Judge rejects bid to disqualify DOJ officials in Trump case

A federal judge ruled Monday that two top Justice Department officials will remain on the prosecution team for the man accused of attempting to assassinate former President Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner earlier this year. U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden denied a defense motion to disqualify Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Washington, D.C., U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, finding no legal conflict of interest.

The suspect, Cole Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, had sought the officials' removal, arguing their presence at the April 25 dinner at the Washington Hilton and their connections to Trump created a bias. His attorneys, in a May 8 filing, contended that Blanche and Pirro could be considered witnesses or victims, and that Pirro's personal friendship with the former president compromised her impartiality.

Judge McFadden, in an 18-page opinion, rejected those arguments. He wrote that neither official is likely to be a trial witness nor meets the legal definition of a victim of the charged crimes. The judge stated that their attendance at the event and their public statements about the investigation did not provide a basis for...