Judge in Trump assassination case in Florida refuses to recuse herself

The federal judge presiding over the criminal trial of a man accused of trying to assassinate former President Donald Trump has refused to recuse herself, saying the defense’s request that she do so was without merit.

WASHINGTON — The federal judge presiding over the criminal trial of a man accused of trying to assassinate former President Donald Trump declined to recuse herself Tuesday, saying the defense’s request that she do so was without merit.

Ryan Wesley Routh’s lawyers have called on U.S. District Judge Eileen Cannon to step aside, saying her handling of classified Trump documents in the prosecution created at least the appearance of bias in favor of the former president and current Republican nominee. They cited the fact that she was appointed to the judgeship by Trump, and he has repeatedly praised her decisions in the records case, including her dismissal of the prosecution in July – a decision that is now being appealed by special prosecutor Jack Smith.

Cannon rejected the recusal request, writing Tuesday that she “has no control over what private citizens, members of the media, government officials or candidates choose to say about me or my judicial decisions” and is not concerned about the political consequences of her decisions. .

“I have never spoken or met with former President Trump other than in connection with his mandatory attendance at an official proceeding through counsel. “I have no ‘relationship to the alleged victim’ in any reasonable sense of the word,” Cannon wrote. “I follow my oath to administer justice fairly and impartially, consistent with the Constitution and laws of this country.”

She also disputed the defense’s assertions that her recusal would eliminate any public perception that the assassination case was handed to her for a reason.

“This case, like the previous mentioned cases involving former President Trump, was assigned to me randomly through the random clerk assignment system. Period,” Cannon wrote. “I will not be swayed by wildly inaccurate, uninformed or speculative opinions to the contrary.”

Authorities say Routh followed Trump for 12 hours at his Florida golf course in September and wrote about his desire to kill him. He has been charged with attempted murder.

The potential shooting was stopped when a member of Trump’s Secret Service security guard spotted a man’s partially hidden face and the barrel of a rifle protruding from the golf course fence line in front of where Trump was playing. The agent opened fire in the direction of Routh, who ran away and was stopped by law enforcement officers from a neighboring county.