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A federal judge on Monday denied a request from Cole Allen, the alleged White House Correspondents’ dinner shooter, to bar acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro from being involved in the case.
“In line with longstanding precedent, the Court finds that neither the officials’ dinner attendance nor their statements after the fact demonstrate a conflict of interest. Nor does Pirro’s friendship with the President,” U.S. District Court Judge Trevor McFadden wrote in the order.
Allen’s bid to disqualify the pair came after both, in the wake of the shooting, said they could have been victims themselves had the alleged shooter managed to enter the ballroom hosting the dinner.
Allen, the judge wrote, citing the suspect’s own writing, did intend to “harm administration officials. He did not, however, name particular targets.”
“Nothing suggests that Allen knew that either Blanche or Pirro would attend the dinner,” McFadden wrote.
“The focus on the administration at large, rather than particular individuals, dilutes the potential biasing effect.”
McFadden also determined that Pirro’s friendship with Trump, as well as his pardoning of her ex-husband during his first term, did not constitute a conflict of interest.
“Presidents routinely select high-ranking Justice Department officials from among their friends and supporters,” he wrote, noting that the department is often filled with officials close to the president who must still carry out the obligations of their job.
“Pirro’s relationship with Trump is hardly an aberration. And the Court sees no reason, on this record, that she cannot fulfil her duties because of that friendship.”
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