Former President Donald Trump said Sunday he cannot get a fair trial in Washington, D.C., under the judge overseeing the case regarding allegations he tried to overturn the 2020 election.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who was randomly selected to preside over the case, is a Barack Obama appointee and has been a longtime Democratic donor. She also worked at a law firm that hired President Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden. Further, she has delivered harsh sentences to protesters charged in relation to the events of Jan. 6, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol.
In a Truth Social post, Trump added he will ask his legal team to request that Chutkan be removed from the case and that he will be seeking a change of venue because the jury pool in Washington likely will be filled with Democratic voters.
"There is no way I can get a fair trial with the judge 'assigned' to the ridiculous freedom of speech/fair elections case," Trump wrote in all-caps. "Everybody knows this, and so does she! We will be immediately asking for recusal of this judge on very powerful grounds, and likewise for venue change, out if [sic] D.C."
Trump pleaded not guilty on Thursday to four charges related to his alleged actions to subvert the 2020 election.
Chutkan, 61, did not preside over the arraignment, but she recently rejected a bid by Trump's legal team seeking more time to respond to the Department of Justice's request for her to issue an order limiting what Trump can share publicly about the case. Prosecutors made the request after Trump posted in all-caps on Truth Social on Friday, "If you go after me, I’m coming after you." His team has until 5 p.m. EDT Monday to respond to the request, the New York Post reported.
Alina Habba, general counsel for Save America PAC, told Newsmax on Wednesday, "There are processes that we can go through if we do believe that this judge is compromised or won't be able to give a fair shake. It's a motion for recusal.
"The only issue with recusal motions — and I'm not familiar with the criminal court system — but in civil law, the judge decides whether they can be impartial ... so, we'll see how it works," Habba said. "I'll leave that to our criminal attorneys, but that's typically what you do.
"I can't see how you could possibly be a person who donates to the Democratic Party, a person who sat on the board with the [son of the] current president and political opponent to President Trump ... and then sit and oversee this case. That just doesn't make sense to me."
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