The judge presiding over the Georgia election subversion case signed orders Tuesday to compel Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel and pro-Trump conspiracy theorist Alex Jones to testify at the first trial in the sprawling case.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee granted a request from District Attorney Fani Willis to order the testimony from these two high-profile witnesses. The development raises the stakes for the trial of Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell. They have pleaded not guilty.
The judge determined that McDaniel and Jones are both “a necessary and material witness in this prosecution” and said they “will be required to be in attendance and testify,” according to court filings.
As chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, McDaniel is in the midst of a contentious GOP primary race in the 2024 presidential election where former President Donald Trump, a co-defendant in this case, is running again.
“Ronna McDaniel possesses unique knowledge concerning communications between herself and Donald Trump as well as communications between herself and John Eastman regarding the conspiracy to cause certain individuals to falsely hold themselves out as the duly elected and qualified presidential electors,” McAfee wrote, referring to the aftermath of the 2020 election.
Trump and Eastman have also been charged in the case and pleaded not guilty.
Jones is a notorious conspiracy theorist who led a protest on US Capitol grounds during the January 6, 2021, insurrection but never went inside the building. Prosecutors told the judge that video footage shows Chesebro marching near the Capitol with Jones.
“Alex Jones possesses unique knowledge concerning communications between himself and Kenneth Chesebro and other known and unknown individuals involved in the multi-state, coordinated efforts to influence the results of the November 3, 2020, presidential election in Georgia and elsewhere,” McAfee said.
McAfee’s order will be sent to local courts where McDaniel and Jones live, and judges in those jurisdictions would then issue a formal subpoena requiring their testimony in Georgia.
Court filings also indicate that McAfee compelled testimony from former Wisconsin GOP chair Andrew Hitt, who also served as a fake elector in 2020.
CNN has reached out to the RNC and Jones for comment.