The man prosecutors accuse of attempting to assassinate former President Donald Trump during a round of golf raised further questions about the judge in the case.
Prosecutors charged Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, of Hawaii, with possession of a firearm by a felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number and attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate.
Routh’s defense team wants a new judge on the case because of presiding Judge Aileen Cannon’s past work on Trump’s classified documents criminal complaint. Routh said if Trump were reelected on Nov. 5 to the White House, he could offer Cannon a better position. The team also said some people have questioned how the case got in front of Cannon.
“After all, the facts here are unprecedented,” the defense wrote in a reply to prosecutor’s opposition to the recusal. “To briefly recap: a former President, Mr. Trump, is the alleged victim in this criminal case; Mr. Trump appointed Your Honor to the federal bench; this Court previously presided over cases where Mr. Trump was a party and issued some rulings that were favorable to him, including one dismissing a criminal case against him; while on the campaign trail, Mr. Trump has repeatedly and publicly praised this Court and its rulings; Mr. Trump would have authority to appoint Your Honor to a position of power were he to become President again; and given the low odds of this Court being assigned three cases involving Mr. Trump, some have questioned whether the cases have been assigned at random.”
In July, Cannon dismissed the 40 felonies Trump faced in the classified documents-related criminal case because she said the appointment of Special Counsel Jack Smith violated the Constitution. Smith has appealed that decision. Legal experts widely considered the classified documents case as Trump’s most challenging legal hurdle.
Routh filed a motion last week asking Cannon to recuse herself from the case because Trump appointed her to the bench and later praised her rulings in Trump’s classified documents case in Florida. Federal prosecutors opposed the motion, saying Routh’s argument didn’t work.
“The Defendant’s motion does not present a sufficient legal or factual basis to support a determination that the Court should exercise its discretion to disqualify itself or otherwise recuse,” Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Shipley, Christopher Browne and Mark Dispoto wrote in a filing opposing the proposed recusal.
Routh’s defense team said the prosecution’s response wasn’t sufficient.
“In a filing less than two pages long, the government opposes Mr. Routh’s motion to recuse this Court,” defense attorneys wrote. “However, the government’s filing does not meaningfully respond to the motion, let alone provide any basis for this Court to deny it.”
Prosecutors accused Routh of stalking Trump for a month before he built a sniper’s nest near the Trump International golf course in West Palm Beach. Routh has pleaded not guilty.
