Trump Campaign Seeks Change of Judge in Election Fraud Lawsuit
Former president of the United States Donald Trump will seek a new judge for his election fraud case.
Mr. Trump wrote on the social media platform Truth Social on Sunday, “There is no way I can get a fair trial with the judge assigned.”
He added that he would pursue the recusal of US District Judge Tanya Chutkan and a change of venue outside of Washington.
Sunday at noon, no formal request to alter judges had been lodged with the court.
The US District Court for the District of Columbia did not respond promptly to a request for comment from Reuters.
Key points:
- Donald Trump will seek the recusal of his judge and a change of venue.
- Prosecutors submitted a protective order prohibiting Mr. Trump from sharing any legal documents with unauthorized individuals.
- The actions at the center of the allegations against the former president, according to Mr. Trump’s attorney, were requests, not orders.
After another menacing social media post on Friday, prosecutors feared the former leader could intimidate witnesses, prompting them to file a protective order.
Judge Chutkan was asked to issue a protective order prohibiting Mr. Trump and his counsel from disclosing discovery materials to unauthorized parties.
Monday at 5:00 p.m. is the deadline for his response to the proposed order.
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Trump’s Attorney Defends Post-Election Actions as Requests, Not Orders
John Lauro, Mr. Trump’s attorney, stated that the alleged actions of the former president following his loss in the 2020 presidential election were requests, not orders.
The protective order was also criticized by Mr. Lauro.
Mr. Lauro told Fox News: “Every single thing that President Trump is being prosecuted for involved aspirational asks — asking state legislatures, asking state governors, asking state electoral officials to do the right thing.”
“In fact, even asking vice-president [Mike] Pence was protected by free speech.”
The former vice president responded by telling CNN, “President Trump was wrong then, and he is wrong now.”
Mr. Pence has not ruled out testifying against his former employer.
Mr. Lauro also declined to support the protective order, arguing that it would prohibit the public and the media from hearing pertinent information as the case progressed.
Mr. Trump pleaded not guilty last week to charges he conspired to defraud the United States by preventing Congress from certifying Democratic rival Joe Biden’s victory, thereby denying the right of voters to a fair election.
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Source: ABC
