Judge Chutkan 'shows no sign of being intimidated' as she faces off with Trump

With a hearing expected on Monday where United States District Court for the District of Columbia Judge Tanya Chutkan is expected to hear arguments to expand a gag order on Donald Trump, the Washington Post is reporting that close associates are claiming she seems unfazed by the historic trial she will be overseeing against a former president.

In a deep dive into how she ended up on the bench overseeing the prosecution of the former president for his part in trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election he lost, the Times' Robert Draper writes that Chutkan is well-prepared for the task at hand and that Trump can expect nothing more than any other defendant who has come before her.

According to the report, she has indicated to colleagues she sees the Trump trial no different than any other cases she is hearing and that she is not letting the historic trial keep her from her normal workload.

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The Post is reporting, "Unfamiliar to the spotlight though she may be, Judge Chutkan has shown little sign of being intimidated by it."

Of note, the report states has been her handling of cases of defendants who participated in the Jan 6 "Stop the Steal" rally that turned into an assault on the nation's Capitol.

"Judge Chutkan has been conspicuously less charitable when it comes to the several Jan. 6 defendants who have been tried in her courtroom. In numerous cases she has brushed aside the government’s recommendation of probation or home detention and has instead ordered jail time for those who entered the Capitol that day," the Times is reporting.

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The Times report points out, "Mr. Trump has already attacked Judge Chutkan as 'VERY BIASED & UNFAIR' on social media. His attorneys have argued that the judge, an Obama appointee, should recuse herself because they believe her statements in other cases related to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol show a bias against their client. Prosecutors have in turn asked Judge Chutkan to place a limited gag order on the former president, citing his 'near-daily' social media attacks on people involved in the case."

According to her sister, Robynne Chutkan, "One trait of my sister’s that makes her good at her job is that she’s not terribly concerned with other people’s opinions of her.”

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