Judge Cannon Assigned to Oversee Trump Attempted Assassination Case

(Left) U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon. (Right) Former President Donald Trump. Timothy A. Clary/Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

Florida Judge Aileen Cannon, who dismissed the classified documents case against former President Donald Trump, is set to oversee the Justice Department’s prosecution of Ryan Routh, the man accused of planning the attempted assassination of the former president.

Court documents show that the Sept. 24 indictment from the Department of Justice (DOJ) lists Cannon along with Magistrate Judge Ryon McCabe in the Southern District of Florida, the jurisdiction for both Mar-a-Lago and Trump’s Palm Beach golf club where Routh was identified.

Cannon was randomly assigned to the case.

Her involvement will likely draw further attention to an already high-profile case as the Trump-appointed judge has become a lightning rod for media criticism in his ongoing legal battles.

While some praised her decision to dismiss the classified documents case, others criticized it and the pace with which she conducted the pretrial process.

Cannon’s dismissal of the Mar-a-Lago documents case was based on her conclusion that special counsel Jack Smith was unconstitutionally appointed.

The argument is expected to come up in Trump’s federal election interference case in Washington and in an appeal by Smith in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit.

Routh, 58, has been charged with attempted assassination, along with other counts such as assaulting a Secret Service agent.

He faces potential life imprisonment, the DOJ said in a statement.

Court documents state that Routh had dropped off a box at a civilian’s residence several months ago, inside of which was a letter with the message, “This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I am so sorry I failed you.”

In an order of detention pending trial, McCabe said the “weight of the evidence against the defendant is strong.”

Routh, the order said, “has a lengthy criminal history with over a hundred arrests, including convictions for multiple weapons charges and a conviction for possession of a weapon of mass destruction.”

Trump has cast doubt on the DOJ’s ability to prosecute Routh, suggesting a conflict of interest with other cases in which it is prosecuting Trump.

“If the DOJ and FBI cannot do their job honestly and without bias, and hold the aspiring assassin responsible to the full extent of the law, Governor Ron DeSantis and the State of Florida have already agreed to take the lead on the investigation and prosecution,” Trump wrote in a statement on Sept. 23.

DeSantis has said that state law enforcement is investigating the attempted assassination, and Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody has urged cooperation from the FBI and DOJ.

In a Sept. 23 letter to the FBI and Markenzy Lapointe, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Moody expressed concern that both entities had raised the prospect of asserting federal jurisdiction to quash state efforts in investigating the assassination attempt.

Attorney General Merrick Garland was asked about Trump’s comments during an unrelated press conference announcing the DOJ’s antitrust lawsuit against Visa on Sept. 24.

Garland didn’t directly respond to Trump’s criticisms but said the DOJ was working toward accountability.

“As I said immediately after the event, the Justice Department would spare no resource to ensure accountability in this matter,” Garland said. “Since then, our prosecutors and agents ... have been working around the clock to discover the necessary evidence and to ensure accountability.

When asked about Florida law enforcement, he said, “We always seek to cooperate and to get assistance from state and local law enforcement to the extent consistent with the law and appropriate with respect to the investigations.”