Former President of the United States Donald Trump asked, this Monday (11), that Judge Tanya Chutkan be removed from the 2020 election interference case brought against him by special prosecutor Jack Smith.
Trump pointed out in the process comments made by Chutkan in cases involving protesters from the attack on the Capitol in 2021.
According to the former president, there was “little doubt” that the public could “believe that she prejudged both the facts pertinent to this case and President Trump’s alleged culpability.”
“In a politically charged time, naturally all Americans, and indeed the entire world, are closely watching these proceedings,” Trump quoted “Only if this trial is administered by a judge who appears completely impartial will the public be able to accept the result as justice”, he continued.
Chutkan, appointed by former President Barack Obama, was randomly assigned to Trump’s case, and has long been outspoken on Capitol Hill — calling the case an attack on American democracy and warning of the future danger of political violence.
She repeatedly exceeded what prosecutors requested for prison terms for convicted protesters.
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The judge also presided over civil litigation involving January 6, 2021, including a rejection of Trump’s attempts to block the House select committee that investigated the attacks from accessing more than 700 pages of White House records.
“Presidents are not kings and the petitioner is not a president,” Chutkan wrote in that ruling.
Trump’s request that she not be in the criminal case is likely an uphill battle, as the new lawsuit was filed with Chutkan itself.
The first example highlighted by the Trump team comes from an October 2022 sentencing hearing, in which the judge said that “the people who surrounded that Capitol were there in allegiance, in loyalty, to a man – not to the Constitution… It’s a blind loyalty to a person who, in fact, remains free to this day.”
And at a sentencing hearing in December 2021, Chutkan said in another trial that “the people who exhorted and encouraged him and mobilized him to act and fight were not charged.”
She added: “The question of who was or was not charged is not before me. I have no influence on this. I have my opinions, but they are not relevant.”
Trump’s actions against judges
In an extensive civil lawsuit that Trump filed in Florida against former Justice Department officials, Hillary Clinton and other Democratic figures for an alleged conspiracy in the 2016 elections, the former president sought to remove the judge assigned to that case, because he was the magistrate had been appointed by President Bill Clinton.
U.S. District Judge Donald Middlebrooks rejected the request last year, but Trump has since appealed.
Trump had also called for the removal of the judge overseeing the New York criminal case against him related to hush money payments.
According to Trump, Judge Juan Merchan should leave the case due to his daughter’s political consulting work, which was with Biden’s 2020 campaign.
Merchan denied the request last month.
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Source: CNN Brasil
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
