Judge Tanya Chutkan has criticized Donald Trump for relying on “political rhetoric” in his recent court submission.
She has decided to unseal evidence in Trump’s election fraud case following his lawyers’ request to further redact details from an already heavily edited document. Chutkan, serving as a federal judge in Washington, D.C., stated on Wednesday that Trump’s claims veered off course and were filled with political arguments.
Jim Watson/Getty Images
“Defendant’s opposition brief makes repetitive claims of bad-faith partisan bias from the government, which are unsupported and detract from the legal matters at hand,” Chutkan remarked.
Trump faces serious allegations including conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and attempting to obstruct an official proceeding, following claims of pressuring state officials to overturn the 2020 election results.
Despite the charges, Trump maintains his innocence and insists he is a target of a political witch hunt, accusing prosecutor Jack Smith of trying to meddle in the upcoming 2024 presidential election.
Chutkan emphasized that focusing on political rhetoric not only fails to assist the court but also misrepresents the capabilities of seasoned defense lawyers, jeopardizing the integrity of the proceedings.
“The defendant has had a chance to argue his claims of improper motives behind his prosecution. Future submissions should stay focused on the issues clearly before the court,” she noted.
This is not the first time Chutkan has admonished Trump regarding the use of irrelevant political arguments in his filings.
In September, she dismissed a plea from Trump’s attorneys to limit the length of Jack Smith’s evidence memo to 45 pages, criticizing the “incoherence” found in their brief and highlighting its many unrelated points.
“The remainder of the nine-page response largely reiterates the defendant’s stance that immunity discussions should wait until he files a dismissal motion months from now, a scheduling issue the court has already addressed,” she pointed out.
Earlier in August, Smith submitted an updated indictment against Trump, refining the case in light of the Supreme Court’s ruling which recognized immunity for sitting presidents during specific official actions.
This revised indictment dropped previous accusations related to Trump allegedly pressuring the Department of Justice to falsely assert that mass fraud occurred in the 2020 election, as the court deemed such actions as official conduct.