Today so far
Thank you for reading along with us during this busy news day. You can read more about Trump’s recusal filing from The Guardian’s Hugo Lowell here.
Here’s a rundown of what else we have covered:
The FDA authorized updated Covid-19 vaccines that closely match the Omicron variants that are circulating, starting the process to deploy the shots this month.
Several people were arrested after entering the office of Kevin McCarthy, the speaker of the House, during a protest for HIV/Aids funding on Monday.
The Biden administration is close to approving the shipment of longer-range missiles packed with cluster bombs to Ukraine.
Five American prisoners being detained in Iran could soon be freed, thanks to a new deal the countries reached today. In exchange for the 5 US citizens, 5 Iranians held in the US will be released and the US will allow the transfer of $6bn in frozen Iranian funds from South Korea to Qatar without sanctions.
President Biden marked the anniversary of 9/11 by speaking to service members, first responders, and their families in Anchorage, Alaska. Biden used the speech to highlight the battles the country is still fighting – deep-seated divisions that continue to threaten its future.
In a court filing on Monday, former president Donald Trump moved to recuse federal judge Tanya Chutkan, who is overseeing the 2020 election subversion case, citing her previous comments about his culpability.
The filing is believed to be in response to the Trump team’s disapproval of the date set for the trial on March 4th – the day before Super Tuesday. But analysts and experts are already highlighting the high unlikelihood that it will work.
Chutkan is a highly respected federal judge, appointed by Obama and confirmed in 95-0 vote by the Senate in 2014. She also has been harsher than her colleagues in handing down sentences for rioters who attacked the Capitol on Jan 6.
As of July this year, all 38 defendants who came before her were given prison sentences, NPR reports, including 4 who weren’t recommended for prison by prosecutors.
NPR reports:
Chutkan has handed down tougher prison sentences than the government asked for in nearly 25% of her Jan. 6 cases. That is a notably higher rate than nearly all other judges handling these cases.
“She was definitely on the high end of the range of those people,” said Bob Driscoll, a defense attorney at the McGlinchey Stafford firm in Washington. “She was, in fact, still might be the only — if she’s not the only she’s one of the only — judges that has several times gone above the recommendation made by the government.”
With the trial date set for March 4, this case will be the first Trump will face against prosecutors and the special counsel Jack Smith – just as voters go to the polls for the primaries.
