Trump Judge Aileen Cannon will not recuse herself from the Ryan Routh case

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon owes her lifetime appointment to the man Ryan Routh is accused of trying to kill.

FORT PIERCE – Despite concerns about her impartiality, a federal judge has fired her Donald Trump’s The case with secret documents will not hand over the case Ryan Rouththe man accused of killing him.

U.S. District Judge Aileen Kanon issued an order Tuesday denying Routh’s request to withdraw from his case. In the order, she asserted that she has no relationship with Trump and does not intend to let allegations to the contrary undermine her ability to oversee the proceedings.

Her order dismissed the concerns collected two weeks earlier by Routh’s team of public defenders, Kristy Militello and Renee Sihvola. In their motion, the attorneys said they believe Cannon would act impartially but feared the public would think otherwise.

Cannon has been criticized for statements that appear to favor the former president without legal merit. She granted a motion in 2022 that temporarily blocked investigators from accessing documents seized from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property in Palm Beach. Two years later, she dismissed all forty charges against him.

An appeals court overturned the first ruling and is considering doing the same with the last. These statements are the same ones Trump has praised during his campaign for a second term.

In their motion for recusal, Militello and Sihvola pointed to these statements, and to Trump’s comments about Cannon. The lawyers suggested people may believe Cannon harbors “personal feelings of loyalty and gratitude” toward Trump, who could appoint her to a higher court if re-elected.

Cannon called the arguments strained, speculative and unsupported by law.

“I have no control over what private citizens, members of the media, officials or candidates say about me or my judicial decisions,” the judge 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’. “

Cannon pledged to administer justice impartially, in accordance with her judicial oath. She also rejected the idea that it was necessary to avenge herself to undermine suspicions that she was deliberately assigned to the case.

“This case, like the previously cited cases involving former President Trump, was randomly assigned to me through the Clerk’s random assignment system. Period,” Cannon wrote. “I will not be swayed by grossly inaccurate, uninformed or speculative opinions to the contrary.”

Ryan Routh remains in federal custody while the judge weighs the withdrawal

While Trump’s case involved classified documents on issues of national security and obstruction of justice, Routh’s involves attempted murder. The charge is one of several federal charges filed following his September 15 arrest. If convicted, Cannon could sentence him to life in prison.

Routh is also charged with stalking, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence and assaulting a federal officer. He has pleaded not guilty to each of them.

Investigators believe Routh traveled from Greensboro, North Carolina, to West Palm Beach on August 14. Routh went to Trump International Golf Club in suburban West Palm Beach and Mar-a-Lago several times during the month, according to cell phone records. before the suspected assassination attempt.

Routh staked out Trump International for 12 hours on September 15, between high hedges and behind a fence with a loaded rifle and a bag of mini sausages. Prosecutors describe Routh’s setup as a “sniper’s nest,” equipped with two bulletproof plates and a scope taped to his weapon.

A US Secret Service agent spotted Rout at the sixth hole of the course. Trump, not yet in the shooter’s line of sight, was at the fifth hole. The officer shouted at the shooter and then saw the barrel of a gun “pointed directly at him.” The officer fired several shots.

Nobody landed. Routh, who investigators say did not return fire, fled on foot to a black Nissan Xterra parked across the street. A nearby driver reported making eye contact with Routh as he fled. The witness took a photo of Rou’s car and captured all but the last digit of his license plate number.

Authorities arrested Routh along Interstate 95 in Martin County. In his to appear.

Prosecutors published excerpts of a handwritten letter, believed to have been written by Routh, addressed to “The World.” It said the following:

“This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump, but I failed you. I did my best and gave everything I could muster. It’s now up to you to get the job done; and I will offer $150,000 to anyone who can do the job. .”

Other parts of the letter seem to suggest that the writer intended to fail in their assassination attempt. Militello suggested at Routh’s hearing that he orchestrated the attempt as a publicity stunt, rather than to cause harm.

Rou, whose trial is set to begin on February 10, remains in federal custody.

Hannah Phillips covers criminal law at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at [email protected]. Help support our journalism and subscribe today.