Tanya Chutkan, the judge who presided over this case, has already made life difficult for Donald Trump’s lawyers. Tuesday, as we reported, brought another controversial ruling.
Judge Chutkan set a hearing on August 11, a date when neither of Trump’s attorneys were available. Why? One of them was due to be in Florida for a hearing regarding the DOJ’s second indictment against the former President. Both Trump’s team and the prosecution recognized the conflict. They agreed that the 10th of August would be a good date. Chutkan refused to grant the reasonable request that was worked out between both sides. This effectively denied Trump his full legal counsel.
Anyone who has studied Judge Chutkan’s background would not have been surprised at her petty attitude. Judge Chutkan has a reputation for being a “punisher” in cases that involve January 6th. Even though the charges against Trump were not directly related to the Capitol Riot, it is likely she puts them all into the same category.
There’s more evidence that the judge has a vendetta. Techno Fog (a Twitter account run by a lawyer), which has been a must-read for anything related to the politicization of the judicial system for years, gives several examples of how Judge Chutkan’s behavior has changed dramatically just in time for Trump’s case.
We looked thru the recent history of Judge Tanya Chutkan, who presides over Trump’s DC criminal case.
Our findings? She’s treating Trump worse than other defendants – including a meth dealer.
Let me show you how…
— Techno Fog (@Techno_Fog) August 10, 2023
The judge’s demand that Trump’s legal team respond to the DOJ in one day after the DOJ made a sudden request for an order of protection was a big clue that she won’t be doing things the way she usually does. She wants to expedite the process, avoid any major delays, and ensure that the trial occurs before the general elections. It’s not uncommon for judges to try to be fair with defendants, and this is how things usually go. Judge Chutkan has taken the opposite approach, refusing even the most reasonable requests by team Trump.
Techno Fog then cited the issue of hearing dates mentioned above. But where things get really interesting is when he begins to provide counter-examples from other cases Judge Chutkan handled.
This unfairly quick timeline is inconsistent with how Judge Chutkan has treated other defendants.
In the Maria Butina case, Chutkan gave Butina 1 week to respond to a PO and set the hearing a month out. pic.twitter.com/TUShPlFhES
— Techno Fog (@Techno_Fog) August 10, 2023
You might remember the Maria Butina Case, where an alleged Russian Spy was involved. In this case, it appears that Judge Chutkan viewed her as a sympathetic figure, and the protective order was issued in a much more accommodating way. In the second case, a meth seller was also given a week to reply to a request for protective orders. The judge only gave Trump one day to respond and scheduled the hearing for a week after that, without caring if his attorney could be present.
A case involving an accused who was born on January 6th illustrates the point.
Important to note that none of those cases involved the issue looming over the Trump case –
A court’s limitations on a presidential candidate’s ability to defend himself publicly.
— Techno Fog (@Techno_Fog) August 10, 2023
It should be expected that Judge Chutkan will be very careful when granting a protection order against a candidate for president who is currently on the campaign trail. She has rushed the process to the point that no rational deliberation could be held. She won’t set a date to ensure that Trump is fully present.
I think it’s obvious that she wants to get this done quickly and is wearing her bias all the way. You can speculate why she is rushing, but I have my suspicions.
