The Department of Justice on Tuesday filed the charge of attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate against Ryan Wesley Routh, the man who allegedly pointed a rifle through the bushes at Trump’s Florida golf course.
Coincidentally, Judge Aileen Cannon was randomly assigned to oversee the case.
Routh was originally charged with two gun-related offenses, including obliteration of a firearm’s serial number and possessing a firearm while a convicted felon. Those charges stand, as well as possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence and assaulting a federal officer.
The new indictment says Routh “stalked” Trump in Florida for more than a month, with cell phone data allegedly placing Routh at the golf course as well as Mar-a-Lago across several days between August 18 and the day Routh was arrested.
According to Ty Cobb, former prosecutor and White House counsel during the Trump administration, Judge Cannon will likely recuse herself from the case.
Cobb said that Cannon’s appointment to the Routh case is “a remarkable coincidence” and that “you can’t make this up.”
“I would suspect that she may recuse herself or have the case reassigned. The defense attorney will certainly file if she does not. The defense attorney will file a motion to transfer the case to another judge, citing her palpable bias,” Cobb said.
