Florida judge who attempted to assassinate Trump refused to be removed from office

The federal judge presiding over the criminal trial of a man accused of attempting to assassinate former President Donald Trump has refused to recuse himself, saying a defense request for him to do so was unwarranted.

WASHINGTON — Federal judge presides over criminal case of a man Trump, who is accused of attempting to assassinate former President Donald Trump, refused to recuse himself on Tuesday, saying his defense request was unwarranted.

Ryan Wesley Routh’s lawyers encouraged U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon Stepping aside, saying Trump’s investigation into classified documents created at least the appearance of bias in favor of the former president and the current Republican candidate. They noted that he was appointed to the bench by Trump and was repeatedly praised by Trump for his decisions in the documents case. Including the dismissal of the prosecutor’s office in July – a decision currently being appealed by private attorney Jack Smith.

Cannon denied the motion to dismiss Tuesday, stating that he “has no control over what private citizens, members of the media, public officials, or candidates say about me or my judicial decisions,” and wrote that he was not concerned about the political consequences of his decisions. .

“I have never spoken to or met former President Trump except when required to be present at a formal judicial hearing through counsel. Cannon wrote that I have “no relationship with the alleged victim” in the reasonable sense of the phrase. “I uphold my oath to administer justice faithfully and impartially, in accordance with the Constitution and laws of this country.”

He also countered the defense’s arguments that his denial would eliminate the public perception that the assassination attempt case was assigned to him in a non-random manner.

“This case, like the previously mentioned cases involving former President Trump, was randomly assigned to me through the Clerk’s random case assignment system. Period,” Cannon wrote. “I will not be led by speculative views that are deeply inaccurate, uninformed, or to the contrary.”

Officials say Routh He kept Trump under surveillance for 12 hours at his golf course in Florida in September and wrote about his desire to kill her. A lawsuit was filed against him on charges of attempted assassination.

The potential attack was thwarted when a security guard from Trump’s Secret Service noticed a partially obscured man’s face and a rifle barrel protruding from the golf course’s fence line beyond where Trump was playing. The agent fired in the direction of Routh, who sped away and was stopped by law enforcement in the neighboring county.