Donald Trump to Ask Election Judge to Step Aside
Donald Trump has said he will ask the judge in his alleged election fraud case to step aside on what he called "very powerful grounds".
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| USA - Donald Trump - Election Judge |
He claimed that "there is no way I can get a fair trial" unless he has a different judge. His call came after the prosecution requested a court order that would limit what he can publicly say about the case. The judge, Tanya Chutkan, was appointed by former President Barack Obama. Trump took to his social media platform, Truth Social, on Sunday morning, describing the case as "the ridiculous freedom of speech/fair elections case" and saying that his legal team would immediately be asking for recusal of the judge. He gave no details of his grounds for asking her to step down.
Judge Chutkan, appointed in 2014, previously ruled against Mr Trump's efforts to shield evidence from the House January 6 Committee. She is also the only federal judge in Washington who has delivered sentences against defendants in cases related to the 6 January Capitol riot that are longer than the sentences that the DOJ asked for, according to NBC News. Under US federal law, any judge of the United States must disqualify themselves in any proceeding in which their impartiality might reasonably be questioned. Recusal of the judge was not the only thing Mr Trump said he would request. He also said he wanted a "venue change" and for his case to be moved out of Washington.
He previously said there would be "no way I can get a fair trial, or even close to a fair trial, in Washington", which he describes as "anti-Trump", and has previously described the Department of Justice as "highly partisan and very corrupt". Mr Trump's lawyer, John Lauro, said on Sunday that the former president "believed in his heart of hearts" that he had won the 2020 election - and that prosecutors will not be able to prove that Mr Trump did not believe this. Speaking to US TV networks, Mr Lauro said Mr Trump was being attacked for exercising his constitutional First Amendment right to free speech.
source:bbc