House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan has criticized the Department of Justice's release of a shocking letter from Ryan Wesley Routh, the alleged assassin attempt on former President Donald Trump, warning that its release could inspire copycat attacks.
Rep. Jordan, 60, R-Ohio, sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, 71, on Wednesday expressing his concerns, noting that the Justice Department has resisted disclosing the manifesto in the past.
Prosecutors on Monday disclosed the damning memo in court documents offering a $150,000 bounty on Trump, 78, as part of a motion to have Routh, 58, detained in pretrial detention.
“The State Department's decision to publicly announce a bounty for an assassination attempt on President Trump at the same time that it is aggressively and unconstitutionally prosecuting President Trump raises serious concerns that the department may be causing further harm.” Jordan wrote:.
Prosecutors said Routh is accused of placing a note addressed “To the World” in a box at someone's home several weeks before he was arrested Sept. 15 at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach while possessing a loaded SKS-style rifle.
“This was an assassination attempt against Donald Trump and I have let you down,” the letter read. “I did my best and put all of the courage I had into it.”
In the memo, Ruth publicly pleaded with them to “finish the job” and offered a $150,000 reward.
Secret Service Acting Director Ron Rowe Jr. previously said Routh “did not fire any shots or any bullets at our agents.”
Secret Service agents found a gun through a fence near Routh's likely target position, off the sixth hole of the golf course, and fired at him. Routh then fled the scene, but was captured after a foot pursuit.
Prosecutors cited Routh's memo as evidence of an intent to assassinate the 45th president, but the revelation has drawn criticism, including from former US Attorney General William Barr, who said he was “stunned” by the move. Barr has argued that the memo should have been at least redacted.
“During your time as Attorney General, the Department of Justice has generally refused to make public details of so-called 'manifestos' written by perpetrators of high-profile crimes,” Jordan emphasized in his letter to Garland.
“This decision appears to run counter to Department of Defense policy, which has warned that a ‘public release to legacy tokens’, better known as a manifesto, could lead to further attacks by Spark.”[ing] “It has sparked 'incredible interest and research' by potential copycat actors and is providing a blueprint for future attackers,” he added.
The Buckeye State Republican is demanding that the Justice Department reveal all communications and documents related to its decision to release Routh's letter as a public document.
He gave the Justice Department a deadline of 5 p.m. on Oct. 9 to respond to his demands. The Washington Post has reached out to a Justice Department spokesman for comment.
Routh was originally charged with two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm as a felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
On Tuesday, a grand jury indicted him on charges of attempted political assassination, assaulting a federal officer and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
Judge Eileen Cannon, who was appointed by President Trump and presided over the 40-count Mar-a-Lago indictment until it was dismissed, will be presiding over Routh's case.
Garland vowed to “fully investigate every lead and do all we can to ensure accountability in this matter.”
“Our country has seen two assassination attempts on a former president in the last three months,” he said Wednesday.
