Cole Allen pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Monday to all charges in the four-count federal indictment against him, including the allegation that he attempted to assassinate President Donald Trump at last month’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington.

Allen also faces assault and firearms charges in the case brought by the District of Columbia prosecutor’s office, led by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro.

Ahead of his arraignment, Allen filed a motion seeking to disqualify Pirro and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche from involvement in the case, noting that both of them “were present at the scene during the alleged incident” and “have made statements indicating that they were witnesses to events at the Washington Hilton that evening.” The defendant’s lawyers further observed in the motion that Trump is the primary alleged victim in the case and that he and Pirro “have a well-document [sic] relationship for over three decades.”

The lawyers added that Pirro has referred to “her status as a potential victim” during media appearances since the dinner. “A DOJ employee must recuse where he or she is a participant in the events alleged in the indictment, particularly where they are an alleged victim of said events,” Allen’s lawyers said in the motion.

Other pretrial motions are likely to follow as well, and the government will need to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt if the case goes to trial.

The Justice Department has cited an “Apology and Explanation” letter purportedly authored by Allen. On it was a list of points under “On to why I did any of this” that said, among other things, “I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes.”

It didn’t refer by name to Trump, whose second term in office has been politically plagued by Jeffrey Epstein, who died in 2019 while facing child sex trafficking charges. Trump has denied any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein. When asked by a reporter if he thought Allen’s alleged letter referred to him, the president sounded offended at the question and said that he’s “not a rapist” and “not a pedophile.”

Sounding similarly offended at the question during a media appearance of her own, Pirro said, “You’re going to have to ask him [Allen] that. I don’t really care.”

While further evidence may emerge, the indirect but apparent reference to the president could be important evidence for the prosecution to prove Allen’s intent. In litigation ahead of a prior hearing in the case, the DOJ assumed that Allen did, in fact, refer to Trump in making those incendiary claims about the president. It’s up to defendants to decide whether or not they want to testify at their trials, so if there’s a trial in this case, the jury might not hear from Allen about it. The burden is on the government to prove its case.

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