Former United States President Donald Trump requested the judge's recusal and a change in venue for his 2020 Georgia election case in which he faces various criminal charges.
In a statement posted on the Republican businessman's social media platform, Truth Social, he said there was no way he would get a fair trial, with US District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan being assigned to the case.
Trump Seeks Recusal of Judge in Georgia Election Case
Chutkan is known for being one of the tougher judges in cases that involve Jan. 6 defendants who were part of the crowd that sieged the Capitol building. She has previously delivered more harsh sentences for some defendants than prosecutors requested. In one example, the judge described the attack on the country's capital as a "very real danger" to the nation's democracy.
The highly controversial case is not the first time the district judge has directly dealt with the Republican businessman. Chutkan, in 2021, rejected Trump's claim of executive privilege where he wanted to block the release of documents to the House Select Committee that was responsible for investigating the Capitol Hill insurrection, as per USA Today.
The judge also shows no signs that she will recuse herself from the 2020 Georgia election case. This means that it is highly unlikely for the former president to be able to have a different judge preside over his case.
One of Trump's former White House special counsel, Ty Cobb, was among the legal analysts familiar with Judge Chutkan. He described her as a consummate professional who was set to handle the sensitive case with the utmost care.
In an interview, Cobb said that given the judge's background, she would most likely do everything she could to protect Trump's rights as a criminal defendant. Even before the former president spoke out about the judge, Cobb had already predicted that he would try to get Chutkan disqualified due to her tough stance on Jan. 6 defendants.
An Unfair Trial
Despite Chutkan's harsh sentencing on Jan. 6 rioters, she has also avoided echoing some of the most pointed criticisms of the former president. According to Politico, these are what some of her colleagues on the federal bench in DC have made in sentencing defendants who were involved in the siege on the Capitol building.
There have also been dozens of Jan. 6 defendants who tried to move their cases out of DC, claiming that the city's liberal lean makes it impossible for them to have fair trials since they are supporters of the former president.
Chutkand was decided to preside over Trump's 2020 Georgia election case randomly and was initially appointed to the bench by former President Barack Obama. She has also recently rejected a request made by the former president's legal team where they sought more time to respond to the Justice Department's request for her to issue a protective order that limits what information could be publicly shared regarding the case, said the New York Post.
