Motion to disqualify Trump lawyers targets US District Judge Tanya Chutkan Photo: AP
Donald Trump seeking disqualification of Obama-appointed District Judge Tanya Chutkan from prosecuting the election subversion case.
Lawyers for the Republican leader filed a motion Monday arguing that Ms. Chuktan's previous statements about the former president raise questions about her impartiality in the case.
Ms. Chuktan, a former assistant public defender nominated by President Barack Obama, stands out for imposing the harshest sentences on the defendants on Jan. 6.
The request is unlikely given the high threshold for recusal and because the decision to recuse rests with Ms. Chutkan, who is unlikely to see a reason to recuse herself from the case.
Mr. Trump, 77, in a court document It is alleged that previous statements made by Ms. Chutkans appear to relate to his role in influencing his supporters' attack on the Capitol on January 6.
US District Judge Tanya Chutkan Photo: Administrative Office of the US Courts
The court filing cites remarks Ms. Chutkan made at the 2022 sentencing hearing for a Capitol riot defendant, in which she suggested the rioter was motivated by “blind devotion to one man, who, by the way, remains free to this day,” after some the defendants argued that they believed they were doing what Mr. Trump wanted.
Mr. Trump's lawyers argued that the comment reflected Ms. Chuktan's belief that Mr. Trump must be prosecuted and jailed.
«While Judge Chutkan may sincerely intend to give President Trump a fair trial and may believe that she can do so, her public statements will inevitably taint those proceedings, regardless of the outcome,» Trump's lawyers wrote.
The case The Washington case, which charges Mr. Trump with a four-count indictment of conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election, is one of four criminal cases the former president faces as he seeks re-election to the White House.
1608 Trump Indictment Map < p>Trump has frequently criticized Ms. Chutkan on his social media site since she was randomly assigned to preside over the election case in federal court in Washington.
Ms. Chutkan set a trial date in the case for March 4, 2024, despite the objections of Mr. Trump and his lawyers, who sought to move the trial to 2026. The judge also previously warned Mr. Trump about attempts to influence potential witnesses in the case.
Ms. Chutkan, who was nominated by former Democratic President Barack Obama, ruled against Mr. Trump in 2021 in a civil case he brought in an attempt to hide his White House records from the committee US House of Representatives, which investigated the attack on the Capitol.
“Presidents are not kings, and the plaintiff is not a president,” Ms. Chutkan wrote in her ruling.
In asking Ms. Chutkan to step aside, Mr. Trump's legal team is relying on a familiar playbook.
He unsuccessfully tried to get a judge removed from the secret payments case against him in New York state court, with his lawyers arguing that New York Judge Juan Manuel Merchan is biased because he gave money to Democrats and his daughter is a party affiliate. consultant.
But a judge last month rejected Trump's request to remove him, saying he had confidence in his «ability to be fair and impartial.»
Federal judges are supposed to do that. step aside in cases where their «impartiality could reasonably be questioned.»
Other grounds for recusal include personal bias against one of the parties.
Mr. also on Monday sought to dismiss seven counts he faces in a separate Georgia case in which he claims immunity from prosecution for actions he committed in his official capacity as president.
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