Judge Says AG, Staff Doesn’t Have To Testify – Yet – At DePerno Hearing

(Source: MIRS.news, Published 11/21/2025) An Oakland County district court judge ruled Friday that Attorney General Dana Nessel and her staff do not have to testify – yet – at a preliminary examination for a former AG candidate accused of tampering with voting machines.

Judge Derek W. Meinecke rejected a request to keep Elections Director Jonathan Brater off the witness stand because he has already testified in court hearings for another defendant charged in the same case.

“A lot of these witnesses that we’re talking about really would touch on or connect with a theory or approach or attack related to these cases based on some idea of vindictive, malicious, selective prosecution,” Meinecke said. “But for me, I just want to get to the business of figuring out if the (prosecution) can prove the facts in the complaint that’s been provided to me. Let’s get to the business of that.”

Meincke said he will revisit the issue, however, if he hears testimony at the preliminary examination for attorney Matthew DePerno, who unsuccessfully challenged Nessel in 2022, and former state Rep. Daire Rendon, that shows Nessel or her staff’s appearance is necessary.

Muskegon County Assistant Prosecutor Tim Maat did not take a position on the motions to quash the subpoena, but he did agree that Brater has relevant testimony. He noted that Brater’s participation in a preliminary exam may not be necessary even though he will be at trial.

DePerno also wants Jeff DeLonghchamp, president of ElectionSource, a Grand Rapids-based elections service company, to testify, but Meinecke granted DeLongchamp’s request to quash the defense’s subpoena against him.

DePerno and Rendon are charged with conspiracy to commit undue possession of a voting machine. DePerno is also charged with undue possession of a voting machine and conspiracy to commit unauthorized access to a computer or computer system as well as willfully damaging a voting machine, while Rendon also faces a charge of false pretenses.

Rendon and her attorney attended today’s virtual hearing, but they did not participate in the arguments.

DePerno’s attorney, Michael Cronkright, said DeLongchamp is an “acting working CEO of a major Dominion (Voting Systems) distributor in Michigan,” and he has a “lot of knowledge” and “a lot of experience” about election equipment that will be relevant to the defense.

“We think that this witness knows more than his attorney thinks he does,” Cronkright said. “… It would be totally inappropriate for us to be handcuffed at this point.”

DeLongchamp’s attorney, Deanna Kelley, countered that the defense’s desire to have her client testify about what is allowed under the law is inappropriate.

Cronkright wanted Nessel’s attorney, Assistant Attorney General John Fedynsky disqualified from representing the Democratic AG because she had recused her entire office from handling the investigation against DePerno when he was her opponent for office.

Meinecke rejected that request.

Fedynsky argued that the defense’s idea that DePerno is a selective target because of his claims that fraud impacted the 2020 presidential election results lacks merit because his client did not bring the charges.

DePerno, Rendon and attorney Stefanie Lambert were indicted by a grand jury convened after Muskegon County Prosecutor Dale J. Hilson’s office was assigned as special prosecutor.

Cronkright compared the other side’s argument to the Nixon-Watergate scandal, arguing that no court supports the proposition that a public official can be barred from testifying when he or she is the “only source of information,” as Nessel is.

“If she were excluded it would be devastating for the defense,” Cronkright said, noting that the defense’s strategy is that DePerno’s “actions were permitted because of what happened in the Antrim (County) litigation.”

The Antrim litigation refers to DePerno’s lawsuit filed on behalf of the now-late William Bailey, who alleged widespread fraud and a constitutional right for citizens to conduct their own election audits.

The trial court allowed Bailey’s team to create a forensic image of some of the machines, and eventually dismissed the lawsuit, which the Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed.

The Michigan Supreme Court denied leave to appeal in December 2022, which essentially ended the case.

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