On Thursday, Jack Smith, US Special Counsel, opposed former president Donald Trump’s request to remove the federal judge Tanya Chutkan ruling the criminal case charging the former US president of attempting to subvert the outcomes of the 2020 election.
Smith, whose office is arraigning the suit against Trump, said there was “no valid basis” for the US District Judge to recuse herself from the lawsuit over the last statements she made in court that seemed to reference Trump’s accountability for the January 6, 2021, invasion by his followers on the US Capitol.
Trump, the front-runner for the Republican 2024 presidential nomination, filed a legal motion on Monday asking Chutkan to step away from the suit, claiming that her last statements raised questions about her neutrality and would spoil the proceedings.
The filing noted comments Chutkan made at two sentencing hearings for defendants sentenced of taking part in the Capitol riot, including one in which she said rioters were uplifted by “blind loyalty to one person who, by the way, remains free to this day.”
Trump has often condemned Chutkan on social media since she was assigned to oversee the case.
The suit, which charges Trump with three schemes to attempt to overturn his loss by Democratic President Joe Biden, is one of four criminal cases encountering Trump as he runs to recapture the White House. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges and accused prosecutors of political motivations.
Chutkan has extremely criticized the attack on the Capitol and has given some rioters more extreme sentences than prosecutors sought.
