It's hard to believe the second assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump was a mere two-and-a-half weeks ago — with the frenzied news cycle, it seems much longer than that. Nevertheless, the federal criminal case against would-be assassin Ryan Routh has proceeded quickly, in no small part thanks to the alert witness who followed him, photographed his license plate, and alerted law enforcement, facilitating his swift apprehension.
After the Department of Justice filed new charges against Routh, including Attempted Assassination of a Major Presidential Candidate in addition to several firearms charges, he was arraigned on September 30, at which time he pleaded not guilty.
On October 1, Judge Aileen Cannon entered a scheduling order on the case, setting it for a two-week trial beginning November 18, 2024.
However, the Government has now filed a motion asking the court to certify the case as "complex," cancel the deadlines set, and remove the case from the trial docket, arguing that it has already interviewed hundreds of witnesses, executed over a dozen search warrants, seized hundreds of items of evidence, including multiple electronic devices, and noting that there are thousands of videos to review. In short, the DOJ contends that a mid-November trial date is not feasible given the nature of the case.
Moreover, the DOJ's motion is unopposed by the defense. And, frankly, appears reasonably well-founded. Thus, the likelihood is that Judge Cannon will grant the motion and set a new conference for the parties to meet with the court and hammer out a trial schedule that is more in line with the nature of the case and the voluminous evidence involved.
We'll continue to monitor the case for further developments, but don't count on it going to trial in November.
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