Former President Donald Trump has made a legal motion formally asking D.C. District Judge Tanya Chutkan to recuse herself from the federal election charges against him, reported The Messenger on Monday.
The key focus of the request, said the report, is commentary Chutkan made during the trial of Christine Priola, a Northern Ohio woman sentenced to 15 months in federal prison for her role in the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, which appeared to reference the former president.
"This was nothing less than an attempt to violently overthrow the government, the legally, lawfully, peacefully elected government, by individuals who were mad that their guy lost," said Chutkan in her comments. "And the people who mobbed the Capitol were there in fealty ... not to the ideals of this country; and not to the principles of democracy. It's a blind loyalty to one person who, by the way, remains free to this day."
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Trump's attorneys argue this is an "apparent prejudgment of guilt" by implying that Trump is free, but should not be free.
However, former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance noted on X her opinion that this motion is probably not going to work. "Unsurprising that he would do this. Seems unlikely to succeed," she wrote. "The case for refusing Judge Cannon in Florida would be far stronger & so far, the govt has not chosen to bring it."
The decision to recuse from a case ultimately rests with Chutkan herself, who will review the complaint and would be expected to use her own judgment on whether she can be impartial.
