Ever since it came out that Ron Johnson had been part of the fake elector scheme, he has been trying to deny or minimize his involvement. At first he knew nothing about it, then he said it was a staff issue and he had nothing to do with it. Eventually, he admitted to being involved, but only for a minute or two. Most recently, he said it took "only" an hour of his time.
Then it came out that one of Wisconsin's fake electors actually works for RoJo's campaign:
While the Oshkosh Republican continues to downplay his office’s connection to the effort, saying his participation lasted just seconds, one of Wisconsin’s false electors has been working on Johnson’s reelection campaign.
Pam Travis, one of 10 Wisconsin Republicans who signed official-looking paperwork falsely claiming to be a presidential elector in 2020, has been a full-time staffer on Johnson’s competitive reelection bid since March 2022, according to the woman’s LinkedIn profile.
Federal Election Commission reports indicate Johnson’s campaign paid Travis more than $10,200 for her work since April, and the campaign reimbursed Travis for just over $3,500 in mileage costs between May and July.
Now it's being reported that RoJo has paid Jim Troupis more than $20,000. Troupis was one of Trump's attorneys and was involved in the fake elector scheme.
Johnson, locked in one of the closest Senate races in the country against Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, has paid a little over $20,000 in recent months to the Troupis Law Office in Cross Plains, Wis., according to new financial disclosure forms filed with the Federal Election Commission. Troupis is the firm’s principal.
On July 26, Johnson’s campaign paid $13,287 to Troupis Law for “legal consulting.” On Aug. 18, it paid $7,000 for what is listed on his financial records as “Recount: Legal Consulting.” Financial records suggest the only other financial interactions between Troupis and Johnson came in 2010, when Troupis donated $1,000 to Johnson’s campaign fund.
While campaigns sometimes prepare for different Election Day voting scenarios, Johnson’s payment for legal consulting on a possible recount to an outside law firm could be a sign that he expects the kind of dead-heat contest the battleground state is known for. Johnson has not said whether he would accept the results of the Nov. 8 election. Previous financial disclosure forms did not indicate previous payments to the Troupis firm. The records show he made regular payments, totaling at least $30,000 this year, to another law firm, Wiley Rein, for legal consulting.
It is interesting that the corporate media is being helpful to RoJo and Troupis by presuming that this is some kind of retainer fee because RoJo is preparing for the possibility of having a close election in November. However, making such a presumption may be a little premature.
Troupis did a podcast interview with the MacIver Institute, a right wing front group sponsored by the Bradley Foundation, six months ago. In this interview, Troupis spends most of his time preaching The Big Lie. However, he also does talk about working with RoJo on court hearings from early this year as they continue to file frivilous hearings over the 2020 elections.
Raising suspicions further, both RoJo's campaign and the Troupis law firm are being very tight-lipped about their relationship and what the money is for. A spokesman from RoJo's campaign would only say that they weren't going to participate in "another smear" of RoJo. That is a pretty strong reaction to something that would normally just be considered everyday business.
