Gaetz seeks probe of Judge Tanya Chutkan citing Jan. 6 political bias

by Jessica Marie Baumgartner

Photo: Alamy

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., is introducing dual House resolutions to probe and censure U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia judge Tanya Chutkan. 

He alleges that Chutkan allowed political bias to sway her conduct regarding trials for individuals involved in the Jan. 6 events via Fox News.

Chutkan is known for delivering sentences that surpassed federal prosectors’ recommendations, per the Washington Examiner.

In the case of Matt Mazzocco, he was merely accused of “unauthorized entry into the Capitol building” and pled guilty. Despite this being a victimless crime Chutkan, by her own omission, sought to make an example of him,” according to the outlet.

She said, “If Mr. Mazzocco walks away with probation and a slap on the wrist, that’s not going to deter anyone trying what he did again,” Washington Examiner reports.

This displays that the punishment was aimed at others, not him directly, based on his choice to walk into a taxpayer-funded building and look around. 

Treatment of those connected to Jan. 6 has been scrutinized and even called out as proof of a two-tiered justice system weaponized against patriotic Americans. 

The Western Journal noted the different approaches utilized when handling climate change protesters who executed a similar display in October 2021.

Now, Gaetz is seeking to ensure that the law is equally enforced for all Americans and that the Jan. 6 prisoners have not been subjected to political bias within the judicial system. 

He has cited Chutkan’s support of the BLM riots as a conflict of interest. After comparisons were drawn between the Jan. 6 protest and the violent BLM riots, which caused an estimated $2 billion in damage and left over a dozen people dead, per the Washington Examiner, Chutkan defended the actions of BLM rioters. 

She stated, “People gathered all over the country last year to protest the violent murder by the police of an unarmed man. Some of those protesters became violent.”

“But to compare the actions of people protesting, mostly peacefully, for civil rights, to those of a violent mob seeking to overthrow the lawfully elected government is a false equivalency and ignores a very real danger that the Jan. 6 riot posed to the foundation of our democracy,” she added. 

By comparison, the Jan. 6 protests resulted in far less damage and also fewer deaths. According to Reuters, prosecutors placed the damage at $1.5 million, and of the five people who died, two perished due to health-related natural causes and one was an accident due to amphetamine intoxication, per WTOP reporter Neal Augenstein.

The lack of acceptance of facts by Chutkan has led Gaetz to question her judgment. 

He told Fox News, “It is deeply concerning to see a United States District Court Judge show a blatant impropriety from the bench.”

“Judge Tanya Chutkan’s impracticality of her tough sentencing of Jan. 6th defendants, despite openly supporting the violent Black Lives Matter protests of 2020, showcases not only a lack of impartiality but also a disregard for the sacred duty of a judge to uphold justice fairly,” he concluded. 

You may also like