Former Wisconsin GOP Chair Said He Feared Trump Supporters During Fake Elector Scheme
Andrew Hitt told CBS's 60 Minutes that he would have been 'scared to death' if he was the reason Trump lost Wisconsin
Republican Party of Wisconsin Chairman Andrew Hitt. Photo courtesy of Republican Party of Wisconsin.
The former chair of the Wisconsin Republican Party said he feared for his family’s safety when he signed paperwork as a false elector for former president Donald Trump.
Andrew Hitt appeared on CBS’s “60 Minutes” and said he was scared of what Trump supporters would do to him and his family if courts later overturned President Joe Biden’s victory in Wisconsin.
“If I didn’t do that, and the court did throw out those votes, it would have been solely my fault that Trump wouldn’t have won Wisconsin,” Hitt said. “Can you imagine the repercussions on myself, my family, if it was me, Andrew Hitt, who prevented Donald Trump from winning Wisconsin?
“It was not a safe time. If my lawyer is right and the whole reason Trump loses Wisconsin is because of me, I would be scared to death,” he continued.
Hitt was one of 10 false electors who signed documents in 2020 saying that Trump won Wisconsin. The group admitted in a settlement late last year that their actions were used in efforts to overturn the election results.
The settlement included no admission of wrongdoing. The group met on Dec. 14, 2020 — the constitutionally mandated day for state electors to cast ballots for the winner in a presidential race — and signed official-looking documents for Trump.
The same day, the state Supreme Court rejected a lawsuit seeking to overturn Biden’s victory. Biden defeated Trump by 20,682 votes.
Hitt later said he was “tricked” into participating in the scheme and would not have done so if he knew it was part of a broader effort to change election results in key swing states.
He stood by that assertion in the 60 Minutes interview.
“Whenever anybody sees our text messages, our emails, our documents — they understand,” Hitt said. “Their conclusion is we were tricked. The January 6th committee saw it. Jack Smith, specifically in his indictment, refers to ‘some of the electors were tricked.’ That was us.”
The false electors also agreed they will not serve as presidential electors in future elections “featuring” Trump. Hitt told CBS he would not support Trump for president again.
“I would say that this country needs to move forward. That we need a leader who tackles serious problems and serious issues that this country faces. And we need faith in our institutions again. And the next president of the United States needs to do that,” he said.
Hitt previously testified before the U.S. House special committee investigating the events of Jan. 6.
Trump attorney Kenneth Chesebro, who has been called an architect of a plot to subvert the 2020 election, is reportedly cooperating with a Wisconsin state investigation into the matter.
Last year, Chesebro pleaded guilty to one felony count of conspiracy to commit filing false documents in a Georgia elections interference case.
Former Wisconsin GOP chair said he feared Trump supporters was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
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More about the False Electors
- Will Trump Attorney Jim Troupis Lose His Law License? - Sarah Lehr - Jun 20th, 2024
- Documents Undercut False Electors’ Claim It Was a Contingency Plan - Anya van Wagtendonk - Jun 9th, 2024
- Congresswoman Gwen Moore Statement on Charges for Those Involved in Fake Electors’ Scheme - U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore - Jun 4th, 2024
- Attorney General Kaul Announces Charge Against Chesebro, Roman, Troupis in Connection with Alleged Unappointed Electors Conspiracy - Wisconsin Department of Justice - Jun 4th, 2024
- Pocan Applauds WI AG for Bringing Charges Against Fake Electors - U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan - Jun 4th, 2024
- Leaders of 2020 Wisconsin Fake Electors Scheme Charged With Felonies - Anya van Wagtendonk and Sarah Lehr - Jun 4th, 2024
- Back in the News: Josh Kaul Investigating Fake Electors? - Bruce Murphy - Apr 17th, 2024
- Democratic Proposal Would Bar Fake Electors From Serving As Election Officials - Anya van Wagtendonk - Mar 21st, 2024
- Documents Suggest Trump Fake Elector Scheme Originated In Wisconsin - Rich Kremer - Mar 8th, 2024
- Lawyers Who Conceived and Executed the 2020 Fake Elector Scheme Agree Not to Participate in a Similar Scheme in Any Future Presidential Election - Law Forward - Mar 4th, 2024
Read more about False Electors here
A Republican afraid of his own party. Shouldn’t that tell you something? So afraid that he broke the law to appease them. Where is his moral compass? And this guy can still practice law in Wisconsin.
Several U.S. Senators have said anonymously that they are afraid of voting against trump. They are afraid of the heavily-armed kooks that follow on his every word. So this may be possible. But as CraigR said, why is he allowed to use some hidden fear to break the law, try and overthrow the government and still be a partner at a giant law firm? Very few people have his massive salary and the ability to use a giant law firm to protect them. trump and his ilk love to make threats that their crazy followers act on.
Milwaukee will rue the day it invited the Republikkkans to hold their convention in Milwaukee. The mayor and the Common Council sold their souls for a few bucks. They tossed honor and integrity into the garbage to appease wealthy business owners downtown. The rest of us will pay for it. We already are.