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WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 A man charged with attacking the White House Correspondents\u2019 Association dinner is seeking to disqualify top Justice Department officials from direct involvement in prosecuting him because they could be considered victims or witnesses in the case, creating a potential conflict of interest.<\/p>\n
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro were attending the April 25 event at the Washington Hilton when Cole Tomas Allen allegedly ran through a security checkpoint and fired a shotgun at a Secret Service officer.<\/p>\n
In a court filing late Thursday, Allen’s attorneys argued that it creates at least the appearance of a conflict of interest for Blanche and Pirro to be making any prosecutorial decisions in the case.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs this case proceeds closer to trial, the country and the world will continue to wonder \u2014 how can the American justice system permit a victim to prosecute a criminal defendant in a case involving them?\u201d defense attorneys Eugene Ohm and Tezira Abe wrote.<\/p>\n
Ohm and Abe, who are assistant federal public defenders, suggested that the appointment of a special prosecutor might be warranted. They urged U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden, a Trump nominee assigned to Allen’s case, to disqualify Pirro, Blanche and possibly other Justice Department officials from direct involvement in the investigation and prosecution.<\/p>\n
\u201cBoth heard gunshots, which presumably forced them to duck below the tables with the rest of the occupants. They were quickly evacuated. Shortly thereafter, they learned that law enforcement believed the target was certain administration officials,\u201d Ohm and Abe wrote.<\/p>\n
Pirro said her office will respond to the defense lawyers’ arguments in its own court filing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will not tolerate people who come to the District of Columbia to engage in antidemocratic acts of political violence; and we will prosecute all such acts to the fullest extent of the law,\u201d Pirro said in a statement.<\/p>\n
Allen is scheduled to be arraigned Monday on charges in an indictment handed up Tuesday by a grand jury in Washington.<\/p>\n
The charges include attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump, who is a longtime friend of Pirro. Blanche served as a personal attorney for Trump before joining the Justice Department last year.<\/p>\n
Blanche, through a spokesperson, referred a request for comment to Pirro’s office.<\/p>\n
Allen also is charged with assaulting a federal officer with a deadly weapon and two additional firearms counts. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted of the attempted assassination charge alone.<\/p>\n
The Secret Service officer who was shot once in a bullet-resistant vest fired his own weapon five times without hitting anybody. Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, was injured but was not shot.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n