Who is Tanya Chutkan, Judge in Trump's 2020 Election Case?
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Washington D.C. federal Judge Tanya Chutkan was randomly selected to oversee former President Donald Trump’s new 2020 election criminal case. Who is she?
Chutkan's Resume: Then-President Barack Obama nominated Chutkan as a federal judge in 2013, and the Senate unanimously confirmed her the following year. In 2021, she ruled that the House Jan. 6 select committee could access Trump’s White House files. She has also "consistently taken the hardest line against Jan. 6 defendants of any" D.C. judge, according to a 2022 Associated Press (Lean Left bias) article. In four Jan. 6 cases in which prosecutors did not seek jail time, Chutkan instead gave terms ranging from 14 days to 45 days. From 2002 to 2014 when she became a federal judge, Chutkan worked at the law firm Boies Schiller Flexner. Then-second son Hunter Biden was of counsel at the firm from 2009 to 2014.
How the Media Covered It: Left-rated outlets often framed Chutkan as tough but fair. Right-rated sources more often framed her as pro-Democrat. Politico (Lean Left bias) said Chutkan "has avoided some of the most pointed criticisms of Trump that some of her colleagues on the federal bench in D.C. have delivered as they’ve sentenced" Jan. 6 rioters. New York Post (Lean Right) said she's "known for harshly sentencing Jan. 6 rioters and formerly represented the fraudulent blood-testing company Theranos while working at a law firm associated with first son Hunter Biden."
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Left
Trump’s new judge is a tough Jan. 6 sentencer — and has a history with him![AllSides Media Bias Rating: Lean Left AllSides Media Bias Rating: Lean Left](https://www.allsides.com/sites/default/files/bias-leaning-left.png)
![](https://www.allsides.com/sites/default/files/styles/feature_image_300x200/public/Screenshot%202023-08-02%20091704.png?itok=vi6EsZn_)
When Judge Tanya Chutkan presides over the new criminal case against Donald Trump, it won’t be her first time tangling with the former president and his lawyers.
In fact, the U.S. district court judge already dealt the ex-president one of the most significant legal blows of his lifetime, triggering perhaps the greatest deluge of evidence about his bid to subvert the 2020 election — a scheme for which he now stands charged with serious crimes.
The Obama-appointed jurist ruled in fall 2021 that the House Jan. 6 select committee could access reams of...
From the Center
Trump to face familiar judge in criminal case over 2020 election![AllSides Media Bias Rating: Center AllSides Media Bias Rating: Center](https://www.allsides.com/sites/default/files/bias-center.png)
![](https://www.allsides.com/sites/default/files/styles/feature_image_300x200/public/EX2U6I4NAFOZBPOXL3WQZ7X2DU.jpg?itok=gx4iIZAV)
The judge assigned to oversee the federal case against Donald Trump for attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election has previously ruled against the former president and sharply condemned the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol by his supporters.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan in Washington, D.C. is set to preside over the wide-ranging case accusing Trump of attempting to interfere with the counting of votes and seeking to block Congress from certifying the election results.
Trump claimed the indictment unsealed on Tuesday was political persecution aimed at...
From the Right
Tanya Chutkan, judge in Trump’s latest criminal case, is ‘toughest punisher’ of Jan. 6 rioters, once repped Theranos![AllSides Media Bias Rating: Lean Right AllSides Media Bias Rating: Lean Right](https://www.allsides.com/sites/default/files/bias-leaning-right.png)
![](https://www.allsides.com/sites/default/files/styles/feature_image_300x200/public/213358958_Capitol-Riot-Arrests.jpg?itok=nl6zCVa3)
The judge who will oversee former President Donald Trump’s latest criminal case is known for harshly sentencing Jan. 6 rioters and formerly represented the fraudulent blood-testing company Theranos while working at a law firm associated with first son Hunter Biden.
DC federal Judge Tanya Chutkan, who was randomly selected to oversee Trump’s criminal case in the nation’s capital, was declared last year by the Associated Press as the “toughest punisher” of rioters charged with offenses related to the 2021 riot.
“Chutkan has handed out tougher sentences than the [Justice Department] was seeking in seven...
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