Garland Defends Releasing Letter From Suspect in Trump Assassination Attempt

Ryan Routh speaks to reporters, in a screengrab from video.AFPTV/AFP via Getty Images

Attorney General Merrick Garland defended Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecutors’ decision to release a letter allegedly penned by Ryan Routh, the suspect charged with attempting to assassinate former President Donald Trump, following criticism over its release because it included the promise of a bounty to anyone who succeeds in killing Trump.

Garland was asked by a reporter during a Sept. 27 press conference to respond to criticism over the DOJ’s release of the letter, with the reporter citing remarks from House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who said that releasing the Routh letter on the criminal docket put Trump in more danger.

Jordan had requested that the DOJ provide the committee with all records relating to the release of the suspect’s letter by Oct. 9, while former Attorney General Bill Barr said earlier this week that the letter should never have been released as it served “no purpose other than to risk inciting further violence.”

In his response to the question, Garland defended the prosecutors’ actions, calling the decision “reasonable” and consistent with the department’s goal of securing Routh’s detention.

“Our first job with respect to Routh was ensuring that he be detained,” Garland said. “And when you file a detention motion, the prosecutors have to make the most reasonable judgment they can about what evidence is necessary to ensure detention. That’s their goal.”

The letter allegedly written by Routh had been left with an individual months before the alleged assassination attempt, with the person who had it deciding to hand it over to law enforcement after learning Routh was the suspect. The DOJ submitted the letter in a bid to keep Routh detained before his trial on two federal weapons violations, with the charges later expanded to include attempted assassination.

The letter, which was addressed “to the world,” said that the effort was “an assassination attempt on Donald Trump” and offered a $150,000 bounty to someone who could “complete the job.”

Officials have said that the alleged assassination attempt was thwarted by a U.S. Secret Service agent who saw the suspect’s rifle in the bushes near Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach while he was golfing. The agent then fired in the suspect’s direction, forcing him to flee, authorities have said.

While the letter was meant to bolster the DOJ’s contention that the 58-year-old suspect had engaged in a premeditated plan to assassinate Trump, critics have contended that its release was irresponsible because it contained the offer of a bounty, which they said could put the former president in more danger.

Barr, who was the U.S. attorney general under then-President Trump until he resigned in late 2020, told Fox News on Sept. 23 that in his view, the DOJ should not have released the letter because of the bounty.

“The letter ... attempts to rouse people in incendiary terms” to take action against Trump, Barr said. “There was no apparent justification for releasing this information at this stage. It served no purpose other than to risk inciting further violence.”

In addition to the attempted assassination charge, Routh faces charges of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, assaulting a federal officer, possession of a firearm and ammunition as a felon, and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number, according to the DOJ.

If convicted, Routh could face life imprisonment.