Donald Trump and his lawyers had previously accused the judge in the long-awaited conspiracy trial in Washington of bias and demanded that she step down from presiding over the trial. The judge has now rejected this. Meanwhile, the Republican candidates debated again without Trump.
In Wednesday’s 20-page decision, Judge Tanya Chutkan detailed that her previous statements about Trump were not her own personal value judgments, but those of the United States, and were based on the facts of the investigations.
In his previous rulings, the judge dealt with the former president several times, and in more than one case he issued prison sentences higher than those requested by the Public Prosecution. “Presidents are not kings, and the plaintiff is not the president, but the United States,” Chutkan wrote in a November 2021 ruling.
Chutkan said his comments, which Trump’s team cited as evidence of bias, “do not show deep-seated bias that would make it impossible to judge fairly.”
The judge confirmed that his statements “did not come from watching the news as the defense assumed, but rather directly reflected the facts and arguments presented against the defendants.”
According to court rules, the judge in the case is chosen by lottery and has the exclusive right to withdraw from the case, which Chutkan has now rejected in a written decision.
Meanwhile, the Republican primary debate took place once again in Trump’s absence
Neither candidate was able to seize the opportunity to gain an advantage over their rivals.
The debate turned out to be chaotic, but it did not favor either candidate in catching Donald Trump. According to polls, the support of the actors last night combined does not even reach the support of the former president.
