Donald Trump is assailing the federal judge overseeing the election conspiracy case against him, days after she warned him not to make inflammatory statements about the case.
The former president made posts Monday on his social media network calling U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan “highly partisan” and “ VERY BIASED & UNFAIR!” because of her past comments in a separate case overseeing the sentencing of one of the defendants charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Chutkan in a hearing Friday imposed a protective order in the case limiting what evidence handed over by prosecutors the former president and his legal team can publicly disclose. She warned Trump's lawyers that his defense should be mounted in the courtroom and “not on the internet.”
Trump posted about the case online anyway, firing off about the judge.
A spokesperson for special counsel Jack Smith declined to comment Monday.
Prosecutors sought the protective order after calling attention to another earlier post on Trump's social media platform, in which he said he would be “coming after” those who “go after” him. The prosecutors said improper of sharing evidence could have a “harmful chilling effect on witnesses.”
Chutkan said that if anyone makes “inflammatory” statements about the case, she would be inclined to move more quickly to trial to prevent any intimidation of witnesses or contamination of the jury pool.
The judge agreed with Trump’s defense team on a looser version of a protective order barring the public release only of materials deemed sensitive, like grand jury material. But prosecutors consider most of the evidence in the case to be sensitive, and she largely sided with the government on what will get that label and protections.
Protective orders are standard in criminal cases to protect the disclosure of sensitive information that could impact the trial.
In his social media post Monday, Trump quoted from remarks Chutkan made in a 2022 sentencing hearing for Christine Priola, an Ohio woman who pleaded guilty last year to obstructing Congress’ certification of Biden’s electoral victory - one of the same charges Trump is facing.
“The people who mobbed that Capitol were there in fealty, in loyalty, to one man -- not to the Constitution, of which most of the people who come before me seem woefully ignorant; not to the ideals of this country, and not to the principles of democracy,” Chutkan said, according to a transcript of the October 2022 hearing. “It’s a blind loyalty to one person who, by the way, remains free to this day.”
Trump has indicated his legal team will ask Chutkan to recuse herself from the case, which judges are supposed to do when their “impartiality might reasonably be questioned."
But David Weinstein, a former federal prosecutor, said Chutkan's comment won't help Trump's case that he needs a new judge.
“I understand why he's trying to twist her words and use them against her, but I don’t think it crosses the line,” said Weinstein, now a white collar criminal defense attorney.
Weinstein said Trump appears to be trying to “egg her on into doing something that's going to give him the grounds to file a motion to recuse."
“She has to careful not to take the bait," he said.
Prosecutors with special counsel Smith's team have asked the judge to set a Jan. 2 trial date, which is less than two weeks before Iowa's first-in-the-nation caucuses. That prompted other angry posts online from Trump last week.
Trump and his lawyers claimed prosecutors' proposed protective order that sought to prevent the public release of all evidence they provide the defense would violate his First Amendment rights of free speech. And the Republican has vowed to keep talking about the case— and his other legal challenges —as he campaigns again for the White House.
Trump spoke about the case while he was campaigning at the Iowa State Fair over the weekend, declining to tell reporters whether he would comply with the protective order. He said, “The whole thing is a fake — it was put out by Biden, because they can’t win an election the fair way.”
Trump, in another post Monday, wrote of Chutkan: “She obviously wants me behind bars. VERY BIASED & UNFAIR!”
Chutkan, a former assistant public defender who was nominated to the bench by President Barack Obama, was confirmed to the bench with Republican support in a 95-0 vote in the Senate in 2014.
She has been one of the toughest punishers of rioters who stormed the Capitol. federal judges in Washington have sentenced nearly 600 defendants for their roles in the attack, which was fueled by Trump's baseless claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen by fraud.
The case cited in Trump's post, however, is one where Chutkan actually imposed a sentence that was lighter than prosecutors sought. She sentenced Priola to 15 months in prison. Federal prosecutors had asked for 18 months.
Associated Press writers Alanna Durkin Richer in Boston, Lindsay Whitehurst in Washington and Thomas Beaumont in Des Moines, Iowa, contributed to this report.
© Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
58 Comments
EFD
Defendant Don-Don us going to talk himself into a jail cell.
His tough-guy rubes say he wants this to make him a martyr. As Brad’s Pitt’s character says in “Inglorious Basterds”, “Oblige him.” Lol
Let’s see how much starch he has in him when he’s done 30 days in an isolation cell (for his own safety of course!) with no social media access, no adoration of his cult, just access to his grade-z lawyers and baloney sandwiches.
And if 30 days aren’t enough, well then, maybe another 30 days will be?
Lather, rinse, repeat as needed.
I know more than 1/2 the public would be ecstatic to have a break from his incipient whining.
EFD
Today I learned that in the state of Georgia, the defendant has to make a positive affirmation that he won’t intimidate witnesses or attempt any form of tampering. Good luck with that one!
In light of his behavior in other court cases, the judge could (probably wont) say “I don’t believe you, bail is denied.”
More likely, the judge will read him the riot act ON TV (we get to see “mousy Don-Don” standing petulantly and mute like the inner 5-year old he is) being warned in detail to keep his yap shut.
And then when (not if) he violates the judge’s order, his bail could be revoked and he could spend the rest of the pre-trial detention as a guest if the state of GA.
Wonder how his delay tactics will feel then?
Blacklabel
Makes sense to me to speak out about bias when one sees where this judge worked prior to being a judge and who she represented (Burisma, Fusion GPS, Huma Abedin).
Recusal is in order here (but won’t happen).
the judge in the other case donated money to a group called “Stop Republicans” and his daughter got paid by Biden campaign. Perfectly fine, no bias at all!
Blacklabel
And of course the Georgia indictments leaked already, already filed to the court docket somehow. before the grand jury was even done hearing testimony. How’s that possible?
witnesses scheduled for tomorrow had to be called in today to try to cover it up.
Cards fan
Of course it makes sense to violate the Judge's orders. Of course it does. Lol
Cards fan
That's not what the judge said.
Wrong. Witness tampering and intimidation is illegal. Telling Trump not to discuss the case publicly isn't.
All in all, this was very stupid, and further illustrates how impulsive Trump is. Now the judge is probably going to move the case up.
EFD
Violating pre-trial release is not “Freedumb of speech” even when the violations (like the indicted crimes) involve speech.
Blacklabel
Unlawful retaliation from the bench in response to feee speech. You know she had to revise before due to hiding her previous clients, right?
you also know a judge isn’t a “witness” right?
EFD
Because it worked so well in NY, right?
Oh wait, oops lol.
Yeah, good luck with that one.
I really hope that Don’s idiot lawyers are as obtuse about the law as his supporters.
That’s a low bar to limbo under, but given their performance so far, they just might make it.
Cards fan
Lol there's nothing unlawful about instructing parties not to engage in inflammatory speech pretrial. She was very clear on this.
wallace
Don the gob can't keep it shut.
2020hindsights
Blacklabel
Recusal is required if the judge has a conflict of interests, which is not the case here. There is no reason to expect that the judge would not be impartial in this case.
wallace
Trump is about to be charged in Georgia.
wallace
The primaries are not until next year.
Blacklabel
Yep, Dems are well aware of the ticking clock to “get Trump” by then.
he has already been indicted in Georgia, oddly before the grand jury even finished hearing testimony and before they voted. Yep no predetermined outcomes here!
Cards fan
This is precisely what I mean. There's no winning with rightists. They're deaf to logic, and blind to truth. When the facts don't comport to their feelings, they'll quickly abandon all facts.
bass4funk
Based on his first amendment? Sounds pretty far-fetched reaching don’t you think?
The Dems are doing that for him already, he doesn’t have to do anything really.
Fine, I did a month before, too easy
I think he should be quite ok, remember, he wasn’t charged with child molestation.
So you just want the guy locked up because it makes you feel better, so it’s political, not at all shocked. Lol
The other half wants more in your face pushing.
Cards fan
The regime in power. Lol this is delusional. You have no proof Biden has had any role in any of this, and again just proves my point: any attempt at holding Trump accountable is corrupt.
bass4funk
You can say the exact same thing about the hyper-partisan haters that go on and bloviate to the end.
sunfunbun
The judge is bias. She is black! No fair.
The funny thing about alternative truths is that as much as MAGA wants to believe whichever truth they want, the only person who's truth matters is the judge.
No amount of silly narrative and cherry picking of MAGA and Trump is going to work. He'll be convicted, shown to be, along with Nixon, another GOP criminal. Freedumb of speech certainly describes Trump and MAGA. very good, EFD.
Chutkin is a great judge, and very fair. If she says Trump is not guilty, I'd believe her. We shall see how it goes.
ROFL. Trump will be found guilty! Start the riots, MAGA, please don't kill more policeman or threaten our democracy. I know it'll be a stretch, but try to use a little constraint.
wallace
Trump facing RICO charges in Georgia.
Superlib
Trump keeps freaking out on social media. Shows his mindset.
2020hindsights
Blacklabel
There is no reason to expect that the judge would not be impartial in this case.
Yes I did.
Sure. If she currently has those clients then she should recuse herself. But she doesn't, so she doesn't need to recuse herself. It's that simple.
EFD
Trump says , “I know RICO better than anyone. He’s the pool boy at my VERY EXCLUSIVE club. He’d never flip!”
EFD
So you’ve been convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment?
Does the Japanese immigration department know this?
Because there’s clearly a check box on the firm for re-entrants that asks @Have you ever been convicted of a crime?”
Failure to disclose and then signing the document as a true statement of fact is a violation of immigration law punishable by deportation.
nishikat
That's right, so the only thing left is to send Trump money for his lawyers (also his lawyers need lawyers as well). Squaking and complaining about this "Hillary" judge does not help Trump. The only thing that will help Trump is sending money to him and his lawyers (Make Attorneys Get Attorneys). Has this happened yet? Money talks and what (on JT) walks? We don't want to hear from Trump people how Trump is being wronged. We want to hear how much money the Trump followers on JT are sending Trump. This is NOT about helping the USA. This is about helping Trump. It's about Trump and only about Trump.
2020hindsights
bass4funk
It's the DOJ.
The DOJ reports to the president, and the president, Joe Biden, hasn't been interfering in these indictments. If you have any evidence that the Dems have interfered in the DOJ's work, then present it.
Mark
Trump will try to move this trial out of the court room and on to the internet to defuse it and play the public opinion card.
That will NOT happen, this judge will move fast and furious to reach a verdict and hopefully a GUILTY one.
dagon
To the Trump defenders who say Trump champions blue-collar interests (ROFL) why was one of the secrets to his business "success" stiffing his blue collar contractors on his properties?
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-u-law-makes-easy-165143256.html
Curious.
Trump is a case of privilege gone amok.
stormcrow
Move that trial fast forward ahead to tomorrow!
Haaa Nemui
CNN? Mwahahaaaa. Only republicans can use CNN at their will!!!
Bob Fosse
Can’t deny her credentials.
But sure stamp your widdle feet and ask to move to West Virginia because, you know, diversity.
u_s__reamer
The whiny loser will very soon have something to really kvetch about when another lady of "color" with smarts slaps him down South with racketeering charges. All these upcoming trials are going to be the ultimate "reality" shows that he'll be remembered for. This shameful episode in the history of the nation will serve as a lesson for us all, as, "be careful what you wish for"!
Haaa Nemui
It’s actually quite sad watching Trump’s supporters trying to defend his criminality with their own.
wallace
Fourth criminal charges are coming.
bass4funk
Correction, he’s innocent until proven guilty, and the only thing that these indictments are doing, it’s just making the guy stronger and more popular
Haaa Nemui
Ok, it’s actually quite sad that Trump’s biggest supporters speak proudly of their own convictions. It really does say a lot.
ClippetyClop
Trump was right about election fraud.
He knew this because he and his co-conspirators were the ones doing it.
This makes Nixon's filth look relatively innocent.
Trump will be a case study in government corruption forever.
wallace
ass4funk
As you previously said Trump will only be charged after he is found guilty.
ClippetyClop
Also, apparently the prosecutors "will need more than just evidence".
Superlib
There's nothing out of the ordinary about any of the indictments or ongoing investigations.
EFD
One thing about GA law that might "incentivize" a fellow indictee to turn state's evidence in exchange for a lighter sentence (30 days of "easy time" to quote one of us for example) is that not only can Trump or his rube replacement, not pardon them for a state crime, the govenor cannot either even if he wanted to (which he doesn't).
Under GA law, only a pardon board can grant a pardon and EVEN THEN, only 5 years AFTER the completion of a sentence accompanying a conviction.
So when (not if) they are convicted, Trump's co-conspirators (looking at you Rudy hair dye) WILL serve their full sentences unless the conviction is overturned (not going to happen) or they die in prison (much more likely to happen.
So flip on the Don and save one's ass, or summers in the GA pen (no AC) until they complete the sentence or hit their own expiration dates.
Golly, one wonders which one one or more of his fellow felony indictees will pick?
lincolnman
And the smoking guns just keep coming....
*Atlanta District Attorney Fani Willis and her team of prosecutors have text messages that connect some of former President Donald Trump’s legal team to a voting system breach in a rural Georgia. Texts and emails obtained by prosecutors suggest the early 2021 breach in Coffee County—in which people attempted to access voting machines to create evidence of voter fraud—*was led by members of Trump’s team, rather than local Trump supporters acting alone.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/mollybohannon/2023/08/13/georgia-prosecutors-have-texts-linking-trump-allies-to-voting-system-breach-report-says-as-possible-charges-loom/?sh=1b04f74d5cae
Get that? The Prosecutor has evidence of Trump and his team deliberately planting fake evidence of fraud to conspire to steal the election.
So who provided those texts and e-mails? Mark Meadows? Rudy Giuliani? Jared Kushner?
Who do our MAGA-friends here think has "turned traitor" and "ratted out the Orange Guy"? Will they take the stand to coroberate their already incriminating e-mails?
If they have Trump dead to rights on planting evidence, this case may turn out to be the strongest of three already very strong indictments...
Bye-Don, Hello Leavenworth...
Haaa Nemui
They’re that easy to come up with because he makes it that easy.
bass4funk
And?
Not dumb and no laws in Japan were violated, if so I wouldn’t have a permanent visa, but then again, you don’t know Jack about me, so just focus on the thread and not me, EFD, just relax.
bass4funk
Then Dems should listen….for once. But when the pendulum swings the other way, I have a feeling Democrats are going to be more loud and more vocal.
Or if the system is corrupt to its core, then yes.
Lol, and GW didn’t start the war in Iraq either.
Actually, it didn’t. The only difference is, the left become obsessively woke.
2020hindsights
bass4funk
The silence will be deafening.
This has nothing to do with politics. It is a criminal investigation. So there is no pendulum swing.
If he likes jail time, sure.
Or he is guilty.
lincolnman
As almost everyone here expected when the six indicted co-conspirators were named, they are now all turning on one another in a desperate bid to avoid a jail cell....
Rolling Stone points to two of the men widely believed to be co-conspirators — attorneys Giuliani and Kenneth Chesebro — whom the outlet says have begun to deflect blame and openly criticize other alleged co-conspirators, such as attorney Sidney Powell.
Giuliani spent months hosting press conferences and appearing on television and in courtrooms to contest the results of the election. But while many of those appearances were often alongside Powell, he is now projecting an air of distance between the two.
*Speaking to CNN about an alleged plot to breach voting systems in Coffee County, Georgia, Costello claimed, *“Rudy Giuliani had nothing to do with this,” adding: "You can’t attach Rudy Giuliani to Sidney Powell’s crackpot idea.”
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/rudy-giuliani-one-trump-jan-215244796.html
So the fraud claims that Rudy preached as gospel for 2 years is now suddenly a "crackpot idea".... Well that is at least consistent with his recent under oath admission that his previous fraud claims against the Georgia poll workers were "false"...i.e., all lies....
Face it Trump supporters - MAGA-world is crumbling into pieces as Trump crony after Trump crony tries to save themselves by turning on and "ratting" out their fellow "buddies" and even Trump himself...which he , in turn, will do to them...
These upcoming court hearings will have the MAGA cesspool on full display....
sunfunbun
RICO: Racketeer Influenced Corruptions Act. Defines Trump 100%.
OssanAmerica
Charge him with Contempt of Court, arrest him and make him appear in all his trials wearing an orange jumpsuit. He clearly has as much respect for the judicial process as he does for the democratic process.
lincolnman
Rudy Giuliani - MAGA hero?
He admitted under oath TWO YEARS AGO in a court hearing on election fraud that "this is not a fraud case"....
The Repub Arizona Chairmen testified under oath to the Jan 6th committee that when asked about election fraud, Rudy replied "we just don't have any evidence"....
Rudy VOLUNTEERED to meet with Jack Smith and provided a "proffer" of areas he would testify to if offered immunity from prosecution...
Rudy admitted under oath last month that his two years of ranting about election fraud by two Georgia poll workers were "false"...
Now he has his lawyer come out and say that the election fraud claims he cheered for two years about are just Sidney Powell's "crackpot ideas"....
So MAGA-friends, are the election fraud claims "crackpot ideas" as Rudy says? is Rudy a "rat" or still a "MAGA-hero"?
And you may want to break open the dictionary on the definition of "eluded" vs alluded"....
winston
Trump will do absolutely anything to stay in the news
Quite clever actually
Bob Fosse
Rudy sure is a crackpot.
winston
What i wanna know is when was America great ?
bass4funk
That’s the liberals, but that also helps Trump, a win, win actually.
I agree
bass4funk
Always.
Jimizo
He’s great at playing the media.
I’m not sure if firing off trash of this nature on social media is advisable here though.
He was good at ridiculing and humiliating the wives of his opponents in the past.
His supporters loved that and it it kept him in the media.
Safer than this.
Bob Fosse
Oh dear.