THE State is to request Judge Willie Hartzenburg, presiding over the Wouter Basson trial, to recuse himself, the senior prosecutor in the case said on Wednesday. This follows earlier comments by Hartzenberg who said during testimony that he is not convinced that Basson’s multi-million rand group of companies was aimed at defrauding the state. Should the recusal application succeed, it would mean that the trial would have to start afresh before a new judge.