Trump lawyers seek recusal of judge in DC presiding over federal election subversion case

5 AT 530. WELL, FORMER PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP WILL GO BEFORE A FEDERAL JUDGE IN WASHINGTON, D.C. TOMORROW AFTERNOON CHARGED WITH CONSPIRACY TO OVERTURN THE 2020 ELECTION. A SPECIAL COUNSEL, JACK SMITH, POINTING TO THE JANUARY SIXTH STORMING OF THE CAPITOL AS A DIRECT RESULT OF THE FORMER PRESIDENT바카라 게임 웹사이트�S ACTIONS. WITH US NOW, OUR LEGAL EXPERT, GREG HENNING OF HENNING STRATEGIES. GREG, THANKS FOR JOINING US. OF COURSE, THIS IS THE FORMER PRESIDENT바카라 게임 웹사이트�S THIRD INDICTMENT IN SOME FOUR MONTHS. MANY HAVE SAID IT바카라 게임 웹사이트�S THE MOST SERIOUS. DO YOU AGREE? I DO THINK HE바카라 게임 웹사이트�S FACING THE MOST SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES IN FEDERAL COURT, BOTH IN FLORIDA AND IN WASHINGTON, WHERE THE PROCESS BEGINS TOMORROW. BUT IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT, THIS IS DEFINITELY THE MOST HISTORIC. IT GOES TO THE CORE SYSTEMS THAT WE TEACH KIDS IN CIVICS CLASSES IN GRADE SCHOOL, CERTIFYING ELECTIONS AND THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE AND ENSURING THAT THERE바카라 게임 웹사이트�S A PEACEFUL TRANSITION TO POWER. AND HE바카라 게임 웹사이트�S NOW BEING CHARGED WITH ATTACKING THOSE VERY SYSTEMS THAT ARE AT THE CORE OF THE AMERICAN DEMOCRACY. ALL RIGHT. THIS LATEST INDICTMENT WAS JUST HANDED UP YESTERDAY, BUT IS THERE A POSSIBILITY THIS CASE MIGHT ACTUALLY GO TO TRIAL FIRST? AND IF SO, WHY? WELL, THERE바카라 게임 웹사이트�S A POSSIBILITY FOR SURE. I THINK THE TRUMP DEFENSE TEAM IS GOING TO TRY TO DRAG ALL OF THE CASES OUT AS LONG AS POSSIBLE. BUT THE CASE IN FLORIDA, EVEN THOUGH IT WAS FILED FIRST, HAS MUCH MORE COMPLICATED ISSUES FOR DISCOVERY BECAUSE OF THE NATIONAL SECURITY ISSUES INVOLVED IN THOSE DOCUMENTS. THE CASE IN D.C. IS LARGELY BASED ON TESTIMONY FROM WITNESSES, MANY OF WHOM HAVE ALREADY TESTIFIED IN THE GRAND JURY AGAINST THE FORMER PRESIDENT. SO YOU COULD GET THAT CASE TO TRIAL SOONER BECAUSE IT바카라 게임 웹사이트�S LESS COMPLICATED IN TERMS OF THE DISCOVERY PROCEDURES. OKAY. SO TALKING ABOUT THOSE DOCUMENTS, THAT CASE, AGAIN, CENTERED IN FLORIDA. THE JUDGE WAS APPOINTED BY TRUMP. THE NEW CASE, IT CENTERED IN D.C. AND THE JUDGE IN THIS CASE WAS APPOINTED BY FORMER PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA. SO SHE바카라 게임 웹사이트�S ISSUED TOUGH SENTENCES FOR JANUARY 6TH. THE RIOTERS. HOW DIFFICULT COULD THIS BE FOR THE TRUMP DEFENSE TEAM, GIVEN THE JUDGE? WELL, THE JUDGE CERTAINLY HAS ISSUED THOSE DIFFICULT SENTENCES FOR THE DEFENDANTS, BUT PERHAPS MORE IMPORTANTLY FOR THE DEFENSE TEAM, FOR THE FORMER PRESIDENT, SHE HAS A ACUTE UNDERSTANDING AND AWARENESS OF THE DISCOVERY ISSUES AND THE EVIDENTIARY ISSUES ON THE JANUARY SIXTH ATTACKS. SHE바카라 게임 웹사이트�S HEARD THE BACKGROUND. SHE바카라 게임 웹사이트�S HEARD ABOUT WHAT WAS GOING ON, AND SHE바카라 게임 웹사이트�S LIKELY TO BE LESS FOOLED BY ANY SORT OF ARGUMENTS THAT THERE WAS NOT A RIOT AND THERE WAS NOT AN ATTEMPTED INSURRECTION. SO I THINK THAT THE LANDSCAPE IS DEFINITELY DIFFICULT FOR THE FORMER PRESIDENT. SO WE KNOW, AS YOU MENTIONED, SHE바카라 게임 웹사이트�S PRESIDED OVER A NUMBER OF THESE FOLKS INVOLVED. THEIR TRIALS WITH JANUARY SIXTH, IF CONVICTED HERE, THE FORMER PRESIDENT COULD FACE YEARS IN PRISON. WOULD THAT HAPPEN RIGHT AWAY? AND CAN YOU SEE THAT HAPPENING, FRANKLY? SO IF HE바카라 게임 웹사이트�S CONVICTED AND THAT바카라 게임 웹사이트�S A BIG IF, IT STILL NEEDS TO GET TO A TRIAL AND CONVINCE 12 PEOPLE BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT. BUT IF THAT WERE TO HAPPEN, THERE ARE MANY APPELLATE PROCEDURES THAT THE FORMER PRESIDENT바카라 게임 웹사이트�S TEAM WOULD DRAG OUT IN ORDER TO PROLONG THIS PROCESS. AND I THINK THERE IS A POSSIBILITY THAT HE COULD BE CONVICTED, BUT ALSO NEVER ACTUALLY SPEND A DAY IN PRISON GIVEN HIS AGE AND THE LENGTH OF TIME THAT APPEALS CAN DRAG ON. OKAY, GREG HENNING. GREG, THANK YOU SO

Lawyers for Donald Trump on Monday asked the federal judge presiding over his election subversion case in Washington to recuse herself, saying her past public statements about the former president and his connection to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol call into question whether she can be fair.The recusal motion from Trump's lawyers takes aim at U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, a former assistant public defender who was nominated to the bench by President Barack Obama and has stood out as one of the toughest punishers of Jan. 6 defendants. The request is a long shot given the high threshold for recusal and because the decision on whether to recuse belongs to Chutkan, who is unlikely to see cause to step aside from the case.Even so, the request that she give up the high-stakes trial marks the latest flashpoint in already delicate relations between the defense team and the judge, who has repeatedly cautioned against inflammatory public comments from Trump but has nonetheless been lambasted on social media by him. Special counsel Jack Smith's team signaled its own concern about his comments, writing last week that Trump's daily statements 바카라 게임 웹사이트� he has derided her as 바카라 게임 웹사이트�highly partisan바카라 게임 웹사이트� 바카라 게임 웹사이트� could taint a potential jury pool.Chutkan ordered Smith's team to file any opposition to Trump's recusal bid by Thursday.Chutkan last month scheduled the trial for March 4, 2024, over the vigorous objections of defense lawyers who said that would not give them enough time to prepare. The case in Washington, charging Trump in a four-count indictment with plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 election, is one of four criminal cases confronting the former president as he seeks reelection to the White House.In asking Chutkan to step aside, the Trump legal team is relying on a familiar playbook. He tried unsuccessfully to get the judge removed from the hush-money case against him in New York state court, with his lawyers claiming that Judge Juan Manuel Merchan is biased because he바카라 게임 웹사이트�s given cash to Democrats and his daughter is a party consultant.But the judge last month rejected Trump바카라 게임 웹사이트�s demand that he step aside, saying he is certain of his 바카라 게임 웹사이트�ability to be fair and impartial.바카라 게임 웹사이트�Federal judges are supposed to step aside in cases where their 바카라 게임 웹사이트�impartiality might reasonably be questioned." Other bases for recusal include a personal bias against one of the parties. Trump바카라 게임 웹사이트�s lawyers say Chutkan's comments in cases against Jan. 6 rioters show she has 바카라 게임 웹사이트�already formed an opinion about President Trump바카라 게임 웹사이트�s guilt바카라 게임 웹사이트� and many of the allegations that underpin the indictment against him.바카라 게임 웹사이트�Although Judge Chutkan may genuinely intend to give President Trump a fair trial 바카라 게임 웹사이트� and may believe that she can do so 바카라 게임 웹사이트� her public statements unavoidably taint these proceedings, regardless of outcome,바카라 게임 웹사이트� the defense team wrote. 바카라 게임 웹사이트�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.바카라 게임 웹사이트�Chutkan has often handed down prison sentences in Jan. 6 cases that are harsher than Justice Department prosecutors recommended. The judge also previously ruled against Trump in a separate Jan. 6 case, refusing his request to block the release of documents to the U.S. House바카라 게임 웹사이트�s Jan. 6 committee by asserting executive privilege.Trump바카라 게임 웹사이트�s lawyers quoted from remarks Chutkan made in a 2022 sentencing hearing for Christine Priola, a Jan. 6 defendant from Ohio who pleaded guilty to obstructing Congress바카라 게임 웹사이트� certification of Joe Biden바카라 게임 웹사이트�s electoral victory 바카라 게임 웹사이트� one of the same charges Trump is facing.바카라 게임 웹사이트�The people who mobbed that Capitol were there in fealty, in loyalty, to one man 바카라 게임 웹사이트� 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,바카라 게임 웹사이트� Chutkan said. 바카라 게임 웹사이트�It바카라 게임 웹사이트�s a blind loyalty to one person who, by the way, remains free to this day.바카라 게임 웹사이트�The defense also cited Chutkan바카라 게임 웹사이트�s comments from the sentencing of a rioter from Florida who attacked police officers working to hold back the crowd. During the December 2021 hearing for Robert Palmer, who was sentenced to more than five years in prison, Chutkan said the defendant 바카라 게임 웹사이트�made a very good point바카라 게임 웹사이트� that the 바카라 게임 웹사이트�people who exhorted바카라 게임 웹사이트� and encouraged him 바카라 게임 웹사이트�to go and take action and to fight바카라 게임 웹사이트� had not been charged. Chutkan added that she doesn't 바카라 게임 웹사이트�make charging decisions" and has no 바카라 게임 웹사이트�influence on that."바카라 게임 웹사이트�I have my opinions, but they are not relevant,바카라 게임 웹사이트� Chutkan said.Trump's attorneys said that comment suggests she believed at the time that Trump should be charged.바카라 게임 웹사이트�Public statements of this sort create a perception of prejudgment incompatible with our justice system. In a case this widely watched, of such monumental significance, the public must have the utmost confidence that the Court will administer justice neutrally and dispassionately,바카라 게임 웹사이트� Trump바카라 게임 웹사이트�s attorneys wrote.Besides the Washington and New York cases, Trump faces a separate federal prosecution in Florida on charges that he illegally hoarded classified documents, and state charges in Atlanta arising from efforts to overturn the Georgia state election in 2020.____Associated Press writer Michael R. Sisak in New York contributed to this report.

The recusal motion from Trump's lawyers takes aim at U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, a former assistant public defender who was nominated to the bench by President Barack Obama and has stood out as one of the toughest punishers of Jan. 6 defendants. The request is a long shot given the high threshold for recusal and because the decision on whether to recuse belongs to Chutkan, who is unlikely to see cause to step aside from the case.

Even so, the request that she give up the high-stakes trial marks the latest flashpoint in already delicate relations between the defense team and the judge, who has repeatedly cautioned against inflammatory public comments from Trump but has nonetheless been lambasted on social media by him. Special counsel Jack Smith's team signaled its own concern about his comments, writing last week that Trump's daily statements 바카라 게임 웹사이트� he has derided her as 바카라 게임 웹사이트�highly partisan바카라 게임 웹사이트� 바카라 게임 웹사이트� could taint a potential jury pool.

Chutkan ordered Smith's team to file any opposition to Trump's recusal bid by Thursday.

Chutkan last month scheduled the trial for March 4, 2024, over the vigorous objections of defense lawyers who said that would not give them enough time to prepare. The case in Washington, charging Trump in a four-count indictment with plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 election, is one of four criminal cases confronting the former president as he seeks reelection to the White House.

In asking Chutkan to step aside, the Trump legal team is relying on a familiar playbook. He tried unsuccessfully to get the judge removed from the hush-money case against him in New York state court, with his lawyers claiming that Judge Juan Manuel Merchan is biased because he바카라 게임 웹사이트�s given cash to Democrats and his daughter is a party consultant.

But the judge last month rejected Trump바카라 게임 웹사이트�s demand that he step aside, saying he is certain of his 바카라 게임 웹사이트�ability to be fair and impartial.바카라 게임 웹사이트�

Federal judges are supposed to step aside in cases where their 바카라 게임 웹사이트�impartiality might reasonably be questioned." Other bases for recusal include a personal bias against one of the parties. Trump바카라 게임 웹사이트�s lawyers say Chutkan's comments in cases against Jan. 6 rioters show she has 바카라 게임 웹사이트�already formed an opinion about President Trump바카라 게임 웹사이트�s guilt바카라 게임 웹사이트� and many of the allegations that underpin the indictment against him.

바카라 게임 웹사이트�Although Judge Chutkan may genuinely intend to give President Trump a fair trial 바카라 게임 웹사이트� and may believe that she can do so 바카라 게임 웹사이트� her public statements unavoidably taint these proceedings, regardless of outcome,바카라 게임 웹사이트� the defense team wrote. 바카라 게임 웹사이트�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.바카라 게임 웹사이트�

Chutkan has often handed down prison sentences in Jan. 6 cases that are harsher than Justice Department prosecutors recommended. The judge also previously ruled against Trump in a separate Jan. 6 case, refusing his request to block the release of documents to the U.S. House바카라 게임 웹사이트�s Jan. 6 committee by asserting executive privilege.

Trump바카라 게임 웹사이트�s lawyers quoted from remarks Chutkan made in a 2022 sentencing hearing for Christine Priola, a Jan. 6 defendant from Ohio who pleaded guilty to obstructing Congress바카라 게임 웹사이트� certification of Joe Biden바카라 게임 웹사이트�s electoral victory 바카라 게임 웹사이트� one of the same charges Trump is facing.

바카라 게임 웹사이트�The people who mobbed that Capitol were there in fealty, in loyalty, to one man 바카라 게임 웹사이트� 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,바카라 게임 웹사이트� Chutkan said. 바카라 게임 웹사이트�It바카라 게임 웹사이트�s a blind loyalty to one person who, by the way, remains free to this day.바카라 게임 웹사이트�

The defense also cited Chutkan바카라 게임 웹사이트�s comments from the sentencing of a rioter from Florida who attacked police officers working to hold back the crowd. During the December 2021 hearing for Robert Palmer, who was sentenced to more than five years in prison, Chutkan said the defendant 바카라 게임 웹사이트�made a very good point바카라 게임 웹사이트� that the 바카라 게임 웹사이트�people who exhorted바카라 게임 웹사이트� and encouraged him 바카라 게임 웹사이트�to go and take action and to fight바카라 게임 웹사이트� had not been charged. Chutkan added that she doesn't 바카라 게임 웹사이트�make charging decisions" and has no 바카라 게임 웹사이트�influence on that."

바카라 게임 웹사이트�I have my opinions, but they are not relevant,바카라 게임 웹사이트� Chutkan said.

Trump's attorneys said that comment suggests she believed at the time that Trump should be charged.

바카라 게임 웹사이트�Public statements of this sort create a perception of prejudgment incompatible with our justice system. In a case this widely watched, of such monumental significance, the public must have the utmost confidence that the Court will administer justice neutrally and dispassionately,바카라 게임 웹사이트� Trump바카라 게임 웹사이트�s attorneys wrote.

Besides the Washington and New York cases, Trump faces a separate federal prosecution in Florida on charges that he illegally hoarded classified documents, and state charges in Atlanta arising from efforts to overturn the Georgia state election in 2020.

____

Associated Press writer Michael R. Sisak in New York contributed to this report.

Trump lawyers seek recusal of judge in DC presiding over federal election subversion case

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