Trump Launches Effort to Disqualify Clinton-Appointed Judge in Lawsuit Against Hillary Clinton, DNC

On Monday, attorneys representing former President Donald Trump in a case involving the Hillary Clinton campaign and the famed Russian dossier, argued that the Clinton-appointed federal judge hearing the case should be disqualified.

The six-page motion argued that U.S. District Judge Donald Middlebrooks should recuse himself in the case because he was appointed in 1997 by then-President Bill Clinton.

The motion reads:

“Due to the fact that the defendant, Hillary Clinton, is being sued by her former opponent for the United States presidency, an election that she lost, regarding serious allegations on her part, as well as her allies, of engaging in fraudulent and unlawful activities against the plaintiff, and because her husband nominated Judge Middlebrooks to the federal bench, there exists a reasonable basis that Judge Middlebrooks’ impartiality will be questioned.”

A report in The Epoch Times notes that Federal law requires judges to “disqualify themselves in any proceedings in which their impartiality might reasonably be questioned.”

Middlebrooks’s prejudice is in question because his connection to the Clintons is “so virulent or pervasive as to constitute bias against a party,” the motion reads, adding:

“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 isn’t clear when the court will act on the motion.

On Mar. 25, Magistrate Judge Shaniek Maynard recused himself without providing an explanation. The case was reassigned to Magistrate Judge Ryon McCabe.

Trump is suing Hillary Clinton and approximately 30 other individuals and groups, claiming the creation of the dossier and its promotion represent crimes tantamount to conspiracy, theft of trade secrets, and obstruction of justice.

According to the Epoch Times, defendants named in Trumps suits include “Christopher Steele, the former UK spy paid by Hillary Clinton’s campaign” and the “Democratic National Committee for compiling the dossier, attorney Marc Elias, who funneled money to Fusion GPS, which ultimately paid Steele; and former FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith, who doctored an email about former Trump campaign associate Carter Page.”