Inset: Minnesota U.S. District Judge John Tunheim (U.S. Courts). Background: President Donald Trump gestures during a reception for Republican members of Congress in the East Room of the White House, Tuesday, July 22, 2025, in Washington (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson).
The Trump administration is seeking to disqualify a federal judge from a criminal case involving a noncitizen accused of attempting to vote after falsely claiming to be a U.S. citizen, according to a motion filed Wednesday.
The indictment was filed in Minnesota federal court in late September.
However, the Department of Justice is challenging the conduct of U.S. District Judge John Tunheim, a Bill Clinton appointee, in the week before the charges were brought.
The DOJ’s motion relies on appellate precedent stating that the key question in a judicial disqualification request is whether “the judge’s impartiality might reasonably be questioned by the average person on the street who knows all the relevant facts of a case.” The government argues that, under that standard, “the existence of actual bias is irrelevant.”
Prosecutors contend that Tunheim’s remarks were both “factually inaccurate” and “an unvarnished political opinion.”
“Judge Tunheim jumped directly into the fray by criticizing the Administration’s approach to immigration enforcement in cases that came before him based on his subjective policy impressions,” the motion states. It adds that while publicly commenting on the legality of administration actions would itself be improper, the judge’s statement was legally irrelevant and therefore “purely political.”
According to the DOJ, those remarks make Tunheim particularly unsuitable to preside over a case involving an immigrant.
“In sum, Judge Tunheim’s statements and participation in the New York Times article, at a minimum, give rise to the appearance of bias in immigration-related cases,” the motion states. “Judge Tunheim should therefore recuse from this case.”
The DOJ also filed a notice Wednesday seeking a judge’s disqualification in a separate case overseen by U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz. Schiltz, appointed by George W. Bush, was the judge who made the previously reported comments accusing the Trump administration of acting “authoritarian.”
The post ‘Appearance of bias’: Trump admin moves to disqualify judge who criticized ICE for conduct during Minnesota deportation raids first appeared on Law & Crime.
