WHCA Dinner Shooting Suspect Goes After Justice Department Officials In Effort To Derail Case

Attorneys for the man accused of attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump during the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner are seeking to derail the prosecution by demanding the recusal of top Justice Department officials who were present during the incident.

In a nine-page motion filed Thursday, lawyers for 31-year-old Cole Allen argued that U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, and other unnamed Justice Department officials have conflicts of interest that should bar them from participating in the case. The motion also seeks to disqualify the entire U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia from prosecuting Allen. (RELATED: DC Shooting Suspect Cole Allen Drops Bid For Release, Will Remain In Custody)

Allen, of Torrance, California, is accused of attempting to storm the ballroom at the Washington Hilton on April 25 while armed with a rifle, handgun, knives, and a large quantity of ammunition.

According to prosecutors, surveillance video shows Allen allegedly running toward a security checkpoint carrying a 12-gauge shotgun, discharging the weapon once before falling to the ground. Authorities said a pellet from the buckshot struck the ballistic vest of a Secret Service agent, causing minor injuries. Another Secret Service agent then fired five rounds at Allen but did not hit him.

Both Pirro and Blanche were inside the ballroom during the alleged attack, which Allen’s attorneys cited as part of their argument that the officials are too personally connected to the case to oversee the prosecution. The defense also pointed to Pirro’s friendship with Trump and her public comments following the incident.

Among the statements highlighted in the filing was a recent social media post by Pirro criticizing treatment Allen allegedly received while in custody. (RELATED: Grand Jury Indicts Alleged WHCA Dinner Gunman On 4 Charges)

“Welcome to Washington, DC, where U.S. Magistrate Judge Faruqui believes a defendant armed to the teeth and attempting to assassinate the president is entitled to preferential treatment in his confinement compared to every other defendant,” Pirro wrote on X earlier this week.

Allen’s attorneys argued that the post demonstrated bias, writing that Pirro’s “emotional response… was inflammatory, inappropriate, and inaccurate.”

The motion further contends that even the appearance of a conflict of interest is enough to warrant disqualification under the law.

“As this case proceeds closer to trial, the country and the world will continue to wonder—how can the American justice system permit a victim to prosecute a criminal defendant in a case involving them?” the motion states. “Or even—how can one of the victim’s closest friends prosecute the alleged perpetrator of the offense? Given U.S. Attorney Pirro’s friendship with the President and her and Acting A.G. Blanche’s attendance at the event at the center of this prosecution, the law necessitates their disqualification.”

The filing concludes by asking the court to “exercise its inherent authority and disqualify purported victims and witnesses in this case—to include U.S. Attorney Pirro and Acting A.G. Blanche—from direct involvement in the investigation and prosecution of Mr. Allen.”

Pirro responded to the motion in a statement to Fox News on Friday morning.

“We will evaluate the motion and respond in court,” she said. “We will not tolerate people who come to the District of Columbia to engage in anti-democratic acts of political violence; and we will prosecute all such acts to the fullest extent of the law.”

Allen is scheduled to be arraigned on Monday, May 11.

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