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USA TODAY

Judge Aileen Cannon keeps trial of Ryan Routh despite praise by Donald Trump

Bart Jansen, USA TODAY
2 min read

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon refused Tuesday to stop presiding over the charges against Ryan Routh, who is accused of the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.

Routh urged Cannon to switch the case to another judge because she was appointed by Trump and he has publicly praised her handling of his criminal charges for retaining classified documents after his term ended. But Cannon said she’s never met Trump other than when he appeared in her courtroom and that she would remain impartial in Routh's case.

“Defendant cites a series of factors which he believes, when viewed in their totality, create an appearance of partiality,” Cannon wrote in refusing to transfer the case. “None warrants recusal, whether examined individually or together.”

Aileen Cannon answers questions during her nomination hearing by the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, on July 29, 2020 in a still image from video.
Aileen Cannon answers questions during her nomination hearing by the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, on July 29, 2020 in a still image from video.

Routh faces charges of attempted assassination, possessing a firearm as a felon and possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number after authorities said he pointed an SKS rifle through a fence at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sept. 15. A Secret Service agent spotted the gun and shot at the suspect, chasing him off.

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Routh has pleaded not guilty.

Routh’s lawyers argued Cannon should hand the case to another judge because Trump praised her by name to applause during the Republican National Convention in July as “a highly respected federal judge.” On television, Trump has called Cannon a “very highly respected judge, a very smart judge, and a very strong judge” and said he was “very proud to have appointed her.”

Cannon dismissed federal charges that accused Trump of unlawfully retaining national defense documents after leaving the White House. Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith has appealed her decision.

A federal statute calls for judges to disqualify themselves from any cases where their "impartiality might be reasonably questioned."

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But Cannon dismissed Routh's accusation of the "appearance of partiality" because of her previous dealings with Trump. She also brushed off having attended high school with one of the prosecutors in the case and attending his wedding nine years ago as an assistant U.S. attorney.

"As Defendant acknowledges, I have no control over what private citizens, members of the media, or public officials or candidates elect to say about me or my judicial rulings," Cannon wrote. "Nor am I concerned about the political consequences of my rulings or how those rulings might be viewed by 'some in the media.'"

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Judge keeps trial of suspect charged with trying to kill Donald Trump

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