The man accused of perching behind a chain-link fence enclosing Donald Trump’s Florida golf property with a rifle, reportedly waiting for a clear shot at the former president, has asked the judge in the case to disqualify herself.
Judge Aileen Cannon, who presided over Trump’s secret materials case before dismissing it, was randomly assigned to the case against Ryan Wesley Routh last month.
Routh’s defense counsel said in a court filing on Thursday that the judge should recuse herself from the case because of this, as well as the possibility that Trump, if elected, may appoint Cannon to a higher court.
Earlier this year, Cannon concluded that special counsel Jack Smith was not constitutionally appointed to oversee the secret documents matter. Smith is appealing the ruling.
Routh’s attorneys claim that Trump has repeatedly complimented Cannon by name since her decision to dismiss the case against him, including during the Republican National Convention, and that Trump “as the alleged victim here” has a “significant stake in the outcome of this case.”
“Were he to become President in the future, he would have authority to nominate Your Honor to a federal judgeship on a higher court were a vacancy to arise,” the attorney for the defense stated.
They stated, “Taken together, these unprecedented facts and circumstances may create the appearance of partiality in the minds of the public.” As a result, the Constitution and the federal recusal statute require Your Honor to recuse herself from this case.”
On September 15, the former president was golfing at his Florida club when a Secret Service agent opened fire on the suspect after noticing him in the bushes around the club’s perimeter. Routh was later caught and indicted. This was the second attempt on Trump’s life in two months.
Routh is accused with five charges, including attempting to assassinate a presidential candidate. He pled not guilty to all of the accusations late last month.
The trial will take place at the federal courthouse in Fort Pierce, Florida, where Trump’s attorneys previously argued before Cannon.
