Federal Judge Aileen Cannon has been assigned to the case of Ryan Wesley Routh, who was apprehended by Secret Service agents after allegedly attempting to assassinate Donald Trump at his West Palm Beach golf course on September 15th. Prosecutors filed the charges on Tuesday, alleging that Routh “stalked” the former president in Florida for more than a month, according to cell phone data that placed Routh at the golf course, as well as Mar-a-Lago, as early as August 18th. All told, the indictment states that he faces charges of: attempted assassination of a Presidential candidate, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, assaulting a federal officer, felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
Earlier this year, Judge Cannon dismissed charges against Trump from DOJ-appointed special prosecutor Jack Smith alleging that he mishandled classified documents and had resisted the government’s attempts to retrieve them. Smith’s indictment revealed photos of boxes piled in openly in a Mar-a-Lago ballroom and bathroom containing sensitive information, including details about the US military’s nuclear program. Cannon had refused to step down from the case when she had been challenged about her impartiality.
CNN also uncovered audio from 2021 of the former president admitting that he had held on to “secret” information concerning military plans to attack Iran that he had not declassified. In the surreptitiously recorded conversation between Trump and two biographers of General Mark Milley at his Bedminster resort in New Jersey, Trump can be heard saying “this is secret information. Look, look at this” along with the sound of rustling papers. It is not known whether the document he appeared to be showing actually was the secret information he was apparently claiming it to be. Despite this, Cannon dismissed Smith’s case on technical grounds, stating that the White House had exceeded its authority in appointing a special prosecutor for this case, sidestepping the question of whether Trump’s handling of the documents was legal or not.
According to court documents, Aileen Cannon was randomly assigned the Routh case, as is standard practice. However, it remains to be seen whether she will stay on, given her previous work on a case involving Donald Trump. Ty Cobb, former assistant U.S. attorney in Maryland and White House lawyer under President Trump, called Cannon’s appointment a “remarkable coincidence,” and predicted that “the defense attorney certainly will file, if she does not, a motion to transfer the case to another judge, citing her palpable bias.”
Questions are also being raised regarding Cannon’s professional ethics. Just last week, it was revealed that Judge Cannon failed to disclose her attendance of a banquet at a conservative law school honoring the late Justice Antonin Scalia in May. A 2006 rule meant to shine a light on conflicts of interests requires judges to disclose such events within 30 days.
Judge Cannon has yet to comment on her appointment to Routh’s case.
