Former President Donald Trump on Monday blasted the federal judge who will hear his trial on charges that he illegally tried to stay in power following his 2020 election loss, asking the judge to recuse himself from the case.
Lawyers for the 77-year-old former president argued that US District Judge Tanya Chutkan made “disqualifying” remarks while presiding over the trial of the individual who entered the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Lawyers claim Chutkan’s remarks will “taint” the proceedings against Trump.
“Judge Chutkan has, in connection with other cases, suggested that President Trump should be impeached and imprisoned. Such statements, made before this case began and without due process, are disqualified,” the former commander-in-chief’s motion reads.
“While Judge Chutkan may have truly intended to give President Trump a fair trial — and may have believed that he could do so — his public statements inevitably tarnish these proceedings, regardless of the outcome,” the filing continued. “The public will reasonably and understandably question whether Judge Chutkan reached all of his decisions in this matter fairly, or in fulfillment of his previous negative statements about President Trump.”
Trump’s lawyers argued that some of Chutkan’s statements disqualified him from presiding over the former president’s trial.REUTERS
Chutkan has sentenced dozens of convicted Capitol mobsters. AFP via Getty Images
Trump’s lawyers cited Chutkan’s statement during the October 2022 sentencing of convicted Capitol rioter Christine Priola, accusing the judge of implying that the former president should be behind bars for his actions on the day of the riot.
“[T]he mobbed people that the Capitol was there in loyalty, in loyalty, to a man – not to the Constitution, of which most of the people who came before me seemed very ignorant; not to the ideals of this country; and not to democratic principles. It is blind loyalty to someone who, by the way, remains free to this day,” said Chutkan.
The filing also refers to a statement made by Chutkan in December 2021, during a hearing for Robert Palmer, who stormed the Capitol and assaulted a police officer on January 6, 2021, arguing that it referred to Trump.
“And it’s true, Mr. Palmer — you’ve made a very good point, a point that’s been made before — that the people who urged you and encouraged you and rallied you to go and take action and to fight back were not prosecuted,” Chutkan said. .
Trump has previously slammed Chutkan as “biased and unfair.” AP
Chutkan has sentenced dozens of individuals convicted of charges related to the Capitol riots, and his sentences are among the most severe ever handed down.
Trump has previously derided Chutkan, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama, as “HIGHLY BIASED & UNFAIR.”
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), a Trump ally, announced last month that he would introduce a resolution to censure, censure and investigate the 61-year-old Jamaican-born judge, accusing him of engaging in “partisan comments” on and off the bench that ” questioning his fitness as a judge.”
The office of special counsel Jack Smith has proposed a trial date of January 2, 2024 for Trump in the 2020 election fraud case.
The former president and 2024 Republican presidential front-runner faces four felony charges, including conspiracy to defraud the US, obstruction, conspiracy to obstruct official proceedings and conspiracy against rights.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
