US: Judge Ellen Cannon will likely recuse herself from Ryan Routh gun case, former prosecutor says
US: According to a former prosecutor, Judge Aileen Cannon is probably going to step down from the Ryan Routh gun case.
Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, was charged by the Department of Justice with possessing a handgun while a felon and possessing a pistol with its serial number obliterated.
Further accusations are pending over Routh’s alleged attempt to shoot the former president on September 15 at a golf club in Palm Beach.
The nomination of Cannon to the Routh case, according to Ty Cobb, a former assistant U.S. attorney in Maryland and former Trump administration lawyer in the White House, is “a remarkable coincidence” and “you can’t make this up.”
Overseeing his case involving sensitive materials, Cannon—nominated by Trump—threw out all charges on the grounds that the special prosecutor was improperly constituted. Now the Routh case has been assigned to her at random. On Wednesday, Newsweek sent an email requesting response from Cannon’s office.
“I would assume that she may transfer the case or withdraw herself from it. If she doesn’t, the defense counsel will undoubtedly file. Citing her blatant prejudice, the defense will move to have the case transferred to a different judge, Cobb said.
Cobb said on CNN’s Erin Burnett OutFront on Tuesday that if Cannon declines to recuse herself, the defense would probably file an appeal.
He also said the defense will probably ask for a mandamus order, which is a legal remedy wherein a higher court orders a subordinate court to overturn a judgment it has made.
“It will be an interesting potential mandamus to try to get the 11th circuit [court of appeals] to remove her, and it’s certainly a very good appellate motion for the defense,” Cobb said to Burnett.
“I suspect she will not be the trial judge in that case, but in the times we are living in, it’s just one more crazy fact,” Cobb said.
On September 15, Routh did not fire a shot, but a Secret Service member saw a rifle protruding from Trump’s Florida golf course’s fence and opened fire. Police pulled over Routh’s automobile and subsequently placed him under arrest.
Former Manhattan prosecutor and MSNBC legal commentator Kristy Greenberg said on X, previously Twitter, on Tuesday that Cannon would handle Routh’s case considerably more skillfully than she handled Trump’s case involving secret information.
“Observe how Judge Cannon advances the Trump attempted assassination case by using fundamental case management techniques. It was never a lack of ability. Every time Trump tried to drag out the matter involving the confidential information, she deliberately fell for his hook,” Greenberg wrote.
Following his departure from the White House in January 2021, Trump was charged on 40 federal counts in Cannon’s court over his alleged handling of classified documents taken from his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida. In addition, he was charged with impeding federal agents’ attempts to recover them.
The Republican front-runner for president had entered a not guilty plea and said the investigation was a political witch hunt.
On Tuesday, Newsweek sent emails requesting comment from Cannon’s office and from Trump’s counsel.
Cannon pointed out that there is no constitutional support for designating Smith, a “private citizen,” as special counsel and leading the Department of Justice’s prosecution of all of Trump’s federal indictments when she dismissed the charges on July 15.
The former president demanded that the matter stay in the Florida legal system in a statement he posted on Monday, criticizing Routh’s federal prosecution.
Trump said in a letter that Routh’s allegations were a “slap on the wrist” with political motivation.
On Wednesday, Newsweek emailed the Trump campaign for response.
“The insane assassin’s accusations are nothing more than a slap on the wrist. Trump said in his statement, “It’s understandable given that the DOJ and FBI have been pursuing me relentlessly with weaponized lawfare ever since I declared my first historic campaign for the presidency.
