Judge who’s criticized Capitol insurrection to hear Trump’s challenge to House subpoena of presidential records
During the same hearing, she described the January 6 episode as “a violent mob seeking to overthrow the lawfully elected government,” adding that the crowd that day posed a “very real danger … to our democracy.”
Chutkan also said that rioters “soiled and defaced the halls of the Capitol and showed their contempt for the rule of law.”
“The country is watching to see what the consequences are for something that has not ever happened in the country before,” she said.
Chutkan did not preside over Trump’s previous efforts to prevent Congress from obtaining documents, including tax records, or testimony.
Lawyers for the former President alleged in their suit that the House’s requests for documents from the executive branch “are unprecedented in their breadth and scope and are untethered from any legitimate legislative purpose.”
Attorneys for Trump’s legal team declined CNN’s request for comment.
Chutkan was nominated by President Barack Obama in 2014. She previously worked at both private practices and as a public defender in DC, and conveys a sense of toughness and control over her hearings.
Neil Eggleston, who served for a time as White House counsel under Obama, described Chutkan as an efficient jurist, adding that she likely knows her eventual ruling will be appealed by the losing party.
“Judge Chutkan can handle this quite quickly if she wants to and I think she probably will. She was a very efficient judge. (She will) give each side 10 days to brief it, have a hearing and decide it,” he told CNN. “She knows whatever she decides is not going to stay with her.”
The National Archives is slated to turn over the lawmakers’ requested documents to them by early next month — putting Trump’s court pursuit on a short timeline if he wants to block the release of the information.
CNN’s Katelyn Polantz and Tierney Sneed contributed to this report.
