Judge Cannon declines to recuse herself in Trump assassination attempt case

Judge Aileen Cannon on Tuesday rejected calls to recuse herself from the case concerning the second assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump, stating that praise from the former president is not enough to warrant the recusal.

Attorneys for Ryan Routh, the sole suspect in the second assassination plot, asked Cannon to recuse herself earlier this month, arguing that Cannon's reputation when it comes to Trump could create an appearance of partiality. 

Cannon was assigned the case randomly last month, but was appointed by Trump during his presidency, and he has praised her handling of his classified documents case, which she dismissed.

The judge on Tuesday issued a seven-page ruling on the request, saying that she does not have a relationship with Trump and that speculation that he could promote her to a higher court if he's elected to a second-term next week is not enough to prompt her to hand the case over to another judge.

“I have never spoken to or met former President Trump except in connection with his required presence at an official judicial proceeding, through counsel,” Cannon wrote. “I have no ‘relationship to the alleged victim’ in any reasonable sense of the phrase.”

She also pushed back on speculation that she could be tapped as Attorney General in a second Trump term, or be elevated to the Supreme Court, and dismissed the reports as "media rumors," according to Politico.

Cannon additionally rejected reports that she has a personal relationship with one of the nine prosecutors in the case, who she went to high school with and attended his wedding when the pair worked in the Justice Department.

“I maintain no ongoing personal relationship with the prosecutor, nor have I communicated with him in years,” she wrote. 

Routh is currently scheduled to be tried in the case on Nov. 18. 

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.