Suspect in White House correspondents’ dinner attack seeks recusal of
top Justice Dept. officials
[May 09, 2026]
By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN
WASHINGTON (AP) — A man charged with attacking the White House
Correspondents’ Association dinner is seeking to disqualify top Justice
Department officials from direct involvement in prosecuting him because
they could be considered victims or witnesses in the case, creating a
potential conflict of interest.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro
were attending the April 25 event at the Washington Hilton when Cole
Tomas Allen allegedly ran through a security checkpoint and fired a
shotgun at a Secret Service officer.
In a court filing late Thursday, Allen's attorneys argued that it
creates at least the appearance of a conflict of interest for Blanche
and Pirro to be making any prosecutorial decisions in the case.
“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?” defense
attorneys Eugene Ohm and Tezira Abe wrote.
Ohm and Abe, who are assistant federal public defenders, suggested that
the appointment of a special prosecutor might be warranted. They urged
U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden, a Trump nominee assigned to Allen's
case, to disqualify Pirro, Blanche and possibly other Justice Department
officials from direct involvement in the investigation and prosecution.
“Both heard gunshots, which presumably forced them to duck below the
tables with the rest of the occupants. They were quickly evacuated.
Shortly thereafter, they learned that law enforcement believed the
target was certain administration officials,” Ohm and Abe wrote.
Pirro said her office will respond to the defense lawyers' arguments in
its own court filing.
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From left, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, FBI Director Kash
Patel and U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, speak during a news
conference at the Department of Justice, on Monday April 27, 2026,
in Washington, following the initial appearance in federal court of
the suspected White House Correspondents Dinner gunman, Cole Tomas
Allen of Torrance, California. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
“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
said in a statement.
Allen is scheduled to be arraigned Monday on charges in an
indictment handed up Tuesday by a grand jury in Washington.
The charges include attempting to assassinate President Donald
Trump, who is a longtime friend of Pirro. Blanche served as a
personal attorney for Trump before joining the Justice Department
last year.
Blanche, through a spokesperson, referred a request for comment to
Pirro's office.
Allen also is charged with assaulting a federal officer with a
deadly weapon and two additional firearms counts. He faces a maximum
sentence of life in prison if convicted of the attempted
assassination charge alone.
The Secret Service officer who was shot once in a bullet-resistant
vest fired his own weapon five times without hitting anybody. Allen,
31, of Torrance, California, was injured but was not shot.
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