Judge continues trial of suspect accused of trying to kill Donald Trump

On By Karl

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U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon refused to stay Tuesday Presiding over charges against Ryan Routhwho accused of attempted assassination related to former President Donald Trump.

Routh called on Cannon to turn the case over to another judge because he was appointed by Trump, and Cannon publicly praised his handling of the charges against him for withholding classified documents after his term ended. But Cannon said he had never met Trump outside of his courtroom appearances and would remain neutral in Routh’s case.

“Defendant cites a number of factors that he believes, viewed as a whole, create the appearance of bias,” Cannon wrote in refusing to assign the case. “None of them warrant rejection, even if examined individually or together.”

Routh accused of assassination attemptOn Sept. 15, he was charged with criminal possession of a firearm and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number after authorities say he pointed his SKS rifle over the fence at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida. A Secret Service agent discovered this incident. He fired a gun at the suspect and chased him.

Routh did not admit guilt.

Routh’s attorneys argued that Cannon should assign the case to another judge because Trump had praised him by name, applauding, as a “highly respected federal judge” during the Republican National Convention in July. Trump called Cannon on television “a very respected judge, a very smart judge and a very strong judge” and said he was “very proud to appoint him.”

Cannon pleaded not guilty to federal charges He accused Trump of illegally withholding national defense documents after leaving the White House. Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith appealed the decision.

A federal law requires judges to disqualify themselves from any case in which “their impartiality might reasonably be questioned.”

But Cannon rejected Routh’s accusation that he was “biased” because of his previous dealings with Trump. He also didn’t care that one of the prosecutors in the case attended high school and attended his wedding as an assistant U.S. attorney nine years ago.

“As the defendant acknowledges, I have no control over what citizens, members of the media, or public officials or candidates say about me or my judicial decisions,” Cannon wrote. “I’m also not interested in the political consequences of my decisions or how those decisions might be viewed by ‘some people in the media’.”