Mike Roman Flipping Could be a Catastrophe for Donald Trump

A top official in Donald Trump's 2020 campaign team who was a key part of the fake elector scheme to overturn the results in favor of the former president is cooperating with federal prosecutors, according to reports.

Mike Roman was director of Election Day operations for Trump's campaign. He has spoken to Special Counsel Jack Smith's office as part of the expansive criminal investigation into attempts to overturn the last election and into the events that led up to the January 6, 2021 attack, reported CNN.

Roman reportedly spoke to prosecutors under what is known as a proffer agreement. This means he can share information with investigators on an understanding that the statements will not be used against him in future criminal proceedings. Roman also may not have to appear before the grand jury as part of the agreement. It is unclear what precisely Roman was asked about during his meeting with prosecutors, or what information he may have provided.

The New York Times previously reported that Roman was preparing to answer questions voluntarily about the scheme to create a fake group of electors. They would falsely declare that Trump had beaten Joe Biden in several key swing states that the Republican had actually lost in 2020.

The New York Times also described Roman as doing "much of the legwork" in finding ways to challenge Trump's losses in the key battleground states at the last election. Roman is considered a major part of the plot to send fake electoral officials to declare falsely that Trump had won in states such as Georgia, Arizona and Michigan in 2020.

Roman and Boris Epshteyn, a strategic adviser for the Trump campaign, had coordinated with others who played roles in advising Trump in the weeks after the Election day in 2020. This is according to a series of emails, reviewed by The New York Times in 2022.

In July 2022, Politico named Roman as a Trump operative who tried to get a list of false electors from Michigan and Wisconsin to Pennsylvania GOP congressman Mike Kelly on Capitol Hill in a hope they would eventually make their way to Vice President Mike Pence.

The fake electoral scheme has long been the main focus of Smith's probe. Trump's former lawyer Rudy Giuliani also recently voluntarily answered questions from federal prosecutors about the plan involving several members of the former president's inner circle.

The reports of Roman and Giuliani both meeting with prosecutors arrive amid suggestions the federal investigation into the 2020 Election may soon be drawing to a close, with indictments forthcoming.

Political reporter Jamie Dupree noted the potential significance of the reports that Roman may now be cooperating with federal prosecutors investigating the fake electoral scheme.

"Mike Roman could be a very important figure in unlocking how the fake ballots got to members and staff on Capitol Hill, who were trying to get the envelopes to VP Pence," Dupree tweeted.

In February 2022, Roman was subpoenaed to give evidence to The United States House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack, regarding the plot to send false slates of electors to Washington D.C. to "change the outcome" of the 2020 election.

In a letter to Roman, Rep. Bennie Thompson, chairman of the committee, said the panel has received communications allegedly sent by Roman. They suggested that he was involved in a plan to contact state lawmakers and tell them to "reclaim" their freedom by sending alternate electors to declare falsely that Trump had won in several states in 2020.

Thompson said it appeared Roman had "helped direct" Trump campaign staffers to participate in the plot.

Gary Michael Brown, Roman's former deputy, also received a subpoena from the January 6 committee. Brown was questioned in front of the grand jury under Smith's federal probe in mid-June, reported The New York Times.

While speaking to House investigators last year, Roman mainly invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, according to CNN.

When asked about his ties to Giuliani—another key figure in the fake electoral plot—Roman replied: "I don't believe I had any interaction with him before the election."

When asked about his interactions with Giuliani after Election Day in 2020, Roman said: "On the advice of counsel, I assert my constitutional privilege under the Fifth Amendment and respectfully decline to answer the question."

Newsweek has contacted Roman's office for comment via email.