Washington — A federal judge rebuffed former President Donald Trump’s request that she recuse herself from overseeing the 2020 election interference case brought by special counsel Jack Smith because of statements she made in court that Trump’s legal team argued disqualified her.
Judge Tanya Chutkan said in a court filing Wednesday that her comments during sentencing hearings for two defendants who took part in the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021 — which Trump and his lawyers cited in his attempt to remove her from the case — do not warrant recusal.
“The statements certainly do not manifest a deep-seated prejudice that would make fair judgment impossible — the standard for recusal based on statements with intrajudicial origins,” Chutkan wrote.
Trump’s attorneys did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
This is a breaking story and will be updated.
Thanks for reading CBS NEWS.
Create your free account or log in
for more features.
