(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) U.S. Judge Tanya Chutkan’s newest comments on the sentencing of a Jan. 6 defendant further expose her entrenched views on the Capitol protest, despite calls for her recusal in former President Donald Trump’s case.
“The effects of that day are still being felt,” Chutkan said during the sentencing of Spencer Offman, according to Politico.
Offman is one of the thousands of defendants who have fallen victim to the DOJ’s prosecution of individuals who allegedly participated in the protests.
During Offman’s hearing, Chutkan described the protests as a “violent attempt to stop the peaceful transfer of power,” and claimed protesters were “desecrating the center of our government.”
This is not the first time Chutkan has openly expressed her anti-Trump bias.
In September 2023, Trump cited her partisan remarks as grounds for her recusal from Special Counsel Jack Smith’s case against him. Chutkan had previously suggested Trump should be jailed for Jan. 6, even before Smith filed his charges.
In December 2021, she claimed a defendant participated in Jan. 6 out of “blind loyalty to one person who, by the way, remains free to this day.” Similarly, in October 2022, she stated that “the architects of that horrific event will likely never be charged.”
Despite these remarks, Chutkan denied Trump’s recusal request, continuing to preside over the case.
She also rejected Trump’s argument that his post-election actions were part of his official duties, which he claimed should grant him immunity from criminal prosecution.
Trump appealed Chutkan’s decision, taking the case to the Supreme Court, which ruled in his favor.
In a 6-3 decision, the justices affirmed that presidents are immune from criminal prosecution for actions taken while in office, excluding personal actions.
The court ordered Chutkan to reexamine which of Smith’s charges pertain to Trump’s presidential acts.
