Special counsel Jack Smith has responded to former President Donald Trump’s request for Judge Tanya Chutkan to recuse herself from his 2020 election interference criminal trial.
In a legal brief, Smith wrote that there’s “no valid basis under the relevant law and fact” for Chutkan to step down from overseeing the case, CBS News reports.
Chutkan, who has a reputation for imposing harsh penalties on Jan. 6 rioters, was randomly assigned to Trump’s case.
Trump’s attorneys filed a motion last week arguing that Chutkan should remove herself from the case for allegedly making comments that appear to show she’s biased against him.
In one instance, she suggested in a separate case that Trump should be prosecuted and imprisoned, according to Trump’s lawyers.
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