Left: Ryan Wesley Routh (Law&Crime). Center: U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon (U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida). Right: Donald Trump speaks at the annual Road to Majority conference in Washington, DC, in June 2024 (Allison Bailey/NurPhoto via AP).
The 58-year-old convicted felon accused of attempting to assassinate Donald Trump as he golfed in Florida in mid-September filed documents Thursday demanding the recusal of U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon from presiding over the criminal case, citing the Trump-appointed judge’s dismissal of the former president’s Mar-a-Lago classified documents prosecution, Trump’s ensuing lavish praise of her in public, and the “prospect” of her “promotion” to the U.S. Supreme Court should Trump win the 2024 election.
Ryan Wesley Routh’s federal public defender acknowledged in the 10-page filing that seeking Cannon’s recusal solely based on the fact that Trump appointed her to the court would fail, as that line of argument has failed in other courts, so the defense listed several reasons why, in its view, Cannon’s impartiality can reasonably be questioned and lead her to step aside from the case, which she did not do in the Mar-a-Lago case despite her colleagues’ entreaties.
“This motion is warranted due to the unique facts and circumstances of this case, and this Court’s relationship to the alleged victim. Recusal by Your Honor is essential to preserve the appearance of impartiality,” Routh’s filing insisted.
After the revelations of a letter addressed to the “world” that read “[t]his was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I am so sorry I failed you,” Routh was indicted last month for attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate and Cannon was assigned to the case.
Routh noted that he “faces up to life in prison” and suggested that Cannon has supreme incentive to ensure that outcome.
“Mr. Trump is the current Republican candidate for President in next month’s election. On the campaign trail, he has repeatedly praised Your Honor for her rulings in his case. As the alleged victim here, he has a significant stake in the outcome of this case too,” the filing said. “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.”
Cannon’s impartiality can reasonably be questioned, the defense claimed, because Trump has “arguably bolstered the perception that the Court is partial in his favor” by “repeatedly” praising Cannon publicly and by name as the “brilliant woman” who “handled a scam” classified documents case and dismissed it on Appointments Clause grounds, just two weeks after conservative Justice Clarence Thomas provided her with some inspiration.
Routh’s filing argued that the public might see Cannon as auditioning for a potential “judicial promotion” to SCOTUS.
“Moreover, were Mr. Trump to become President again in the future, he would be in a position to nominate Your Honor to a vacancy on a higher appellate court, including the U.S. Supreme Court,” the filing said. “In the mind of the public, this prospect of a judicial promotion could arguably affect this Court’s ability to be impartial in this case, where Mr. Trump is the alleged victim and has an interest in the outcome.”
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