We’ve identified the key anonymous figures in Jack Smith’s new Trump Brief

New on Wednesday Evidence was presented in the federal case against former President Donald Trump over his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss. In an extensive letter, special counsel Jack Smith provided an overview of Trump’s many phone calls, tweets and meetings with key figures such as Rudy Giuliani and lawyer John Eastman.

The 165-page document is a page turner, but it can be difficult to follow. Many names are redacted and replaced with pseudonyms such as ‘CC1’, an abbreviation of ‘Co-Conspirator 1’, and ‘P76’, an abbreviation of ‘Person 76’.

We are here to help. Below you’ll find the core characters, plus some minor players that haven’t received much attention thus far.

CC1—Rudy Giuliani

The letter introduces Giuliani as a “private attorney” who was “willing to falsely claim victory and knowingly spread false claims of election fraud.” Giuliani, who has since been suspended in New York and Washington, D.C., is also remarkably bad at dialing phone numbers, the brief notes show, including a wrong number for a Michigan lawmaker and two U.S. senators. The letter also quotes one of Trump’s tweets mentioning Giuliani.

CC2—John Eastman

The letter describes Eastman as a “professor and attorney” who represented Trump in various capacities. Earlier this year, a judge in California ruled that Eastman should be suspended, which he is currently appealing. Eastman is recognizable by references to certain cases in which he represented Trump, plus references to his appearance on Steve Bannon’s podcast.

CC3—Sidney Powell

The letter details Powell’s obsession with false theories about voting machines, plus Trump’s private views about her, including that Powell seemed “unhinged” at a press conference and that Tucker Carlson (“P51” in the letter) had “eviscerated” her caught on Fox. News. Powell took a plea deal in the Georgia election case last year and was sanctioned in federal courts, but she retained her law license in Texas. The letter also quotes one of Trump’s tweets mentioning Powell.

CC4 — N/A

There is no CC4 in the latest letter, likely thanks to the Supreme Court’s decision this summer to grant Trump broad immunity for “official” acts. In the original complaint, Co-Conspirator 4 referred to Jeffrey Clark, a former Justice Department attorney who is currently facing disciplinary charges and has been indicted alongside Trump in Georgia.

CC5 — Ken Chesebro

The letter describes Chesebro as “an attorney who has volunteered to assist ‘the Trump campaign’ in lawsuits challenging the Wisconsin election.” He is identifiable based on the letter’s description of the memos he drafted that laid the foundation for the fake voter strategy. Chesebro took a plea deal in the Georgia case last year and faces additional charges in Wisconsin. The letter emphasizes that on January 6, Chesebro “marched with the crowd toward the Capitol” and “breached the restricted area around the building.”

CC6 — Boris Epshteyn

The letter describes Epshteyn as a “private political operative” who communicated extensively with Giuliani and Eastman, including in texts that have been partially published. Like Giuliani and Eastman, Epshteyn can also be identified by an appearance on Bannon’s podcast. On the evening of January 6, he tracked down the contact information of certain members of Congress whom Trump had instructed Giuliani to call.

The other players

In addition to the unindicted co-conspirators, there are dozens of other individuals who have not been identified. Here are some of the most crucial.

P1—Steve Bannon

The short one describes Bannon as “a private political consultant who had worked for the defendant’s 2016 presidential campaign,” and “who maintained a podcast that spread (Trump’s) false fraud claims.” References to certain podcast episode dates – including an infamous “climax battle” joke – confirm Bannon’s identity.

P2 — Bill Stepien

The letter identifies Stepien by his title as Trump’s campaign manager.

P3 — Justin Clark

The letter describes Clark as Trump’s deputy campaign manager. Clark is recognizable through excerpts from an email in which he wrote that the fake electoral plan had ‘turned’ into a ‘crazy play’. The false indictment against Arizona voters, which also names Clark, attributes this email to him.

P5 — Unconfirmed

The The letter itself contains no identifying information for this key person, who – despite not being nicknamed “CC” – is described as “a campaign worker, operative and co-conspirator.” Multiple media outlets reported that this is Mike Roman, who is currently facing charges in Arizona and Wisconsin. The letter claims he “tried to create chaos” at polling stations after the election, urging a colleague: “Turn them into a riot.”

P9 — Eric Herschmann

The letter describes Herschmann as a “White House staffer” who “came to serve as a conduit for information” from Trump’s campaign to Trump. He is identified by key biographical details, including that he began working as an assistant to the president in August 2020 and represented Trump during his first impeachment trial in January 2020. The letter fleshes out Herschmann’s attempts to call Trump “the unvarnished tell the truth about his legal campaign.” team,” including by confronting Eastman with the fringe theories he presented to Trump.

P12 — Jenna Ellis

The short quotes one of Trump’s tweets praising Ellis by name.

P13 — Jared Kushner

The letter identifies him as Trump’s son-in-law.

P14 — Ivanka Trump

The letter identifies her as Trump’s daughter.

P21 — Mark Meadows

The letter identifies Meadows by his title as Trump’s chief of staff.

P26 — Chris Carr

The letter identifies Carr by his title as attorney general of Georgia.

P27 — David Perdue

The short quotes one of Trump’s tweets praising the former Georgia senator by name.

P39 — Ronna McDaniel

The letter identifies McDaniel by her title as former chair of the Republican National Committee.

P59 — Pat Cipollone

The letter identifies Cipollone by his title as White House counsel.