Man Charged in Attempted Trump Assassination Seeks Judge’s Recusal

Lawyers for Ryan Routh want Judge Aileen Cannon to remove herself from the case after a report that her name was among those who could be appointed to a top legal position if Donald Trump is elected.

Defense lawyers for the Hawaii man charged with trying to assassinate former President Donald J. Trump at his golf course in Florida renewed their efforts on Wednesday to get the Trump-appointed judge who is handling the case to step down, citing a recent news article saying she is under consideration for a top legal position if Mr. Trump wins the election.

Lawyers for the man, Ryan W. Routh, had initially asked the judge, Aileen M. Cannon, to step back from the case last week. They claimed then that there was “an appearance of partiality” on the part of Judge Cannon given that Mr. Trump has “repeatedly praised” her rulings in the separate criminal case in which he stands accused of illegally holding on to classified documents after he left office.

In a surprise decision in that case in July, Judge Cannon dismissed the charges against Mr. Trump in their entirety, ruling — against decades of legal precedent — that Jack Smith, the special counsel who filed the indictment, had been illegally appointed to his job.

In their latest filing, Mr. Routh’s lawyers suggested there was even more reason for Judge Cannon to remove herself from the assassination case because of an ABC News report on Tuesday. That report said the judge’s name had appeared on an internal Trump campaign document listing potential staffing choices for legal jobs in places like the Justice Department and the White House Counsel’s Office.

“In the mind of the public, that Mr. Trump appointed your honor may add to the appearance of partiality given that he has publicly praised your honor for rulings in his earlier case,” the lawyers told Judge Cannon. “And were Mr. Trump to become president again, he would have authority to elevate your honor to a federal appellate court (including the U.S. Supreme Court) or to high-ranking positions in the executive branch.”

Judge Cannon, who would have to remove herself from the case, did not respond to an email seeking comment.

Two people briefed on the matter said her name was on an unofficial list that had been compiled by some advisers to Mr. Trump who are not working on the transition team, with input from Boris Epshteyn, the former president’s top legal adviser.

In a statement, a transition official who was not identified by name said, “This false reporting does not represent the realities of the work being done to prepare for President Trump’s historic win and him building out the greatest administration in American history.”

Mr. Routh was arrested last month after Secret Service agents spotted him carrying a rifle in the brush along the fence line of Mr. Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach, Fla. Federal prosecutors later said they had obtained a letter he left in the possession of an associate saying he had mounted “an assassination attempt on Donald Trump,” but had failed.

“I gave it all the gumption I could muster,” the letter went on. “It is up to you now to finish the job.”

On Monday, prosecutors filed court papers opposing the effort to remove Judge Cannon from Mr. Routh’s case. They noted that there needed to be some proof of “abuse of discretion” and that a drastic decision like recusal could not be made solely “on the identity of the president who appointed” the judge.

Mr. Smith has appealed Judge Cannon’s ruling throwing out Mr. Trump’s classified documents case. It remains unclear if the judge might try to kill the case on different grounds should Mr. Smith win his appeal and the case is reinstated.

But even though his deputies repeatedly expressed exasperation with the judge and several of her decisions in that matter, they have not yet tried to remove her.

Two outside groups of lawyers, however, have filed motions to the appeals court in Atlanta that sits over Judge Cannon asking for it to reassign the classified documents case to a new judge.