Two Indictments: A Would Be Assassin and a Mayor

The Justice Department has indicted Ryan Routh, who was arrested in proximity to Donald Trump’s Florida golf course while Trump was playing, with attempting to assassinate the former president. The indictment is here. Previously, Routh was detained by a complaint charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm and possessing a gun with an obliterated serial number. In addition to the attempted assassination charge, the indictment adds charges of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence and assaulting a federal officer.

The case was filed in the Southern District of Florida and it was was randomly assigned to Judge Aileen Cannon.

The indictment was expected. Prosecutors filed the original charges using a complaint, which is a quick process that doesn’t require a trip to the grand jury, in order to hold Routh in custody immediately after the event. Prosecutors have 14 days after a defendant’s initial appearance in court on a complaint to either attend a preliminary hearing with a judge to show they have probable cause for the charges or go to a grand jury and obtain an indictment. Prosecutors typically go to a grand jury in this situation, and that’s what they did here.

In other words, Donald Trump was completely wrong when he issued this statement following the incident:

Routh has already been detained until the trial is over. At the detention hearing, the government offered evidence that he was planning to assassinate Donald Trump at his Florida golf course when he was detected by the Secret Service. Routh had a bullet in the chamber of his firearm, which was equipped with a scope, and left behind letters apologizing for what he anticipated would be a failed assassination attempt.

The most significant of the charges in the indictment are brought under 18 USC 351, attempting to assassinate a presidential candidate of a major party. That statute provides that:

(a)Whoever kills any individual who is … a major Presidential or Vice Presidential candidate … during the pendency of such nomination, shall be punished as provided by sections 1111 and 1112 of this title.

(c)Whoever attempts to kill or kidnap any individual designated in subsection (a) of this section shall be punished by imprisonment for any term of years or for life.

Given there severity of the charges against Routh and at least some prior criminal history, it’s likely that he will face a serious sentence. The note Routh left behind at a friend’s house, although dated months before this attempt, suggests his intent to kill Trump, which is the most difficult of the elements the government will have to prove to obtain a conviction.

Also, a little late-breaking news tonight. Prosecutors in the Southern District of New York indicted New York City Mayor Eric Adams, making him the first sitting mayor of the city to be indicted while in office. The indictment is still sealed, so we don’t know what the charge or charges are.

The indictment was not unexpected. Investigators appeared to be interested in several people in Adams’ circle, and his electronic devices were seized back in November. The New York Times had reported earlier today, before the charges were revealed, that “This investigation, by federal prosecutors in Manhattan, appears to be focused in part on whether Mr. Adams’s 2021 mayoral campaign conspired with Turkey’s government to receive illegal foreign donations, and whether Mr. Adams pressured the Fire Department to approve a new high-rise Turkish consulate, despite safety concerns.” There was also reporting prosecutors were interested in interactions with China, Israel, Qatar, South Korea, and Uzbekistan.

It’s possible that this indictment will be modest in scope to give Adams the opportunity to consider a guilty plea. Public corruption cases like this often produce additional evidence after initial charges are brought, as witnesses develop more confidence in their ability to come forward and be taken seriously.

The Southern District of New York did not indict Individual No. 1, the co-defendant of convicted Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, but has indicted the city's Mayor, who took office in January of 2022. Trump constantly complains of a deep state engaged in a witch hunt against him, but that’s no more true than his baseless complaints that DOJ wasn’t taking the assassination attempt against him seriously.

Two new cases to add to our court-watching!

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Joyce