The man charged with trying to assassinate Donald Trump at his Florida golf course has asked the judge to recuse herself from the case.
Attorneys for Ryan Routh asked Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, to step aside to eliminate perceptions of bias.
Lawyers for Routh asked Cannon to step aside, arguing Trump's praise of her rulings could create doubts about her impartiality.
"By repeatedly and publicly praising this Court by name for its rulings in his case, Mr. Trump has arguably bolstered the perception that the Court is partial in his favor. Moreover, were Mr. Trump to become President again in the future, he would be in a position to nominate Your Honor to a vacancy on a higher appellate court, including the U.S. Supreme Court," the lawyers said.
"In the mind of the public, this prospect of a judicial promotion could arguably affect this Court’s ability to be impartial in this case, where Mr. Trump is the alleged victim and has an interest in the outcome," the motion said.
Cannon was appointed to the federal bench by Trump in 2020. She rose to prominence last year for her role in Trump's federal classified documents case.
Trump won a significant legal victory when Cannon dismissed his classified documents case in July. The judge ruled that Special Counsel Jack Smith was improperly appointed.
Cannon was randomly selected to oversee Routh's trial following his arrest in September for attempting to kill Trump at his West Palm Beach golf course.
A Secret Service agent noticed the barrel of Routh's rifle, and he fled the scene as agents fired their guns at him. The assassination attempt came only weeks after Trump was left bloodied by a sniper's bullet in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Routh spelled out his intention to kill Trump in a letter bashing Trump as "totally unfit" to be president.
“This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I failed you,” the letter read. “Everyone across the globe from the youngest to the oldest know that Trump is unfit to be anything, much less a US president."
Trump has blamed the assassination attempt on inflammatory rhetoric from his Democratic rival, Kamala Harris, and her allies.
Despite the threats against his life, Democrats have continued to paint Trump as a threat to democracy in the final days before the election.
