'No valid basis': Jack Smith hits back at Trump's recusal bid in new filing

Donald Trump "cherry-picks" out-of-context quotes from Judge Chutkan in order to justify his effort to get her to recuse herself, Special Counsel Jack Smith said in a Thursday night filing.

Trump was indicted in Washington D.C. in connection with his purportedly unlawful efforts to overturn the results of the election in 2020. He has since then railed against Smith, as well as against Chutkan and the region itself.

Trump previously sought to get Chutkan to recuse herself from the case, pointing to vague statements made about Trump in other Jan. 6-related cases.

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Now, Smith has filed a reply to Trump's request. The news comes from a reporter named Brandi Buchman.

"Special Counsel Jack Smith responds to Donald Trump's motion to recuse Judge Chutkan: there is no 'valid reason' to recuse Judge Chutkan," Buchman wrote, adding more quotes from the government filing. "'Wrong recusal standard' Defendant 'cherrypicks' 'Manufactures allegations out of bias.'"

The filing itself makes the argument that Chutkan was merely responding to Jan. 6 defendants' claims that Trump himself was responsible for their aggressive behaviors.

"There is no valid basis," Smith writes, for Chutkan "to disqualify herself in this proceeding."

"The Court's statements addressing this sentencing mitigation argument were factually accurate, responsive to arguments presented to the Court, and evidence no improper bias or prejudgment of the current case," the filing states.

You can read the full filing right here.