FORT HOOD, Texas – A military judge ruled yesterday that statements by President Bush and military leaders about alleged Abu Ghraib abuses do not appear specific enough to taint the jury pool for next month’s trial of a reputed ringleader in the case.

But Colonel James Pohl, the judge, said he might reconsider his ruling if it becomes clear that prospective jurors may have been influenced to the degree that Specialist Charles Graner might not get a fair trial.

Defense attorney Guy Womack had argued that Mr. Bush, Defense Secretary Rumsfeld, and high-ranking military officials proclaimed Mr. Graner guilty of abuses at Abu Ghraib and made it impossible to find an impartial jury.

At various times and venues last spring, the president called the alleged incidents “abhorrent” acts for which those found guilty would be punished, while Mr. Rumsfeld referred to “terrible activities” at Abu Ghraib.

“They all heard (the statements) and it was their chain of command saying it,” said Mr. Womack. “It would be hard for the (jurors) to completely put that out of their minds.”

But Mr. Womack conceded that the word “guilty” was never used in any of the statements in question, nor was Mr. Graner ever mentioned by name by the high-ranking officials.

The Abu Ghraib scandal came to light last spring with the discovery of digital photographs depicting physical abuse and sexual humiliation of detainees.

In one of those photos, Mr. Graner was shown giving a thumbs-up sign behind a pile of naked Iraqi prisoners. In another, he is seen cocking his fist as if to punch a hooded detainee.

He has been accused of jumping on prisoners, stomping their hands and feet, and punching one man in the head hard enough to knock him out.

Mr. Womack says Mr. Graner was ordered by higher-ranking soldiers and other government agents to go rough on detainees to soften them up for interrogators.

Asked to comment on Mr. Womack’s assertions and the judge’s ruling, Lieutenant Colonel John Skinner, a Pentagon spokesman, said, “We don’t comment on ongoing legal proceedings and it would be inappropriate to do so.”

Mr. Graner, an Army reservist from Uniontown, Pa., is scheduled for trial at Fort Hood beginning January 7. He sat quietly beside Mr. Womack during the 2 1/2-hour hearing.

Mr. Womack also raised the possibility that the judge himself might have been tilted against Mr. Graner, which prompted Colonel Pohl to subject himself to a round of unusual questions that are normally reserved for would-be jurors.

“Given all the knowledge you have about this case, do you feel that you could be influenced one way or another?” Mr. Womack asked.

“I do what I think is right,” Colonel Pohl shot back. “I don’t work for anybody when it comes to the trial.”