Former President Donald Trump’s legal team has filed a motion that calls on U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan to recuse herself from the federal case in which the former president of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election. Trump’s attorneys cited numerous statements in which Chutkan displayed political bias and called for the former president to be imprisoned before a trial had even been conducted.
In a filing posted Monday, September 11, Trump’s legal team pointed to public comments made by the Obama-appointed judge in cases for January 6 defendants. Chutkan has garnered a reputation for handing down some of the most stringent prison sentences for non-violent protesters convicted of obstructing an official proceeding, an offense that generally results in a fine.
“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,” reads the filing. “Although Judge Chutkan may genuinely intend to give President Trump a fair trial—and may believe that she can do so—her public statements unavoidably taint these proceedings, regardless of outcome. The public will reasonably and understandably question whether Judge Chutkan arrived at all of her decisions