Lawyers for correspondents' dinner shooting suspect seek to disqualify Pirro, Blanche from case

Added: 2026-05-18

[00:00:00]The man accused of trying to assassinate President Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents Dinner told a judge today he's not guilty. Cole Allen appeared in federal court in D.C.

[00:00:08]earlier today. So, let's go live to CBS News Homeland Security Correspondent Nicole Sganga watching this one closely.

[00:00:14]So, walk us through those charges.

[00:00:17]Hi Reed, good to be with you. There are four charges. You mentioned the top charge earlier which is attempt to assassinate the President of the United States which carries a possible life in prison sentence if convicted. And of course, prosecutors alleging here that Cole Allen tried to kill President Donald Trump during that White House Correspondents Dinner at the Washington Hilton. Second charge here, assaulting a US officer or employee with a deadly weapon. Prosecutors alleging that Allen fired a shotgun and struck a US Secret Service officer in the chest. That officer was wearing a ballistic vest.

[00:00:52]This is a charge that was added on May 5th in updated court documents. And then two more charges, weapons charges, transportation of a firearm and ammunition in interstate commerce. Of course, prosecutors alleging here that Allen who had a California license carried these weapons from California to Washington, D.C. And then just an additional weapons charge of discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.

[00:01:20]This really caught my eye. His lawyers are trying to remove acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and US Attorney for D.C. Jessie Perot from the case. Have you ever seen anything like that and what's their argument?

[00:01:32]Yeah, Allen's lawyers here are actually arguing that Todd Blanche and Jessie Perot because they were both at the White House Correspondents Dinner and they were and they gave their news conference in a a tux and a gown that night when the shooting happened, they could be considered victims or possible witnesses in this case. They're also pointing to the personal connection that both Jessie Perot, the US Attorney for the District of Columbia, and Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, have to President Trump. Of course, Jeanine Pirro has a close friendship, has been a a long-time ally of the current president, and Todd Blanche was, of course, a personal attorney to the President of the United States, saying that those ties create at least the appearance that DOJ leadership here may not be neutral. The defense asking the judge to disqualify Pirro, Blanche, and possibly others at the Department of Justice with direct involvement in this case, suggesting maybe even a special prosecutor could be appropriate here.

[00:02:33]Their argument, how can someone who may be a victim or even a witness also help to prosecute the defendant? So, we'll see how this goes. I mean, if Pirro and Blanche were to be removed from the case, it would largely be symbolic here.

[00:02:47]Pirro's office says that they will respond in court, and they've consistently argued that they will prosecute political violence of any kind to the fullest extent of the law, read.

[00:02:58]>> All right, Nicole Sganga getting us started off for a new week with that big headline and new development. Thank you so much.