Donald Trump's Attempt To Recuse Judge Chutkan Rubbished by Jack Smith

Special Counsel Jack Smith has criticized a bid from Donald Trump's legal team to have Judge Tanya Chutkan rescind herself from his federal 2020 election case, claiming quotes from her trial of January 6 defendants used to justify this stance were "cherry-picks."

The argument was made in a Thursday night legal filing, in which Smith insisted there is "no 'valid reason' to recuse Judge Chutkan."

Smith was appointed to oversee two Department of Justice investigations into Trump, concerning claims he mishandled classified documents and broke the law when attempting to reverse the 2020 presidential election outcome. Both have since resulted in indictments to which Trump pleaded not guilty on all counts. The former president is also facing charges relating to claims he orchestrated the payment of hush money to a pornographic actress and sought to block Joe Biden's election win in the state of Georgia specifically. He has denied any wrongdoing and insists the action against him is politically motivated.

In his filing Smith said: "There is no valid basis, under the relevant law and facts, for the Honorable Tanya S. Chutkan, United States District Judge for the District of Columbia, to disqualify herself in this proceeding."

He continued: "In service of his motion…seeking the Court's recusal, the defendant both takes out of context the Court's words from prior judicial proceedings and misstates the proper legal standards governing judicial recusals."

Trump's team had been urging Judge Chutkan to rescind herself from his case based on comments she made during the trials of some of his supporters who participated in the storming of Congress on January 6, 2021 in a bid to block the certification of Biden's election win. Chutkan, who was appointed to Washington D.C.'s federal trial court in 2014 by President Barack Obama, acquired a reputation as the "toughest punisher" of those involved in the unrest.

During the sentencing of one January 6 rioter, Chutkan said the defendant was "motivated by 'blind loyalty to one person who, by the way, remains free to this day." Trump's legal team argued this indicated Chutkan believed the former president "should be prosecuted and imprisoned."

In four cases Chutkan sentenced the defendant to between 14 and 45 days in prison, despite prosecutors not seeking a custodial sentence, according to an Associated Press report.

Trump has taken aim at Chutkan on his Truth Social website, branding her "highly partisan." He added: "She obviously wants me behind bars. VERY BIASED & UNFAIR!"

Speaking to Newsweek after Trump's team filed their motion against Chutkan, Professor Carl Tobias, Williams Chair in Law at the University of Richmond, claimed their legal arguments were "not sound."

He said: "These motions are almost never granted unless there is a very clear conflict of interest, which is not present in this case. The only thing rarer than how infrequently they are granted is how rarely appeals courts differ with trial court recusal rulings."

Trump has been charged with four counts in the federal January 6 case, to which he has pleaded not guilty. These are conspiracy to defraud the United States; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding; and conspiracy against rights.

Newsweek has contacted Donald Trump for comment via the press contact form on his official website.