By Luis De Jesus
Federal Judge Tanya Chutkan on Saturday rejected another request by former US President and Republican candidate Donald Trump to dismiss the case against him for the 2021 assault on the Capitol, claiming he is the victim of persecution by the Joe Biden administration.
The Republican’s defense presented press articles that mentioned Biden’s frustration with the slow pace of the judicial cases against Trump, suggesting political motivations in his accusation, Efe reports.
“There is no evidence that President Biden made such comments to the Attorney General or the Department of Justice, nor that they resulted in any politically motivated actions,” Chutkan said in his ruling, rejecting the former president’s request.
Trump faces charges in federal court in the District of Columbia of conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 election, which he lost to Biden, and of inciting the storming of the Capitol in January 2021 to interfere with the transition of power.
The case returned to Judge Chutkan on Friday after being put on hold for eight months when Trump took the case to the Supreme Court arguing immunity from prosecution due to his former presidential office.
Last month, the Supreme Court ruled that former presidents have immunity for official acts while in office, leaving it to lower courts to decide whether Trump’s actions after the election were protected.
The Capitol assault case is one of four criminal charges facing Trump. In May, he was found guilty in New York of falsifying business records, although sentencing is still pending.
In Georgia, Trump faces accusations of leading a conspiracy to alter the 2020 election results in that state, while in Florida, a case over the illegal retention of classified documents was dismissed by a judge last month.
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