The judge overseeing the criminal case in Arizona against some of Donald Trump’s top allies recused himself from the case on Tuesday after defense lawyers accused him of anti-Trump bias.
The allegations against Judge Bruce Cohen stemmed from a revelation that he had implored white male colleagues to speak out against attacks on Kamala Harris’ race and gender. Cohen also invoked resistance to the Nazis to describe the current political moment.
Cohen scheduled a hastily convened courtroom conference for Wednesday to discuss the future of the case after one of the defendants — represented by a lawyer who also worked on the Trump campaign — said the comments warranted Cohen’s removal from the case. But late on Tuesday, he canceled the hearing and announced his recusal.
“While Judge Cohen is entitled to his political opinions and speech,” wrote attorneys David Warrington and Michael Columbo on behalf of state Sen. Jake Hoffman, one of the defendants in the case, “his rhetoric and exhortation precisely mirrors the evidence of hostile partisan political zealotry at the heart of the motions to dismiss [the case] that have been languishing before the Court for months.”
