Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) complained that U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is overseeing Donald Trump’s Jan 6 case related to his attempts to overturn the 2020 election, is not good for the former president because she “will rule against him.”
Cruz made these remarks during an episode of his podcast, “The Verdict with Ted Cruz.”
According to Cruz, Judge Chutkan has a reputation for being tough on Jan 6 defendants, even among the D.C. District Court standards. He cited her handling of federal death penalty cases and her imposition of lengthy sentences in the Jan. 6 cases, which exceeded the prosecutors’ recommendations.
“So in terms of the judge, we can anticipate a judge who is going to be relentlessly hostile to Donald Trump, who is going to bend over backwards for the Biden [Department of Justice] and who is going to make ruling after ruling after ruling against Trump,” Cruz said.
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The Texas Republican complained that Judge Chutkan would display relentless hostility towards Trump, favoring the Biden Department of Justice and issuing rulings against the former president. He further pointed out that when the case goes to trial in Washington, D.C., the jury is likely to be predominantly Democratic and may have a strong bias against Trump, increasing the chances of a conviction.
It is noteworthy that Cruz himself had voted for Chutkan’s confirmation in 2014, as she was unanimously confirmed by the Senate after being nominated by former President Obama. Despite this, Cruz asserted that the current scenario with a left-leaning judge and a possibly biased jury poses significant risks to Trump’s defense.
Additionally, Cruz echoed the familiar Republican talking point, accusing the Justice Department of “weaponizing the legal system.”
“And what is dangerous about this particular indictment with a judge and a jury that are likely to be stacked against Donald Trump, and in fact, loathe Donald Trump, that is a very dangerous scenario that is I think exceptionally bad,” he said.
Trump was indicted on Tuesday, facing four federal charges, including conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights. The 45-page indictment accuses Trump of engaging in a campaign of dishonesty, fraud, and conceit to obstruct a fundamental function of democracy.
