Donald Trump announced on Sunday that he will ask a US court to recuse the judge in his criminal prosecution, claiming that the person presiding over the jury deciding the ex-president’s fate will not give him a fair shake.
The twice-impeached Republican has hurled insults at those prosecuting him or overseeing the case in which he faces allegations of attempting to overturn the 2020 election results and defraud the United States.
His most recent target is US District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan, who presided over the case in Washington as an appointee of Democratic former President Barack Obama.
“There is no way I can get a fair trial with the judge ‘assigned’ to the ridiculous freedom of speech/fair elections case. Everybody knows this, and so does she,” Trump, using all capital letters, posted on his Truth Social platform.
“We will be immediately asking for recusal of this judge on very powerful grounds, and likewise for venue change,” out of Washington — a majority Black city that leans heavily Democratic.
Chutkan has rebuffed the Trump legal team’s recent demands.
On Saturday, she dismissed their move to extend the deadline for replying to the US government’s request for a protection order, which could limit what Trump and his lawyers can publicly discuss about his case.
The Trump team attempted to extend the deadline until Thursday, but the judge decided they had to stick to the present deadline of 5:00 p.m. Monday.
Chutkan, 61, is one of a dozen federal district court judges in Washington who were assigned to the case at random.
She has a judicial history with Trump, having ruled against him in a case in November 2021 in which she famously stated that “presidents are not kings.” And she has sentenced Trump supporters who stormed the US Capitol on January 6, that year, to long prison terms.
Trump, the Republican presidential nominee for 2024, has not only pushed back against her, but has also denigrated Washington.
He talked to media shortly after his arraignment on Thursday, when he pleaded not guilty to the four accusations against him, and described the capital as “filth and decay.”
At a hearing before Chutkan on August 28, Trump’s trial date in the election case is scheduled to be announced.
