Former US President Donald Trump on Monday formally asked to recuse Judge Tanya Chutkan, who will preside over the debate in his federal court over his attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, denying her impartiality, AFP and Agerpres reported.

The judge has already set the trial for March 4, much to the chagrin of lawyers for Trump, the Republican primary favorite, who had demanded that the trial be held in April 2026, after the November 2024 presidential election.

Donald Trump condemned Judge Chatkan’s decision, accusing his network Truth Social of “hating” him.

Before appearing in court on August 3 to plead not guilty, Trump said that his only fault was that he “challenged a rigged election” and that he had warned about an “unfair judge,” apparently referring to Judge Chutkan.

In support of their appeal, his lawyers refer to statements made by a magistrate during a sentencing hearing for some of the participants in the storming of the Capitol, the seat of Congress, on January 6, 2021.

That day, hundreds of ardent supporters of Donald Trump violated this shrine of American democracy, trying to prevent the certification of the victory of his opponent Joe Biden.

“Judge Chatkan has proposed, in connection with other cases, that President Trump be prosecuted and imprisoned,” the attorneys’ request states.

Thus, in October 2022, while sentencing a participant in the storming of the Capitol to 15 months in prison, Judge Chutkan noted that the participants acted “out of loyalty to a person who, let’s say casually, is still at large today.”

“Her public statements will inevitably affect the proceedings, regardless of the verdict,” Donald Trump’s lawyers emphasize, estimating that, as a result, “Judge Chatkan should recuse herself and ask the secretary to randomly assign this case to another judge.”

Most legal experts consider such a motion almost doomed to failure, as it would require the judge to be removed at his own will.

Campaigning to return to the White House, Donald Trump is blaming his judicial woes on President Biden’s Democratic administration, which he could face again in 2024 for a rematch after the 2020 election.