Donald Trump’s legal team formally requested the judge presiding over his federal case to recuse herself, claiming that her past statements reveal clear biases regarding the former president and his involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot.
The case regarding charges of election subversion in Washington, D.C. directly relates to the events of Jan. 6. The attorneys claim the statements from federal judge, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, “unavoidably taint” the legal proceedings and foreclose any possibility of trust, even if Chutkan intends to be fair.
“Judge Chutkan has, in connection with other cases, suggested that President Trump should be prosecuted and imprisoned. Such statements, made before this case began and without due process, are inherently disqualifying […] The public will reasonably and understandably question whether Judge Chutkan arrived at all of her decisions in this matter impartially, or in fulfillment of her prior negative statements regarding President Trump,” the motion for recusal read.
Specifically, the Trump lawyers cite a statement made by Chutkan in the United States v. Christine Priola case in October 2022, prior to the filing of the election subversion case or the appointment of the Special Counsel:
This was nothing less than an attempt to violently overthrow the government, the legally, lawfully, peacefully elected government by individuals who were mad that their guy lost. I see the videotapes. I see the footage of the flags and the signs that people were carrying and the hats they were wearing and the garb. And the people who mobbed that Capitol were there in fealty, in loyalty, to one man—not to the Constitution, of which most of the people who come before me seem woefully ignorant; not to the ideals of this country; and not to the principles of democracy. It’s a blind loyalty to one person who, by the way, remains free to this day.
They also quote from Chutkan in a different case, the 2021 prosecution of Jan. 6 protestor Robert Palmer in the case United States v. Palmer:
He didn’t like the result, and he didn’t want the transition of power to take place because his guy lost. And it is true, Mr. Palmer — you have made a very good point, one that has been made before — that the people who exhorted you and encouraged you and rallied you to go and take action and to fight have not been charged. That is not this court’s position. I don’t charge anybody. I don’t negotiate plea offers. I don’t make charging decisions. I sentence people who have pleaded guilty or have been convicted. The issue of who has or has not been charged is not before me. I don’t have any influence on that. I have my opinions, but they are not relevant.
Tanya Chutkan is a former assistant public defender nominated by President Barack Obama. She is known for being one of the “toughest punishers” of Jan. 6 defendants, according to The Associate Press.
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Chutkan ordered Special Counsel Jack Smith’s team to file any opposition to Trump’s recusal bid by Thursday. It is unlikely the Trump attorneys will get their wish, as the decision to recuse ultimately rests with Chutkan. In effect, the request is tactical, and only serves to stack a parallel media campaign against the trials and highlight the biases before the trial gets off the ground.
Smith’s team expressed concern that Trump’s comments about Chutkan, such as her being “highly partisan,” could preemptively sway the future jury.
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