Berlusconi wants judge off his case

ROME, June 18 (UPI) -- Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi wants the judge presiding over his bribery trial to be disqualified for bias.

Berlusconi's lawyers filed objections Tuesday citing evidence of what they called Judge Nicoletta Gandus's "serious enmity" to the prime minister, the Italian news agency ANSA, reported. The bias includes alleged statements on Web sites critical of laws passed during Berlusconi's previous term as prime minister.

Berlusconi and British lawyer David Mills are on trial in Milan on charges that Berlusconi paid Mills a $600,000 bribe to smother evidence in other trials. The prime minister's lawyers say that Gandus once owned a lot of stock in Berlusconi's media company and has a vested interest in another trial involving Mediaset film rights.

On Monday, Berlusconi attacked the prosecutor, Manlio Minale, accusing him of bringing the case for political reasons. In a letter to the speaker of the Senate, Mario Schifano, Berlusconi said that Minale was using "justice for media and political ends."