(LibertySociety.com) – U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan has a history of making politicized remarks from the bench, notably toward many of the January 6 defendants who have come before her in court. Chutkan was nominated by President Obama in 2014 and donated to his presidential campaigns. Former President Trump has repeatedly drawn attention to these facts when expressing the belief that Chutkan is biased. Journalist Julie Kelly has covered the cases of most of the January 6 defendants over the last several years, including their unprecedented lengthy imprisonment for mostly small charges.
Kelly has now begun covering Special Counsel Jack Smith’s case against former President Trump for allegedly conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. During an August 28 hearing to set the trial date for Trump’s case, Judge Chutkan compared the amount of time that the former President will have to prepare to a defendant who was prosecuted for their role in the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the trial for the Boston Marathon bombing. It is unclear why Chutkan chose to make the comparison, although many Democrats and news media reporters have placed the riot of January 6, 2021, at the same level as those American tragedies.
Chutkan set the trial date for March 4, 2024, just one day before Super Tuesday, which is when the largest number of states in the country hold their presidential primary elections. Ohio Senator J.D. Vance blasted Chutkan’s decision, calling it “Straight up election interference. No other way to put it.” Trump also had choice words for Chutkan for only extending the trial date to two months later than the government requested. In a Truth Social Post, Trump said that she honored “just what our corrupt government wanted, SUPER TUESDAY. I will APPEAL!” Trump is also facing charges in Fulton County, along with 18 other co-defendants for allegedly participating in a scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 election in Georgia.
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