Man accused of killing eight people by driving a truck into NYC bike path asks judge not to seek death penalty because Trump's tweets 'ridiculing' Jeff Sessions make a fair legal process impossible

Attorney General Jeff Sessions would decide whether to pursue death penalty

Sayfullo Saipov's lawyers on Thursday told a federal judge Sessions cannot be objective because of pressure from the president

Saipov is accused of plowing a truck down a bike lane in Manhattan last October

Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack

Trump called for the 30-year old to be executed in 2 tweets after Saipov's arrest

The man accused of killing eight people by driving a truck into a New York City bike path last fall is seeking to avoid the death penalty because of incendiary tweets by Donald Trump.

Lawyers for Sayfullo Saipov on Thursday asked a federal judge to bar prosecutors from seeking the death penalty, arguing the president's statements on Twitter have made a fair legal process impossible.

In a motion filed in Manhattan federal court, Saipov's lawyers said that Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who must decide whether to pursue the death penalty, cannot be objective because Trump has pressured him to make decisions based on 'nakedly political considerations' and has called for Saipov to be executed.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6140375/Citing-Trump-tweets-accused-N-Y-attacker-seeks-avoid-death-penalty.html