Judge rules against Rep. Duncan Hunter on motion to remove prosecutors in criminal case over alleged

A federal judge ruled Monday that the trial of Rep. Duncan D. Hunter, R-Alpine, would not be moved out of San Diego at this time, and prosecutors would not be excluded because of alleged political bias.

U.S. District Judge Thomas J. Whelan denied both requests, which attorneys for Hunter had made in pre-trial motions late last month. He also denied Hunter’s motion to dismiss the whole indictment based on alleged violation of constitutional protections for legislative materials and official actions.

Whelan left open the possibility that the trial could be moved out of San Diego County if the court finds during jury selection that the pool is too tainted by prejudice to ensure Hunter receives a fair trial.

Motions on which Whelan ruled Monday were left over from dozens slated to be decided at a hearing last week. Whelan had deferred ruling on the handful of motions until this week because they had not been fully briefed in time for him to carefully consider them.

Read more: https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/breaking/story/2019-07-08/sd-me-hunter-hearing