Donald Trump's Fake Electors Turn Their Backs on Him

A group of Wisconsin electors have rescinded their previously held views that former President Donald Trump won the state in the 2020 presidential election.

The results of the election continue to be rejected by some conservatives as Trump appears to be on track for a rematch with President Joe Biden in 2024. The last election was certified on January 6, 2020, with the aid of then-Vice President Mike Pence after pro-Trump supporters galvanized as part of what's now known as the Capitol riots.

The former president, who if successful in the GOP primaries will represent the Republican Party for the third consecutive election, faces 91 felony counts—including allegations that he and others in his orbit attempted to overturn electoral results in the pivotal state of Georgia. Trump has denied any wrongdoing.

A 184-page legal settlement filed Wednesday shows that 10 Wisconsin electors withdrew fabricated paperwork and have acknowledged Biden as the real victor. The filing includes myriad photos and text exchanges between conservative electors, including mentions of hoping Trump wins and how a Biden victory would be bad for the country.

The group will not serve again as electors in 2024 or play a role in any election that includes Trump. Even when the former president is not on the ballot, the settlement states that the electors "will not participate in the execution or transmission of any document that purports to be a certificate of electoral votes," and they agreed to fully cooperate with any current or future prosecution.

A public statement accompanying the settlement provides a detailed account of what transpired December 14, 2020, at the Wisconsin State Capitol "in compliance with requests received from the Trump campaign and the Republican Party of Wisconsin."

"The Elector Defendants took the foregoing action because they were told that it was necessary to preserve their electoral votes in the event a court challenge may later change the outcome of the election in Wisconsin," the statement reads. "That document was then used as part of an attempt to improperly overturn the 2020 presidential election results."

The admittance on behalf of the Trump electors comes nearly 1 1/2 years after three Wisconsin Democrats, including two Biden electors in 2020, sued the 10 individuals— including former Wisconsin GOP Chair Andrew Hitt—for violating state and federal law based on calling themselves presidential electors despite Biden winning the popular vote.

Hitt is currently a senior member of the Michael Best law firm's government and regulatory team, concentrating on state government and health care law.

"The Wisconsin electors were tricked and misled into participating in what became the alternate elector scheme and would have never taken any actions had we known that there were ulterior reasons beyond preserving an ongoing legal strategy," Hitt said in a statement, per The Washington Post.

Newsweek reached out to Hitt via email for further comment Wednesday.

The duly elected presidential electors for the state in 2020 were: Meg Andrietsch, Shelia Stubbs, Ronald Martin, Mandela Barnes, Khary Penebaker, Mary Arnold, Patty Schachtner, Shannon Holsey, Tony Evers and Benjamin Wikler.

According to The Washington Post, Biden electors are continuing their lawsuit against two attorneys who assisted the Wisconsin Republicans: Jim Troupis, former Dane County judge who led Trump's recount efforts in the state, and Kenneth Chesebro, who in October pleaded guilty as one Trump's 18 co-defendants charged in attempts to overturn Georgia's electoral results.