Judge denies Trump’s motion to dismiss D.C. case over selective prosecution

A federal judge on Saturday refused to dismiss former President Trump’s federal election subversion case over his claim that he is being unfairly and singularly prosecuted.

On a 16 page applicationU.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan wrote that at the beginning of the trial process, the court must assume that the allegations against Trump are true — and the “inadequate restatement of the allegations against him” he has presented so far cannot support the resignation.

“At this stage, the court cannot accept Defendant’s alternative narrative,” Chutkan wrote.

The case was returned to Chutkan’s hands on Friday after a federal appeals court returned the matter to the trial court shortly after the case was returned by the Supreme Court following its 6-3 ruling last month. granting former presidents at least presumptive immunity for official positions. acts.

That decision likely condemned some charges against Trump in the four-count indictment accusing him of conspiring to subvert the results of the 2020 presidential election. He has pleaded not guilty.

Trump’s motion arguing that the prosecution is selective and vindictive was filed in October and echoed many of his oft-repeated lines on the campaign trail, including that he was only raising questions about the 2020 election and cannot be blamed for the subsequent storming of the building by its supporters on January 6, 2021.

“Because the government has not charged President Trump with responsibility for the actions at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, the allegations related to these actions are not relevant and are harmful and inflammatory,” the former president’s lawyers wrote in the October filing. “Therefore, the Court must withdraw these allegations from the indictment.”

Trump also pointed the finger at President Biden, his main political opponent at the time, and claimed that the charges against him were the result of the president’s promise to ensure that Trump would not be president again.

In his Saturday ruling, Chutkan strongly rejected those claims, writing that there is “no indication” that Biden attempted to pressure the Justice Department or Attorney General Merrick Garland to take “politically motivated actions” against Trump.

“The defendant has presented no evidence demonstrating the likelihood of revenge,” she wrote.

Trump’s immunity claims froze the case for months as it progressed through the higher courts, but now Chutkan has regained control of the case. The previous Saturday, she scheduled a hearing for Aug. 16 to determine how to move forward.

The former president’s lawyers have insisted that their cases should only proceed after the election, although Chutkan has previously rejected such efforts to delay – and now appears to be moving full steam ahead with the case.

This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story