So, in the latest twist of “Things That Shock Absolutely No One,” a judge appointed by former President Donald Trump decided—brace yourselves—not to step down from the case of a guy accused of trying to assassinate, yep, Donald Trump. Judge Aileen Cannon, who got her job thanks to Trump, basically hit the defense team with a solid “nope” when they asked for a new judge. Her reasoning? She saw “no proper basis for recusal.”
Let’s set the scene: Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, who allegedly had a whole sniper’s nest situation going on at Trump’s golf club, supposedly stalked him for weeks. The defense argued that since Cannon once handled Trump’s classified docs case, and because Trump could potentially re-elect himself back into the Oval Office, it might look a little, you know, cozy if she presided over this case.
Oh, and she went to high school and attended the wedding of one of the prosecutors, too. But Cannon’s response? Sorry, it’s not enough to make her give up this courtroom drama.
In her “I’ll stay, thanks” ruling, Cannon insisted she has zero personal connection with Trump, claiming she’s only ever seen him at official legal meetings—totally casual encounters, really. As for Trump praising her rulings? Not her problem. According to Cannon, she’s not exactly glued to Trump’s campaign antics or his opinions on her work. She dismissed their concerns that the case might not have been randomly assigned to her with a firm: Yes, it’s random. Period. End of story.
And about that old friendship with the prosecutor? Cannon waved that one off, too. According to her, their connection was so ancient it wouldn’t hold up in any courtroom worth its salt. The defense probably thought they’d had a real shot at getting the Judge to recuse herself, but Cannon’s response? Nice try—move along; it has “no bearing or influence whatsoever on my impartial handling of this case.”
