close
close

Judge Aileen Cannon holds trial against Ryan Routh despite praise from Donald Trump

Posted on by Pranco
Judge Aileen Cannon holds trial against Ryan Routh despite praise from Donald Trump

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon refused to stop Tuesday presided over the indictment against Ryan Routhwho is accused of attempted murder by former President Donald Trump.

Routh urged Cannon to transfer the case to another judge because she was appointed by Trump and he had publicly praised her handling of his criminal complaint for withholding classified documents after his term ended. But Cannon said she never met Trump except when he appeared in her courtroom and that she would remain impartial in Routh’s case.

“Defendant cites a series of factors that he believes, taken in totality, create an appearance of bias,” Cannon wrote in refusing to transfer the case. “Nothing justifies a refusal, whether investigated individually or together.”

Aileen Cannon answers questions during her nomination hearing before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, on July 29, 2020, in a still image from a video.Aileen Cannon answers questions during her nomination hearing before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, on July 29, 2020, in a still image from a video.

Aileen Cannon answers questions during her nomination hearing before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, on July 29, 2020, in a still image from a video.

Rou is charged with attempted murderwho was a felon in possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number after authorities said he pointed an SKS rifle through a fence at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on September 15. A Secret Service agent saw the gun and shot the suspect, scaring him away.

Routh has pleaded not guilty.

Routh’s lawyers argued that Cannon should transfer the case to another judge because Trump praised her by name to applause as “a highly respected federal judge” at the Republican National Convention in July. On television, Trump called Cannon a “very respected judge, a very smart judge and a very strong judge” and said he was “very proud to have appointed her.”

Cannon has dismissed the federal charges who accused Trump of unlawfully withholding national defense documents after leaving the White House. Justice Department Special Counsel Jack Smith has appealed her decision.

A federal statute calls for judges to disqualify themselves in all cases where their “impartiality may reasonably be questioned.”

But Cannon rejected Routh’s charge of the “appearance of bias” because of her past dealings with Trump. She also ignored that she had gone to high school with one of the prosecutors in the case and attended his wedding nine years ago as an assistant U.S. attorney.

“As defendant acknowledges, I have no control over what private citizens, members of the media, public officials or candidates say about me or my judicial decisions,” Cannon wrote. “I am also not concerned about the political consequences of my statements or how those statements might be viewed by ‘some in the media’.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Judge holds trial for suspect accused of attempted murder of Donald Trump