The judge randomly assigned to Donald Trump’s Jan. 6 election conspiracy case is a tough draw for the former president according to lawyers who have tried cases before Tanya S. Chutkan, Rolling Stone reports.
Chutkan has a history of tough rulings against Capitol rioters, and an attorney who has represented a Jan. 6 defendant told Rolling Stone Chutkan was “probably the worst draw for Trump.”
“She’s the worst judge he could’ve gotten handed,” the lawyer said. “She’s pleasant, she’s nice, and she’s fair, but she’s a tough judge with these January 6 cases.”
Chutkan herself has expressed anger at the Jan. 6 rioters, according to the report, which notes comments the judge made during the trial of Christine Priola, a rioter sentenced to 15 months in prison.
“Every single time that I see videotape or hear recordings of what happened that day, I am struck anew with both the horror of what was going on that day and how close we came — how close we came to not fulfilling one of the basic functions of our democracy, which is a peaceful transfer of power, which we lecture other governments all over the world on and we’re supposed to be an example of, and we were not that day,” Chutkan said.
The report notes that Chutkan also assailed “those in high office in this country” who’ve tried to depict the rioters as “visitors exercising their First Amendment rights.”
Chutkan’s appointment could have implications for the case.
Adam Rawnsley writes for Rolling Stone that “The appointment of Chutkan as a judge in the case could affect his legal team’s strategy to try to delay special counsel criminal cases until after a hoped-for election victory as lawyers say Chutkan tends to move faster on trials than Trump’s team would prefer.”
