Trump Says It’s Impossible for Him to Get a Fair Trial in Washington DC

Trump claims he cannot get a fair trial in the Washington ’swamp' and has suggested moving the venue to another state.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to supporters during a political rally while campaigning for the GOP nomination in the 2024 election at Erie Insurance Arena in Erie, Pa., on July 29, 2023. Jeff Swensen/Getty Images

Former President Donald Trump has raised concerns about not getting a fair trial in his latest indictment slated to be heard in the nation’s capital, Washington.

The latest case “will hopefully be moved to an impartial Venue, such as the politically unbiased nearby State of West Virginia!” Trump said in an Aug. 3 post at Truth Social. It is “IMPOSSIBLE to get a fair trial in Washington, D.C., which is over 95 percent anti-Trump, & for which I have called for a Federal TAKEOVER in order to bring our Capital back to Greatness. It is now a high crime embarrassment to our Nation and, indeed, the World. This Indictment is all about Election Interference!!!”

During the 2020 election, President Joe Biden won more than 92 percent of the vote in Washington. In contrast, Trump dominated in West Virginia where he garnered over 68 percent of the vote.

Mr. Trump’s apprehensions about a fair trial were also raised by his GOP presidential rival Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

“Washington, D.C. is a ‘swamp’ and it is unfair to have to stand trial before a jury that is reflective of the swamp mentality,” said Mr. DeSantis in an Aug. 2 post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“We need to enact reforms so that Americans have the right to remove cases from Washington, D.C. to their home districts,” he wrote.

In an Aug. 2 interview with NPR, John Lauro, one of Mr. Trump’s attorneys, pointed out that the preference for West Virginia as the trial venue is because the state is more evenly divided, politically.

“We’re looking for a more diverse area that has a more balanced political jury pool. You know, the country is very, very divided politically right now, this is a very divisive indictment. It goes to issues of free speech and political activity,” he said.

“So, we’re looking for a jury that will be more balanced. And West Virginia was a state that was more evenly divided. And we’re hoping for a jury that doesn’t come with any implicit or explicit bias or prejudice. So it makes sense to go to a place like West Virginia.”

Risk of a Biased Judge

In addition to concerns about the trial being held in Washington, Trump supporters are also worried about the judge who will preside over the case—U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, a former assistant public defender who was nominated by President Barack Obama.

“Chutkan, an Obama appointee, is the only federal judge in Washington, D.C. who has sentenced Jan. 6 defendants to sentences longer than the government had requested,” Kyle Griffin, executive producer at MSNBC, said in an Aug. 2 tweet.

In July last year, Judge Chutkan sentenced a 56-year-old Washington resident accused of having been involved in the Jan. 6 breach to a five-year prison sentence—three months longer than what prosecutors requested. She has so far sentenced at least 38 people who were convicted of crimes related to the breach.

This undated photo provided by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts shows U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan. Chutkan is initially assigned to the election fraud case against former President Donald Trump. Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts via AP

Judge Chutkan also has dealt with cases involving Mr. Trump. In November 2021, she rejected the former president’s attempt to block the Jan. 6 House select committee from accessing hundreds of documents from the White House despite Mr. Trump’s claim of executive privilege.

Mr. Trump’s arguments appear “to be premised on the notion that his executive power ‘exists in perpetuity’ ... but presidents are not kings, and Plaintiff is not President,” she wrote at the time.

Judge Chutkan has also worked in the same firm as Hunter Biden, according to a report by Breitbart.

She used to work at Boies, Schiller, & Flexner law firm between 2002 and 2014. Hunter Biden also worked for the firm as a lobbyist between 2009 and 2014, overlapping with Judge Chutkan’s tenure at the place.

Defunding Jack Smith

The indictment against Mr. Trump, filed by special counsel Jack Smith on Aug. 1, is related to the 2020 presidential election. The former president has been charged with four counts, including a conspiracy to “impair, obstruct, and defeat” the collection and counting of electoral votes.

In the indictment, Mr. Trump is accused of violating Section 241 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code which is aimed at protecting the constitutional rights of U.S. citizens. Mr. Smith is expected to argue that Mr. Trump’s alleged attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election threatened the lawful votes cast by American voters for Mr. Biden.

Violators of Section 241 can be fined and/or imprisoned for up to 10 years. In case the violation results in sexual abuse, kidnapping, or death, the accused can also be sentenced to life imprisonment or death.

In an Aug. 2 post on X, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said she will invoke the Holman Rule to “defund Jack Smith’s special counsel, as these baseless investigations and persecutions must be put to an end.” The Holman Rule allows for reducing salaries of federal employees as well as cutting funding for specific programs.

American prosecutor Jack Smith presides during a presentation before a war crimes court in The Hague on Nov. 9, 2020. Jerry Lampen/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

“I have introduced articles to impeach Attorney General Merrick Garland, who has weaponized the Justice Department to support these politically motivated pursuits,” she said.

“This is the line in the sand. This is nothing but a political assassination and I will not vote to fund a communist regime. I will not vote to fund a weaponized government while it politically persecutes not only President Trump but all conservative Americans.”

In a recent Truth Social post, Trump again vented his anger at the indictment charges, which he claims are a distraction from the recent controversies embroiling the Bidens regarding Hunter Biden’s business relationships.

“Look, it’s not my fault that my political opponent in the Democrat Party ... has told his Attorney General to charge the leading (by far!) Republican Nominee & former President of the United States, me, with as many crimes as can be concocted so that he is forced to spend large amounts of time & money to defend himself.

“The Dems don’t want to run against me or they would not be doing this unprecedented weaponization of ‘Justice.’ BUT SOON, IN 2024, IT WILL BE OUR TURN. MAGA!