid additional criminal charges, sources told CNN. In 2020, Chesebro, who is now helping investigators in at least four states who are probing the plot, was at the center of Trump's efforts to overturn his electoral defeat. Chesebro's cooperation in Wisconsin is the first indication that the state attorney general has launched an investigation into the slates of false, pro-Trump electors.
The lawyer has entered into proffer agreements in several states, which provide him with some protection from prosecution, multiple sources told CNN. Chesebro recently testified to a grand jury in Nevada, where state prosecutors announced indictments against six false electors Wednesday. He has also been in contact with Arizona prosecutors and has plans to sit for an interview as part of the state's ongoing investigation into the elector plot. The Michigan attorney general's office, whose probe of the false electors was the first to produce criminal charges, confirmed to CNN that its investigation is still active, indicating that its scope may be broader than previously known.
CNN previously identified Chesebro as an unindicted co-conspirator in special counsel Jack Smith's federal indictment against Trump, where Trump is accused of orchestrating the fake electors plot “to disenfranchise millions of voters” and unlawfully remain in office. There is no indication that Chesebro is cooperating in the federal probe or that Smith has decided against charging him. Trump's campaign targeted seven states with the scheme in 2020, and charges have been filed in Georgia, Michigan and Nevada. Investigations are ongoing in Arizona, New Mexico, and apparently Wisconsin. The seventh state targeted was Pennsylvania.
