Bill Barr blasts DOJ for releasing letter of would-be Trump assassin
Former US Attorney General William Barr panned the Justice Department he once ran for publicly disclosing a chilling letter from the man who allegedly attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump earlier this month.
In a court filing Monday, prosecutors released the disturbing note they claim was authored by suspect Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, as proof of his intention to kill the 45th president.
“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 of former President Trump,” Barr told Fox News.
Prosecutors claimed to have acquired that note — addressed “To the World” — from an unnamed source who found it in a box they said was delivered to them by Routh prior to the shooting last week.
Routh had further offered a bounty of “$150,000 to whomever can complete the job.”
“The letter calls on people to ‘finish the job’ of killing President Trump, attempts to rouse people in incendiary terms to do so, and offers $150,000 to anyone who succeeds. There was no apparent justification for releasing this information at this stage,” Barr went on.
Some critics have noted how authorities had declined to release the Nashville shooter’s lengthy manifesto carried out by a suspect who allegedly identified as a transgender man that shot up Covenant School last year and killed six people, including three children.
Law enforcement officials have previously indicated that evidence suggests Routh didn’t actually fire off shots during the security scare at Trump International Golf Club West Palm Beach on Sept. 15.
Prosecutors have opted to charge him with possession of a firearm despite being a convicted felon and possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
Authorities had discovered a loaded SKS rifle with a scope in the sniper’s nest, along with two backpacks hanging on the fence and a GoPro camera as his apparent sniper’s nest not far from the 6th hole.
The letter was seemingly meant to be used as evidence of Routh’s intent to kill Trump.
“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 contended.
“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,” Barr continued. “It served no purpose other than to risk inciting further violence.”
Barr, 74, oversaw the DOJ under Trump’s first administration from 2019 through 2020 and under the George H. W. Bush administration between 1991 and 1993.
Famously, Barr had a bitter falling out with Trump during the efforts to overturn President Biden’s election victory. He had urged Republicans not to back Trump in the 2024 GOP primary.
From the sidelines, Barr has given mixed assessments of Trump’s standing in the various legal cases pending against him.
Prosecutors also released details in their proffer about evidence that suggests Routh traveled from Greensboro, NC, to West Palm Beach, Fla., on Aug. 14, just a month before the alleged attempt on Trump’s life.
A cellphone tied to Routh had been pegged in the area around the sniper’s nest for about 12 hours before a Secret Service agent chased him away, according to court documents.
Investigators also uncovered a book purportedly authored by Routh titled, “Ukraine’s Unwinnable War: The Fatal Flaw of Democracy, World Abandonment and the Global Citizen-Taiwan, Afghanistan, North Korea, WWIII and the End of Humanity.”
Routh could face additional charges in the coming weeks.
This is the second high-profile attempt on Trump’s life since July when shots were fired at a rally in Butler, Pa., grazing the ear of the 45th president, killing one rallygoer, and wounding at least two others.
Law enforcement managed to kill the suspected shooter Matthew Thomas Crooks, 20.
Trump on Monday lashed out at the federal investigators looking into the assassination attempts against him, voicing a lack of confidence.
“The Kamala Harris/Joe Biden Department of Justice and FBI are mishandling and downplaying the second assassination attempt on my life since July. The charges brought against the maniac assassin are a slap on the wrist,” Trump fumed in a statement Monday.
“If the DOJ and FBI cannot do their job honestly and without bias, and hold the aspiring assassin responsible to the full extent of the Law, Governor Ron DeSantis and the State of Florida have already agreed to take the lead on the investigation and prosecution.”