Ryan Routh, the man accused of attempting to assassinate former President Donald Trump at his Florida golf course last month, wants the Trump-appointed judge handling his case off it.
In a Thursday court filing, Routh’s attorneys requested that U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon recuse herself from his case because she dismissed Trump’s classified documents case.
“Mr. Trump is currently the Republican candidate for President in next month’s election. On the campaign trail, he has repeatedly praised Your Honor for her rulings in this case,” the motion states. “As the alleged victim here, he has significant stake in the outcome of this case too. 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.”
Routh argues that the “unprecedented facts and circumstances” of Cannon’s appointment and her handling of special counsel Jack Smith’s case against Trump could “create an appearance of partiality in the mind of the public.”
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Smith had charged Trump with 40 counts of unlawfully retaining classified White House documents after leaving office and obstructing the government’s attempts to reclaim them.
However, Cannon dismissed the documents case in July after finding that Smith had been improperly appointed as special counsel. Smith is appealing her decision.
Routh’s attorneys cite federal recusal law in their motion and state the “remarkable coincidence” of Cannon being assigned to both cases might inspire conspiracy theories about the court.
“Given these very low odds, the public may suspect that Mr. Trump’s cases have somehow been deliberately steered to this Court. That perception would irreparably damage the integrity of this Court as an institution, not to mention the judicial process,” the attorneys wrote.
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“To be clear, there is no evidence that this case (or any other) was assigned in a non-random manner. But conspiracy theories have been based on less. Recusal would thus have the added benefit of preventing the public from harboring such a dangerous perception.”
The filing indicates that prosecutors are taking the defense motion under advisement.
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Routh allegedly stalked Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property and the former president’s golf course in West Palm Beach for weeks and may have been planning a getaway to Mexico, a judge and federal prosecutors have revealed.
Routh allegedly waited about 12 hours outside Trump International Golf Club with a rifle while Trump was golfing on Sept. 15. A Secret Service agent saw Routh pointing a rifle through a fence and fired at him. Routh fled and was arrested that day.
He has pleaded not guilty to five counts, including the attempted assassination of a presidential candidate and assault on a federal officer.
Routh had been previously charged federally with possessing a gun with a scratched-out number and with possessing a gun illegally as a felon. He was ordered by a federal judge last month to remain in custody.
Fox News Digital’s Mollie Markowitz and Fox News’ Jake Gibson contributed to this report.
