The court filing cites comments Chutkan made at the 2022 sentencing hearing for a Capitol riot defendant, saying the rioter was motivated by “blind devotion to a man who, by the way, is still a free man.”

Lawyers trump They argued that this comment reflected the judge’s belief that trump “He must be prosecuted and jailed.”

“Judge Chutkan, in relation to other (previous) cases, suggested that the President Trump should be prosecuted and jailed.. “Such statements made before the start of this case and without due process of law are inherently disqualifying,” the former president’s lawyers say.

The legal team argues that while the judge “may sincerely intend to give” Trump a “fair trial,” her “public statements inevitably taint those proceedings, regardless of the outcome.”

Chutkan was outspoken during the attack on the Capitol, calling the violence an attack on American democracy and warning of the future danger of political violence. In October 2022, a judge criticized defendant Cristina Priola during her sentencing for offering “blind devotion to a man who, by the way, remains free to this day.”

Trump has publicly criticized Chutkan before, saying she “obviously wants me behind bars” and that she is “very biased and unfair.” The judge randomly assigned to the case handed down harsh sentences to the defendants in the Jan. 6 case, matching or exceeding the sentences prosecutors had requested.

Ruthers / Europe Press.