Attorneys representing former President Trump asked that a judge appointed by former President Clinton recuse himself from Trump’s recent lawsuit accusing Hillary Clinton of being part of a conspiracy claiming his 2016 campaign was colluding with Russia.
In a motion filed Monday, Trump attorneys Alina Habba and Peter Ticktin argued that U.S. District Judge Donald Middlebrooks could be biased because former President Clinton tapped him for the court in 1997.
“There is no question that Judge’s Middlebrooks’ impartiality would be questioned by a disinterested observer, fully informed of the facts, due to Judge’s relationship with the Defendant, either, individually, or by the very nature of his appointment to the Federal Bench, by the Defendant’s husband,” their motion said.
“The most important issue is not simply that justice must be done, but also that justice must appear to be done. This could not be more important in a case like the above styled cause, where wrongs in regard to a presidential election are to be redressed,” it added.
A 108-page complaint, filed late last month in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, said the actions of Hillary Clinton and her political allies constituted criminal enterprise under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.
“Acting in concert, the Defendants maliciously conspired to weave a false narrative that their Republican opponent, Donald J. Trump, was colluding with a hostile foreign sovereignty,” the complaint said.
It also alleged that Trump suffered at least $24 million in damages in addition to the loss of present and future business because of Hillary Clinton, the Democratic National Committee and others.
This report was published on The Hill
