Donald Trump has launched another attack on the District of Columbia judge who will preside over his new criminal trial.
Donald Trump has launched another attack on the District of Columbia judge who will preside over his new criminal trial
The 77-year-old former US president is facing charges including conspiracy to defraud America, tampering with a witness and conspiracy against the rights of citizens, stemming from his actions in the wake of the 2020 election, after he was indicted for a record third time.
Along with hitting out at the judge on the case, he also targeted the prosecutor who brought the case against him for allegedly conspiring to disrupt the certification of electoral votes following his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden.
Trump said on his Truth Social platform Jack Smith, the Department of Justice special prosecutor who has obtained two federal indictments against him since June, is “going before his number one draft pick, the Judge of his ‘dreams’ (WHO MUST BE RECUSED!)” in an effort to “take away” the ex-president’s First Amendment rights.
The twice-impeached, thrice-indicted former president was referring to a series of court filings in which Mr Smith is seeking a standard protective order to prevent Trump from disclosing information that the government is set to turn over to him and his defence team as part of the pre-trial discovery process.
Prosecutors had asked Judge Tanya Chutkan to impose an order barring the former president from disclosing discovery materials “directly or indirectly to any person or entity other than persons employed to assist in the defense, persons who are interviewed as potential witnesses, counsel for potential witnesses, and other persons to whom the Court may authorise disclosure”.
Trump has also said he has “very powerful grounds” for his demand to change judges in his latest case and claimed “there is no way I can get a fair trial” unless he has a different lawmaker.
Trump’s call came after the prosecution requested a court order that would limit what he can publicly say about the case.
He also said he would also request a venue change and for his case to be moved out of Washington D.C..
The judge on his case, Tanya Chutkan, was appointed by former President Barack Obama.
Trump said on his Truth Social platform on Sunday (06.08.23) morning he wanted her replaced and dismisses his case as based on "the ridiculous freedom of speech/fair elections”.
He has said there would be “no way I can get a fair trial, or even close to a fair trial, in Washington”, which he describes as an “anti-Trump” area.
Trump’s lawyer John Lauro said the former president believed in his “heart of hearts” he’d won the 2020 election and prosecutors will not be able to prove this wasn’t his belief.
He gave no other details of his grounds for asking the judge to step aside.
Judge Chutkan, appointed in 2014, previously ruled against Trump's efforts to shield evidence from the House January 6 Committee.
She is the only federal judge in Washington to delivered sentences against defendants in cases related to the Capitol riot on 6 January that are longer than the sentences demanded by the Department of Justice.
Judge Chutkan is expected to call in attorneys from both sides on 28 August to discuss setting a trial date against the former president.
Trump now faces five upcoming trials.
They include three criminal trials which include his alleged mishandling of classified documents, accounting fraud and these election charges.
He also faces two civil trials over business practices and alleged defamation of a woman who has accused him of rape.
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