The former president’s lawyers contend Judge Tanya Chutkan should step aside due to prior comments.
Special counsel Jack Smith’s office on Thursday sharply rejected Donald Trump’s push for U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan to step aside from the federal criminal case related to his bid to subvert the 2020 election.
Trump had asked for Chutkan, an appointee of President Barack Obama, to withdraw from the case over comments she made in two sentencing hearings for defendants who pleaded guilty to crimes related to the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol. Both had raised questions about why they should face stiff sentences when they viewed themselves as simply carrying out directives from the then-president.
However, judges also have wide latitude to state their views from the bench based on the facts and information they learn in the course of their cases — and both defendants explicitly invited a comparison to Trump and others who stoked the fury of the mob that day.“The Court…did not state that the defendant was legally or morally culpable for the events of January 6 or that he deserved punishment,” they wrote.
The prosecutors responded specifically to Trump’s claim that Chutkan’s reference to the fact that Trump “remains free” renders her biased against him. This assertion, they say, “stated an uncontested and accurate fact” that was in response to a Jan. 6 defendants effort to pin some responsibility for her actions on Trump. Chutkan rejected the argument, they noted.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Prosecutors: No charges for former Seattle Mayor Durkan's deleted texts during 2020 protestsKing County prosecutors announced they will not seek charges against former Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, former Police Chief Carmen Best and Fire Chief Harold Scoggins for allegedly deleting text messages during the 2020 racial justice protests.
Read more »
Judge delays trial for Trump, others in Georgia 2020 election prosecutionTwo defendants are set for trial next month, but the former president and others charged are headed for separate trials later.
Read more »
Georgia Election Case Prosecutors Urge 1 Trial For Trump, Other DefendantsProsecutors maintain that all the defendants should be tried together, citing efficiency and fairness.
Read more »
Georgia judge rejects October Trump trial, splits up election casesAn Atlanta judge has denied prosecutors’ request to try former President Donald Trump along with 18 co-defendants next month for their indictment for attempting to overturn 2020 election results in…
Read more »
GOP-led Wisconsin Senate votes to fire election official targeted in 2020 liesThe Wisconsin Senate has voted to fire the state’s top elections official as misinformation about the 2020 election influences election administration in the battleground state.
Read more »