Legal experts say Trump’s Jan. 6 architect has a “new perjury problem”: His “goose looks cooked”

Attorney Kenneth Chesebro may have perjured himself in Nevada, says New York University law professor Ryan Goodman

By Gabriella Ferrigine

Published March 5, 2024 12:18PM (EST)

Kenneth Chesebro sits with his attorney Manny Arora during a hearing where Chesebro accepted a plea deal from the Fulton County District Attorney in front of Fulton County Superior Judge Scott McAfee at the Fulton County Courthouse October 20, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Alyssa Pointer/Getty Images)
Kenneth Chesebro sits with his attorney Manny Arora during a hearing where Chesebro accepted a plea deal from the Fulton County District Attorney in front of Fulton County Superior Judge Scott McAfee at the Fulton County Courthouse October 20, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Alyssa Pointer/Getty Images)

Former Trump attorney Kenneth Chesebro, one of the architects in the former president’s fake elector plot, may have a "perjury" problem over his testimony to a Nevada grand jury.

The Washington Post on Monday reported on a cache of documents in the Nevada grand jury probe of the fake elector scheme, including Chesebro's statements to the panel.

Chesebro told the grand jury that he saw "pending litigation" as pivotal to the plot to overturn Trump's 2020 loss. 

“The whole point of the alternate elector plan that we arrived at in Wisconsin is the idea is we make sure that we have the extra three weeks to try to win the lawsuit," the right-wing lawyer said, according to a transcript. "If there isn't any lawsuit then there's no need for this to be done because there's no lawsuit that would be won before January 6th."

However, in an email sent in December of 2020, Chesebro alleged, "I think having the electors send in alternate slates of votes on Dec. 14 can pay huge dividends even if there is no litigation pending on Jan. 6," effectively undercutting his statement. 

"There is no barrier to Congress (here, we're talking the Senate, assuming it's still controlled by Republicans) deliberating on which electoral slate to count,” the email continued, “even if one electoral slate is endorsed by the governor, after all litigation is final — indeed, even if the slate met the Dec. 8 'safe harbor' deadline."

New York University Law Prof. Ryan Goodman highlighted the statements on X/Twitter, warning that "Chesebro has a new perjury problem."

Chesebro's "goose looks cooked," agreed former federal prosecutor Andrew Weissmann, who served on special counsel Bob Mueller's team.

A CNN report recently found that Chesebro concealed a secret Twitter account from Michigan prosecutors that was rife with posts that contradicted statements he made about his role in the ex-president’s election subversion plot.

"Worse yet. Chesebro repeatedly told Michigan prosecutors his view of alternate electors plan was contingent on winning litigation," Goodman tweeted. "New emails coming out of Wisconsin settlement provide strong proof he perjured himself."