Did federal officers release too much?

This morning, eight days after the second assassination attempt on Donald Trump, federal authorities filed a document in his case. This was a “Written Factual Proffer in Support of Pretial Detention.” In short, the federal authorities ostensibly want Ryan Wesley Rouch to stay in jail before trial. But the evidence in that filing includes one piece that would not in itself advance the case for pretrial detention. It is a letter Routh wrote, months before he tried to kill Trump, setting a price on Trump’s head. Why did the government offer this out in the open, eight days after the event? Why, in fact, are they not offering evidence under seal? That filing is wrong on many levels, from tainting a prospective jury pool – to motivating others to “complete the mission.”

Federal case docket and documents now on file

The case is U.S. v. Ryan Wesley Routh, case no. 24-mj-8411-RMM, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Magistrate Judge Ryon M. McCabe presiding. CourtListener maintains this docket page, which now has fourteen entries. Three of them are available free-of-charge to the public:

1. Criminal Complaint, which apparently charges Routh only with firearms charges. He is a convicted felon and therefore may not possess a weapon of any kind. Furthermore, he or someone else filed off the weapon’s serial number. (The supporting affidavit identifies the weapon as an SKS 7.62×39 rifle, not an AK-47 as initially reported.)
2. Invocation of the Right to Remain Silent and the Right to Speak With and Retain Counsel. Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966)
3. Written Factual Proffer.

That “supporting affidavit” has already come into question because it contradicts statements by Sheriff Ric Bradshaw of Palm Beach County. The affiant, Secret Service Agent Mark Thomas, says he (or another agent) was walking the perimeter, saw the muzzle of that SKS poking through the fence, drew, and fired. But Sheriff Bradshaw says several agents, walking the golf course ahead of Trump, spotted the muzzle, drew, and fired. Either way, Routh dropped his gun and ran; sheriff’s deputies in Martin County picked him up 40 minutes later.

What was in the proffer?

The Written Proffer contains color photographs, beginning with a diagram of the golf course. It shows the numbered holes where Trump and another Secret Service agent were. This filing accords with Sheriff Bradshaw’s story. Trump was on the fifth hole, and the agent, at the sixth hole, saw Routh and his gun. He fired, took cover, reloaded, then came out again, only to see that Routh was gone.

Next the proffer holds a photograph of the sniper’s nest. It shows two ceramic bulletproof shields, a digital camera, and the gun. A close-up photograph of the gun’s left side shows where the serial number was “obliterated and unreadable.” A later photograph shows the gun, in right profile, with its scope attached, its banana clip removed, and some bullets. This document continues the identification of the weapon as an SKS, not a Kalashnikov. Unfortunately, reports in The Gateway Pundit and the New York Post repeat this error. So does Laura Loomer, who posted about the filing this morning:

Federal prosecutors filed another court filing in the case of Ryan Routh, who tried to assassinate President Trump on September 15th. They say Routh was “stalking” President Trump for an entire month before he brought an AK 47 outside of President Trump’s golf club in West Palm Beach, FL where Routh plotted to shoot and kill Trump. Prosecutors also revealed that investigators found, in a backpack and shopping bag linked to Routh, plates that “were capable of stopping small arms fire.” This means he came ready for a shootout and didn’t want to die. He was hoping to shoot Trump and then get away.

The distinction is more than academic, because the SKS is specifically designed for sniper use.

Last – and most unfortunate – the written proffer has a photograph of the first page of a handwritten letter by Routh. It is a manifesto and even an offer of a bounty. Laura Loomer also shared the photograph, which by then was part of the public record:

🚨🚨RYAN ROUTH PENNED LETTER BEFORE FAILED ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT OF PRESIDENT TRUMP🚨🚨 Why would the DOJ release Ryan Routh’s letter in which he offers a $150,000 bounty to whoever successfully assassinates President Trump? Seems like the DOJ wants to inspire other assassins. Notice Routh’s letter uses Kamala Harris’s talking point about how “Donald Trump is unfit to be anything, much less a US President.” He was radicalized by Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

Shortly thereafter, Loomer flatly accused the Department of Justice of putting a price on Trump’s head.

Text of the letter

Routh enclosed the letter in a box he left at someone’s home months ago. That witness said the box also “contained ammunition, a metal pipe, miscellaneous building materials, tools, four phones, and various letters.” The letter of interest, or at least its first page, reads:

Dear World,

This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I am so sorry I failed you. I tried my best and gave all the gumption I could muster. It is up to you now to finish the job. And I will offer $150,000 to whomever can complete the job. Everyone across the globe from the youngest to the oldest knows that Trump is unfit to be anything, much less US president. U.S. presidents must at bare minimum embody the moral fabric that is America and be kind, caring and selfless and always stand for humanity. Trump fails to understand any of…

The letter continues from there onto another page. According to the proffer, the letter goes on to state in part:

He [the former president] ended relations with Iran like a child and now the Middle East has unraveled.

Podcast hostess Breanna Morello posted her own take:

Ryan Routh failed to assassinate President Donald Trump. Routh is now offering a $150,000 bounty for whomever kills President Trump. The DOJ released the letter. Why would the DOJ publicly release this letter? I have an idea—they’re all in on it. They all want him dead.

Btw, the FBI won’t release the Nashville manifesto due to public safety concerns.

This is scarcely the most damaging evidence the federal government could have offered to suggest keeping Routh behind bars. Paragraph 14 of the proffer lists items the FBI recovered from the Nissan Xterra Routh was driving. These items includes:

• Six cellphones, one having results of a Google Maps search on how to reach Mexico from Palm Beach County,
• Twelve pairs of gloves,
• Two additional license plates,
• Routh’s Hawaii Driver’s License,
• Routh’s U.S. passport (which the FBI didn’t describe as to being valid or invalid),
• “A handwritten list of dates in August, September, and October 2024 and venues where the former President had appeared or was expected to be present,” and
• “A notebook with dozens of pages filled with names and phone numbers pertaining to Ukraine, discussions about how to join combat on behalf of Ukraine, and notes criticizing the governments of China and Russia.”

Still, that handwritten list cannot have held the date of Trump’s golf game at the Trump International Golf Course.

Analysis

In light of that treasure trove, why did the Assistant United States Attorney see fit to introduce that bounty offer? Was he trying to egg on another would-be assassin with the hint of a promise of a bounty?

Then again, where did Routh, living on a shoestring budget, get $150,000 to offer as a reward to anybody? For that matter, how could Routh afford to travel from Hawaii to the Mainland, then to reach the East Coast? Who bought that Nissan Xterra for him? Allegedly he has a wealthy fiancée. But who is she, and what’s her interest in all this?

Laura Loomer, Breanna Morello, and others have identified the central problem: why publicize a bounty someone placed on Trump? It couldn’t possibly make the difference between denying bail and letting Routh out on bail. Perhaps they could have filed that evidence under seal. But the record shows that they moved to seal the case, then to unseal it, on the same day.

Add to it that the Special Agent in Charge of the Miami Field Office of the FBI has a record of anti-Trump sentiment. So does Attorney General Merrick Garland, who recently gave a pep talk to DOJ staff, along anti-Trump lines.

Again, President Trump must create his own protection – the Great MAGA Unauthorized Security Service, for lack of a better name. The Secret Service is compromised, and the FBI and DOJ are hopelessly politicized. So Trump must protect himself.