Tanya S. Chutkan, the judge who will preside over former President Donald Trump’s January 6 trial, is a University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School alum with significant criminal trial experience, write Charlie Savage and Alan Feuer for The New York Times.

This will not be the first time Chutkan has dealt with high-profile questions regarding Trump’s attempts to stay in power following his loss in the 2020 election.

Almost two years ago, she rejected his efforts to stop White House records from being handed over to the House committee investigating his actions prior to and during the attack on the Capitol by his supporters. At the time, she delivered a sharp rebuke on the limits of his abilities to invoke executive privilege as a former president.

“Presidents are not kings,” she wrote at the time, “and the plaintiff is not president.”

It is still unknown when the judge and Trump will meet. The former president has to appear before a magistrate judge on Thursday for an initial court appearance.

Chutkan will be the one to supervise the trial in Federal District Court in Washington, where Trump’s presence will be required.

Read more about the background and Philadelphia ties of the judge who will preside over former President Donald Trump’s January 6 trial in The New York Times.

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