Michigan election tampering case stalls as DePerno seeks to block texts linked to 2020 audit effort
After the preliminary examination of former attorney general candidate Matt DePerno and former state Rep. Daire Rendon (R-Lake City) kicked off on Thursday, the review of evidence has been put on pause over a dispute on whether a series of text messages should be admitted as evidence.
Rendon and DePerno, as well as attorney Stefanie Lambert Junttila, were indicted in 2023, following an investigation into potential tampering with election equipment following the 2020 election, led by Special Prosecutor D.J. Hilson.
The three defendants are each accused of participating in a conspiracy to gain access to voting tabulators, where a group of information technology experts allegedly performed “testing” on the machines.
While Lambert Junttila opted to move straight to trial, Judge Jeffery S. Matis of the Oakland County Circuit Court moved for DePerno and Rendon’s case to be remanded to the 44th District Court in Royal Oak for a preliminary examination, where Judge Derek Meinecke is reviewing the evidence brought by the prosecution to determine whether it is sufficient to move to trial.
https://michiganadvance.com/2025/10/10/michigan-election-tampering-case-stalls-as-deperno-seeks-to-block-texts-linked-to-2020-audit-effort/