Former Attorney General Bill Barr revealed he is “dumbfounded” that the Department of Justice (DOJ) would release a letter from Ryan Wesley Routh, the suspected assassin who attempted to kill former President Donald Trump.
Barr explained in a statement to Fox News the decision to release the contents of a letter the DOJ says it received through a witness was a “rash” one in light of the two assassination attempts on Trump.
Ryan Wesley Routh, right, takes part in a rally in central Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
On Monday, the DOJ released a letter that a witness claims to have gotten in a box several months ago. In the letter, allegedly penned by Routh, the assassination suspect apologized for failing to succeed in the assassination attempt on Trump, and allegedly offered $150,000 to anyone who was able to successfully carry out the job.
“I was dumbfounded that the DOJ made public this morning the contents of the letter that, Ryan Routh, left with an acquaintance prior to the attempted assassination attempt of former President Trump,” Barr said in his statement.
Barr added that releasing the letter “served no purpose other than to risk inciting further violence,” and pointed out that the DOJ could have “redacted inflammatory material” in the letter.
In this image taken from police body camera video and released by the Martin County, Florida, Sheriff’s Office, law enforcement officers arrest Ryan Routh, the man suspected in the apparent assassination attempt of Donald Trump on September 15, 2024. (Martin County Sheriff’s Office via AP)
“Even if DOJ thought it important to provide the letter to the court, it could have redacted inflammatory material or arranged to have the letter submitted under seal,” Barr added. “It was rash to put out this letter in the midst of an election during which two attempts on the life of President Trump had been made.”
Routh was arrested and charged with possessing a firearm as a convicted felon and possessing a firearm that had an obliterated serial number after he had been hiding in the bushes near Trump International Golf Course, where Trump had been playing golf on September 15.
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After the Secret Service spotted the barrel of a rifle, they opened fire. Routh allegedly fled and was apprehended later.
The assassination attempt on Trump comes after Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire from the rooftop of a building where he had a direct line of sight of Trump during his rally on July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania. Trump ended up being shot by a “bullet that pierced the upper part” of his right ear.