Judge Recuses Self In Trial Against Lt. Dan Choi

Lt. Dan Choi's criminal hearing for governmental misconduct for protesting  the Tarsands Keystone XL Pipeline in Texas, has been vacated after Judge Elizabeth C. Wingo recused herself from the case. The hearing, scheduled for Wednesday, subpoenaed more than 30 White House officials, including former press secretary Robert Gibbs ad former deputy chief of staff Jim Messina.

"There is something very wrong here,"Choi's attorney, former Army JAG Officer Capt. James E. Pietrangelo II, said in a statement Tuesday. "We subpoenaed White House Officials and all of a sudden the hearing is cancelled."

The hearing has now been rescheduled, and will likely go before the chief justice of the D.C. superior court, Chief Judge Lee Satterfield, unless he reassigns it. In either case, Choi will have to pay $5,000 in legal preparation and travel fees.

Additionally, Choi is also on trial for protesting "don't ask, don't tell" by handcuffing himself to the White House fence. He is prohibited from stepping foot on the White House sidewalk, and the hearing for that arrest is scheduled for October 17.