Sen. Johnson Requests Justice Department Review Allegations of Judicial Misconduct in Wisconsin Case Involving a Former Trump Lawyer
WASHINGTON – Yesterday, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi raising concerns about potential judicial misconduct against Jim Troupis, a former Dane County, WI Circuit Court judge who faces criminal charges in Wisconsin. The charges are connected to Mr. Troupis’ role as one of President Trump’s attorneys in the state in the 2020 election.
Chairman Johnson wrote, “because of his role as the president’s attorney [Mr. Troupis’] life has been upended by unceasing political persecutions currently led by Wisconsin’s attorney general.”
According to recently unsealed court documents, Mr. Troupis’ attorneys allege that the judge overseeing Mr. Troupis’ case, John Hyland, may have had retired Judge Frank Remington, who is “not a fan” of Mr. Troupis, write the order denying the motions to dismiss. A forensic linguistic expert reportedly confirmed that it was “highly likely” that Judge Remington wrote the order even though it was signed by Judge Hyland. Mr. Troupis’ legal team requested for the case to be heard by another judge in another Wisconsin county “where Troupis did not serve as a judge” in order to “ensure the appearance of impropriety does not haunt the rest of this case.” Judge Hyland denied this request on Dec. 9, 2025.
“It is difficult to understand how Judge Hyland can make an impartial decision about [Troupis’ attorneys’] allegations when he is directly implicated,” the chairman wrote.
Chairman Johnson called on the Department of Justice (DOJ) to review Judge Troupis’ case “to determine whether any wrongdoing has occurred.”
The letter to DOJ can be found here.
###