Former President Donald Trump criticized the judge in his 2020 election case, saying U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan was "Very biased & unfair!" in all-caps.
Chutkan on Friday warned that Trump is subject to release conditions which ban him from intimidating witnesses and said she will be watching his statements and "scrutinizing them very carefully."
Trump took to Truth Social in the early hours Monday.
"The following TRUTH is a quote by highly partisan Judge Tanya Chutkan, angrily sentencing a J-6er in October of 2022. She obviously wants me behind bars," Trump posted just before the biased and unfair remark.
A few minutes earlier, Trump posted a statement Chutkan made in October while sentencing Christine Priola in prison due to her role in the Capitol attack.
"See the videotapes. I see the footage of the flags and the signs that people were carrying and the hats that they were wearing, and the garb. And 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. It’s a blind loyalty to one person who, by the way, remains free to this day." Judge Tanya Chutkan!" Trump posted in all-caps.
Trump also wrote about special counsel Jack Smith, who indicted Trump on four counts related to his efforts to stay in power after the 2020 election.
"How dare lowlife prosecutor, Deranged Jack Smith, break into my former Twitter account without informing me and, indeed, trying to completely hide this atrocity from me. What could he possibly find out that is not already known. Just like the early morning raid of Mar-a-Lago! Why isn’t the DOJ raiding Crooked Joe Biden, the most CORRUPT (and Incompetent!) President in the history of the United States?" Trump posted shortly before his Chutkan comments.
Chutkan on Friday ruled that Trump is allowed to publicly share some nonsensitive evidence that will be used in his trial on charges of plotting to overturn the 2020 election, handing his lawyers a victory.
She also warned both sides to take "special care" to avoid making any statements that could intimidate witnesses or prejudice the jury pool.
"The more a party makes inflammatory statements about this case, the greater the urgency will be that we proceed to trial quickly," Chutkan said at a hearing, The Hill reported.
"I intend to ensure the orderly administration of justice in this case as I would with any other case. I will take whatever measures are necessary to safeguard the integrity of these proceedings."
Prosecutors are seeking a Jan. 2 trial date.
Recent polls have shown Trump to be leading the 2024 Republican presidential nomination race by a wide margin.
On Aug. 6, Trump said he would ask his legal team to request that Chutkan be removed from the case and that he would be seeking a change of venue because the jury pool in Washington, D.C., likely will be filled with Democrat voters.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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