(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . The 2024 Elections Aren't Safe Until Trump's Billionaire Co-conspirators are Indicted [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-09-03 Donald Trump is not a smart man. He’s a fantastic liar and a spectacular asshole, but he’s not a smart man. He’s the type of man that would stare directly into the sun during an eclipse. He is the type of man that would suggest that we might be able to stop the Coronavirus by injecting disinfectant into our bodies. And he’s the type of man that describes a hurricane as “one of the wettest we’ve seen from the standpoint of water.” But he’s not the type of man that is capable of coming up with the political savvy, networking capabilities, financial capital, media connections and legal know how to turn what should have been the babblings of a washed-up con man and his spray dyed friends into a full-fledged attempt to overthrow the government. So, who is really behind the insurrection? Co-conspirators 2, 4, and 5 in Jack Smith’s indictment - John Eastman, Jeffrey Clark, and Kenneth Chesebro – give us some very strong clues. These men had the legal know-how that Trump didn’t. They had the hatred for Democracy that Trump did. And they had the connections to the people and organizations needed to both approve and implement these strategies, even if they weren’t successful. These are the men behind the fake electors strategy. The fake electors strategy was the brainchild of co-conspirator 5, Kenneth Chesebro. Kenneth Chesebro was a lesser-known member of the Trump legal team, but he was close with two men in Trump’s inner circle, Jim Troupis and John Eastman. Jim Troupis was one of Trumps attorneys following the 2020 election. Prior to that, he was appointed to the Dane Country Circuit Court by Republican Governor Scott Walker. Scott Walker’s rise to power was propelled by Americans for Prosperity, a libertarian and conservative political advocacy group funded in large part by conservative right-wing billionaires such as Charles Koch, the Bradley Family, the DeVos Family, and the Searle Family. These same megadonors, along with Leonard Leo, Rebekah Mercer, Dick & Liz Uihlein, Harlan Crow and the Scaife Family, are also tied to the Federalist Society. The Federalist Society is the far-right legal think tank that boasts membership ties to 6 of 9 SCOTUS justices. It is also considered to be the strategic vehicle for Leonard Leo’s political agenda. Walker appointed two members of the Federalist Society as judges in Wisconsin’s highest court. The same billionaires behind Americans for Prosperity and The Federalist Society are also connected to the State Policy Network. The State Policy Network is comprised of 167 neo-con think tanks that work to push state level policies as far to the right as possible. One of these think tanks is the MacIver Institute. Jim Troupis is on their board. And so, it was someone with strong ties to the billionaires behind the Federalist Society, the State Policy Network and Americans for Prosperity that brought Kenneth Chesebro into Trump’s inner circle. And it would be members of the State Policy Network and the Federalist Society that would put the plan into action. Kenneth Chesebro’s plan to overturn the 2020 election was first brought to the attention of Jim Troupis in November of 2020. The two were working on strategies to challenge Joe Biden’s victory in Wisconsin when Chesebro sent a memo to Troupis that informed him that the only way for their plan to succeed in Wisconsin was if a slate of hand chosen pro-Trump electors came together on December 14 to certify Trump’s victory as if they were duly elected. By December, Chesebro had redesigned and expanded this strategy to disrupt election results nationwide. He sent a second memo to Troupis outlining this revised plan, and followed up with 2 more memos describing how to put the plan into action. On December 13, 2020, Kenneth Chesebro emailed these plans to co-conspirator 1, Rudy Guiliani, and on Jan. 2, he forwarded that email to co-conspirator 2, John Eastman. John Eastman was the chairman of the Federalist Society’s Federalism and Separation of Powers Practice and also served as a law clerk to Clarence Thomas. Thomas, one of the six radical right SCOTUS justices with ties to the Federalist Society, is currently under scrutiny for taking kickbacks from right wing billionaires including Harlan Crow. His wife, Ginni Thomas, was brought into the January 6 Congressional hearings to testify about her close connections to and communications with a number of indicted co-conspirators before and during the insurrection. Ginni and Clarence have very close personal and financial ties to Leonard Leo. John Eastman had worked with Chesebro on a 2016 case involving birthright citizenship. The two were familiar enough with each other and each other’s networks that John Eastman was compelled to summarize Chesebro’s plot in two memos and forward them to Donald Trump and Mike Pence. The fake elector strategy involved pressuring governors and secretaries of state in states like Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, and Wisconsin to refuse to certify the popular vote and, in the name of election fraud, directing them to eliminate the existing slates of electors that were scheduled to certify Joe Biden’s win and replace them with people that would certify Trump instead. With those states eliminated, Trump would have had the electoral college votes needed to win the election. The plan would require numerous state and federal entities to do their part. One of these entities was the Department of Justice. One of the few high-ranking officials willing to go along with the plan was Jeffrey Clark, co-conspirator 4. Jeffrey Clark was introduced to Trump by Scott Perry. Perry is a member of the House of Representatives as well as the Chair of the Freedom Caucus. The Freedom Caucus includes members such as Jim Jordan, Matt Gaetz, and Mark Meadows. It’s top two funders are the Club for Growth and Koch Industries. Charles Koch heads Koch industries. The Club for Growth’s largest funders include the Judicial Crisis Network, which is deeply tied to Leonard Leo, the Koch network, and the Donor’s Trust. The Donors Trust is financially tied to Leonard Leo, David, Koch, the Lynn and Harry Bradley Foundation. On December 23, Bill Barr left office as Attorney General, and the following day Jeffrey Rosen became Acting Attorney General. Jeffery Clark himself was a member of the Federalist Society. He was also the Chief of Litigation and Director of Strategy for the New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLI). The New Civil Liberties Alliance is a member of the State Policy Network. His role was to pressure the DOJ into validating the Trump Administration’s claims of election fraud and encouraging the use of fake electors. According to MSNBC: “…while Rosen and Donoghue refused to support Trump’s efforts, Clark was apparently only too willing. After having met directly with Trump — in violation of the Justice Department’s White House contacts policy — Clark drafted a letter to the members of the Georgia Legislature noting nonexistent “irregularities” and suggesting that they convene to select their own slate of electors for the state. This letter was drafted as a “proof of concept” that could be used in other swing states Biden won. Rosen flatly refused to sign it.” Fortunately, this strategy failed. As did their attempts to violently pressure Pence into disrupting the peaceful transfer of power. The masterminds behind the insurrection are not done yet, though. The billionaires and their network of right wing organizations are still working on efforts to disrupt the 2024 elections and put Trump back in power. We need to push for Congressional hearings and investigations into these groups and the billionaires behind them. Democracy is not safe asl long as their plans are still in motion. 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