Meet the Kensington Guy Charged in Georgia’s Donald Trump Case

Left: Mike Roman, a political operative who worked in the Donald Trump White House (Twitter) | Right: Donald Trump in a 2022 photo (Getty Images)

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Meet Mike Roman, a Philly Guy Charged in Georgia’s Donald Trump Case

As you’ve probably heard by now, prosecutors in Georgia released a nearly 100-page indictment on Monday against Donald Trump and 18 of his pals, accusing them of doing all sorts of shady stuff in an attempt to overturn the 2020 election that he lost but still claims to have won. Well, wouldn’t you know it: One of those pals is a Philly guy, through and through.

Michael A. Roman, known in the GOP conspiracy circles as Mike Roman, has been hit with seven counts. They are as follows:

• Violation of the Georgia RICO Act
• Conspiracy to impersonate a public officer
• Conspiracy to commit forgery in the first degree (two counts)
• Conspiracy to commit false statements and writings (two counts)
• Conspiracy to commit filing false documents

If you’re not into reading long and complicated legal documents, I can sum it up quickly for you. Trump is accused of plotting to overturn the 2020 election by using slates of fake electors in key states, including Georgia. And prosecutors say that Roman was one of the key operatives in implementing said plot.

Roman grew up in Kensington. He got his start in politics in the mid-’90s when he worked on behalf of a Republican state Senate candidate who claimed that he lost a special election due to widespread voter fraud among Democrats. Sound familiar? In that case, the Republican candidate was actually able to convince a judge that he was right.

Roman oozed his way through the political muck and eventually made his way to the White House, serving as the special assistant to the president and director of special projects and research for Donald Trump. What does that mean exactly? Nobody was quite sure, including people who worked in the White House. For more on that, check out the 2018 Politico article “The Mysterious Oppo Researcher Working in the White House Lawyer’s Office.”

The Kensington native is in good company: Also indicted in the Georgia case is former Philadelphian Jeffrey Clark. Not nearly as Philly as Roman is. (A quick look at Roman’s Twitter feed will make you realize that he’s all Philly, all the time.) But we get to claim him nonetheless. Yay us!

True Crime

On this day in 1975, eight-year-old Gretchen Harrington of Marple disappeared as she was walking to vacation Bible school just up the road. Her disappearance marked the start of a cold case that would remain cold until earlier this summer. To read the inside story about it all from our upcoming September issue, go here.

Local Talent

Philly’s own Questlove just turned up in Time magazine with an essay, “The Day Hip-Hop Changed Forever.” He’s also writing a book documenting the history of hip-hop. It’s due out next year.

Reader Mail

Yesterday, I had a bit of fun at the expense of my hero Bruce Springsteen, in light of the fact that tickets for his two shows at Citizens Bank Park this week aren’t exactly hot items. As expected, I heard from more than a few readers about this. And this guy named Tom pretty much captures the spirit of all those messages:

That was probably about the biggest wasted five minutes of my life!

Did it really take you five minutes to read that little thing?!

By the Numbers

17: Age of the West Philly resident just arrested for alleged terrorist activities. Prosecutors say he was communicating with overseas terrorists and attempting to build IEDs.

$20,000: Goal for a soon-to-launch Kickstarter campaign by the Philly couple behind Edwin Eats an Edible, an in-the-work children’s-style book about pot.

$88: Lowest ticket price for Bruce Springsteen at Citizens Bank Park on Wednesday, an eleven percent drop from when I wrote about Bruce’s bargain-bin tickets on Monday morning.

And from the Waiting-Pattern Sports Desk …

While we all sit here uncomfortably on these tenterhooks, waiting to find out whether the Phillies can exorcise whatever demons have stolen their bats in time for tonight’s 7:07 (!) start of their two-game miniseries in Toronto with the Blue Jays, let’s have a look at what else is going on in sports.

Well, there’s tonight’s Union matchup with Inter Miami and some dude named Lionel Messi in the quarterfinals of the Leagues Cup! So far, the games in this mystery tourney have been pretty damn exciting. Tickets for this one sold out in, like, 20 minutes. Did you know Subaru Park is the first zero-landfill soccer stadium in MLS? Now you do. The game is being broadcast on Apple TV, and you’ll need the MLS Season Pass to see it. Our experience with Apple TV’s app is that it’s extremely glitchy. Fingers crossed that this broadcast goes smoothly. Doop!

In Iggles news, did you hear that there’s a new documentary by a team that followed center Jason Kelce around last season? He’s one of our big faves.

This is fun: Prime Video is announcing a greenlight order for “Kelce,” a documentary that follows #Eagles All-Pro C Jason Kelce through the 2022-23 season. The doc, which premieres Sept. 12 on @PrimeVideo, is produced by 9.14 Pictures, Vera Y Productions, and NFL Films. pic.twitter.com/eWAFVxmrUI

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 14, 2023

And there’s good news regarding our old friend Zach Ertz, whom we like even though he’s no longer an Iggle:

Almost nine months after tearing his ACL and MCL, #AZCardinals TE Zach Ertz has been cleared for full football activity and is on track to start Week 1, source says. The three-time Pro Bowler was on pace for 86 catches, 745 yards and 8 TDs before injuring his knee in Week 10. pic.twitter.com/r3QjvQuF5j

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) August 14, 2023

By the way, don’t get caught with your pants down — this week, the Birds are on Thursday Night Football, which, oh shit, is only on Amazon Prime, so you better get that lined up, too. At least a free 30-day trial is available. I’m sure all you have to do is, like, provide Social Security numbers for your entire household. They’re playing the Minnesota Vikings, and kickoff’s at eight. Consider this your Distant Early Warning signal.

All Philly Today sports coverage is provided by Sandy Hingston.