Trump demands recusal by Judge Chutkan in federal Jan. 6 prosecution

September 12, 2023

“Although Judge Chutkan may genuinely intend to give President Trump a fair trial — and may believe that she can do so — her public statements unavoidably taint these proceedings, regardless of outcome,” Trump attorney John F. Lauro wrote in a nine-page recusal motion filed before Chutkan.

“The public will reasonably and understandably question whether Judge Chutkan arrived at all of her decisions in this matter impartially,” Trump’s attorneys said, claiming that “the law and the overwhelming public interest in the integrity of this historic proceeding require recusal.”

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History of investigations involving Donald Trump

In addition to his involvement in more than 4,000 lawsuits over the course of his half-century in real estate, entertainment and politics, Donald Trump has been the subject of investigations by federal, state and regulatory authorities in every decade of his long career.

1970s

Federal investigators accuse Trump and his father of discriminating against Black New Yorkers in renting out apartments. Case settles with no admission of guilt, but Trump has to run ads pledging not to discriminate.

1980s

Federal investigators look into whether Trump gave apartments in his Trump Tower to figures connected with organized crime to keep his project on track. Trump denies the allegation. Separately, New Jersey officials probe his ties with mob figures, then grant him a casino license.

1990s

New Jersey regulators investigate Trump’s finances and conclude he “cannot be considered financially stable,” yet extend his casino license to protect jobs at his Atlantic City hotel.

2000s

Federal securities regulators cite Trump’s casino for downplaying negative results in financial reporting.

2010s

New York state sues Trump, alleging his Trump University defrauded more than 5,000 people. Trump is found personally liable. After Trump becomes president, he is impeached — and acquitted — over allegations that he solicited foreign interference in the U.S. presidential election.

2020s

Trump is impeached — and acquitted — a second time for incitement of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. New York state sues Trump, alleging he inflated assets to mislead lenders. He is also under criminal investigation for events surrounding Jan. 6 and his handling of classified documents.

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Trump had foreshadowed Monday’s legal action, posting on his social media platform, “WE WILL BE IMMEDIATELY ASKING FOR RECUSAL OF THIS JUDGE” and seeking to move his case out of Washington three days after pleading not guilty to charges brought by special counsel Jack Smith alleging that while president, Trump plotted to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Chutkan is “the Judge of [Smith’s] ‘dreams’ (WHO MUST BE RECUSED!),” Trump added in a post the following day, Aug. 7, although Lauro at the time said no final decision on a recusal motion has been made.

“I think as lawyers we have to be very careful of those issues and handle them with the utmost delicacy,” Lauro said on a podcast with Florida defense attorney David Markus.

Stephen Gillers, a legal ethics professor at New York University School of Law, noted that a recusal motion would be highly unlikely to succeed.

“I understand why Trump would like another judge, and I understand why Trump would like another venue,” said Stephen Gillers, a legal ethics professor at New York University School of Law, “but nothing I’ve heard — including the fact that Judge Chutkan has sentenced harshly other January 6 defendants — would warrant a recusal. … Things such as what is said or done within the four corners of a case before her as a judge cannot be a basis for recusal because she’s doing her job. That’s what judges do.”

This is a developing story and will be updated.

This post appeared first on The Washington Post