Judge Tanya Chutkan denied a motion from former President Trump asking her to recuse herself from overseeing his prosecution on charges related to his efforts to stay in power after losing the 2020 election.
While writing that recusal motions served a vital purpose, “justice also demands that judges not recuse without cause,” she wrote, pointing to a prior court decision noting that recusal motions can be “a procedural weapon to harass opponents and delay proceedings.”
“Motions for recusal could also be wrongfully deployed as a form of ‘judge shopping,’” Chutkan wrote.
I’m actually surprised she gave it as much deference as she did. She could have denied the motion without considering it at all for not being timely. I’m glad she gave a thorough justification, but it’s not like Trump supporters won’t just claim she didn’t. She could have written, “Too late, eat shit” on a damp cocktail napkin and it would have been just as effective.
I’m not surprised, did you see that takedown from Smith regarding all the reasons why she shouldn’t recuse? I bet she knew something of that caliber was coming from him and was just waiting for him to deliver all the slamdunk justifications for “no.”