Cole Allen Asks DOJ and US Attorney Pirro to Recuse Themselves From His Case

Attorneys for Cole Allen, suspected shooter at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, are asking a court to dismiss members of the Justice Department (DOJ) and the District of Columbia U.S. Attorney from his case.

“At least two of those very same high-ranking officials are now responsible for making the unbiased and dispassionate discretionary decisions that the justice system requires,” the attorneys said in a court filing on May 7.

U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeannine Pirro and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche were both present during the attack, and may be called as witnesses in the case, Allen’s attorneys said.

DOJ regulations forbid its employees from taking part in an investigation if they have a “personal or political relationship with … any person or organization which he knows has a specific and substantial interest that would be directly affected by the outcome of the investigation or prosecution.”

The attorneys cite Pirro and Blanche’s close working relationship with President Donald Trump, the primary target of the attack, as a conflict of interest. They also point to social media posts Pirro made on the night of the attack and public statements she made in the aftermath on her personal X account.

Allen’s attorneys also want the entire DOJ to step back from the case, to avoid the “appearance of” improper prosecution. If they refuse, the attorneys want the court to intervene and replace them with a special prosecutor.

The Epoch Times reached out the Justice Department for comment on the filing.

Allen is charged with the attempted assassination of Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on April 25 at around 8:40 p.m. He also faces one count of transporting a firearm across state lines with intent to commit a felony, and one count of discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.

If convicted, he faces life in prison and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines.

At the beginning of April, he allegedly reserved a room at the Washington Hilton, where the dinner was scheduled to take place. According to a filing by the Justice Department, he took a train from his home in Los Angeles to the nation’s capital and checked in to the hotel on April 24.

Surveillance video from the attack shows a man charging past a magnetometer security checkpoint at the hotel on April 25 before being tackled by Secret Service agents. An agent was shot during the incident, but not seriously harmed.

Allen is due back in court for a hearing on May 11. He has not yet entered a plea.