Judge denies Trump request that she recuse herself from election interference case

Sept. 27 (UPI) -- The judge presiding over former President Donald Trump's case related to allegations he conspired to overturn the 2020 election results leading to the U.S. Capitol riot denied his request that she recuse herself Wednesday.

U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan issued the memorandum opinion and order weeks after Trump asked her to step aside for comments she made while presiding over the sentencing of two Jan. 6 defendants.

"I see the videotapes. I see the footage of the flags and the signs that people were carrying and the hats 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," Chutkan had said.

"It's a blind loyalty to one person who, by the way, remains free to this day."

Chutkan acknowledged in her opinion that recusal requirements "serve vital purposes" but that "justice also demands that judges not recuse without cause."

The judge said that the statements at issue were "based on intrajudicial sources" and arose not from watching the news but from the sentencing proceedings.

"The statements directly reflected facts proffered and arguments made by those defendants," Chutkan said. "And the court specifically identified the intrajudicial sources that informed its statements."

She also added that her remarks were essentially taken out of context and that she never made comments about Trump's culpability.