WASHINGTON — A federal judge ruled Monday that Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and DC US Attorney Jeanine Pirro would not be removed from the case against White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting suspect Cole Allen.
Lawyers for Allen — accused of crashing the April 25 black-tie soiree armed with two guns and knives with the aim of killing President Trump and as many members of his cabinet as possible — had argued that Blanche and Pirro were hopelessly conflicted by their attendance at the Washington Hilton that evening, as well as their closeness with Trump and statements about the incident.
DC US District Judge Trevor McFadden disagreed, writing in an 18-page opinion that the two “are unlikely to be trial witnesses, nor do they meet the legal definition of victims. Their statements about the investigation and friendships with the President likewise present no basis for screening them from the case.”
Allen’s defense attorneys argued in a May 8 court filing that Blanche and Pirro’s connection to the case presented “grave concerns about whether they are making prosecutorial decisions as representatives of the government or as witnesses.”
Both Justice Department officials had joined President Trump for a press conference at the White House moments after Allen was collared.
“We 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,” Pirro also said in a statement.
Allen, 31, opened fire one floor above the grand ballroom at the Washington Hilton, striking a Secret Service agent in his bulletproof vest who then returned fire at Allen but missed.
The alleged shooter was then subdued and arrested.
Allen, a schoolteacher from Torrance, Calif., allegedly distributed a manifesto — signed “Cole ‘coldForce’ ‘Friendly Federal Assassin’ Allen” shortly before descending from his room in the hotel — that claimed he was “no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes.”
The document, first reported by The Post, also listed Trump administration officials as Allen’s alleged primary targets. Thirteen members in the line of presidential succession were in attendance at the dinner.
Allen was federally indicted on May 5 on charges of attempting to assassinate the president, assault on an officer of the US with a deadly weapon, transporting a firearm and discharging it during a crime of violence.
He faces up to life in prison if convicted.
