The suspect in last month’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting pleaded not guilty in D.C. federal court Monday morning, as his lawyers argued the prosecution is tainted by a conflict of interest.
The Plea
As reported on Tuesday’s AM Update, Cole Thomas Allen, 31, appeared before Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden in an orange jumpsuit and handcuffed to a waist chain. He did not say anything during the proceeding. Instead, his attorney, public defender Tezira Abe entered the plea on his behalf.
Allen pleaded not guilty to all four counts he is facing, which include attempting to assassinate the president of the United States, discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence, transporting a firearm across state lines, and assaulting a federal officer with a deadly weapon.
The last charge was added Tuesday by a federal grand jury in connection with the shooting of a Secret Service agent. Investigators say a pellet pulled from the agent’s bulletproof vest matches buckshot allegedly fired from Allen’s shotgun.
Defense Motion
During the arraignment, prosecutors told the court they expect to begin turning over the first batch of evidence to the defense by the end of the week. Allen’s legal team, meanwhile, used the hearing to reiterate its desire to remove U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, her office, and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche from the case, arguing they have a conflict of interest.
In a court filing, the defense noted Pirro and Blanche were both in the ballroom at the Washington Hilton when the shots were fired and cited Pirro’s personal friendship with President Donald Trump.
“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 asks. “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.”
In an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper earlier this month, Pirro already rejected the idea that her presence at the dinner should force her off of this case. “That would be like telling witnesses that you can’t testify at the trial because you were there,” she argued. “The truth is that there were 2,500 of us who were there, and my ability to prosecute this case has nothing to do with my being there.”
What Comes Next
The court directed the Department of Justice to respond to the motion by June 22. Legal scholar Jonathan Turley told Fox News he does not believe Allen’s bid to remove Pirro from the case is unlikely to succeed.
“I don’t think it’s going to go anywhere. The most that they can likely hope for here is… [to] have the judge issue some type of gag order or some clarification about public statements to be made,” he said. “I don’t think the fact that she’s a friend of the President will work. I mean, you had [former Attorney General] Eric Holder, who called himself the wing man of President Obama. That didn’t result in widespread motions to have him removed from cases.”
Allen is scheduled to return to court for a status conference on June 29.
You can get all the day’s headlines by tuning into the AM Update with Megyn Kelly on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch AM Update on SiriusXM’s The Megyn Kelly Channel (channel 111).