Attorney-General promises exhaustive probe of apparent Trump assassination attempt

The US Attorney-General’s vow of an exhaustive probe suggests there could be more serious charges than the two initial firearms violations filed against would-be assassin Ryan Routh.

US Attorney-General Merrick Garland said Tuesday (local time) the Justice Department would “spare no resource” in investigating Sunday’s apparent assassination attempt on Donald Trump in Florida, with national-security prosecutors heavily involved in the criminal inquiry.

Garland’s remarks suggest the Justice Department could pursue more serious charges than the two initial firearms violations the 58-year-old suspect, Ryan Wesley Routh, is facing following his arrest Sunday in South Florida.

Additional charges could present challenges for prosecutors since law-enforcement officials have said Routh never fired a shot or had Trump in his line of sight before a Secret Service agent spotted his rifle poking through the golf course fence and opened fire, sending him fleeing.

Law-enforcement officials on Tuesday were still trying to determine how Routh was able to obtain the SKS-style rifle that was found in bushes where he had been hiding near Trump’s golf course. The rifle’s serial number was obliterated, according to a criminal complaint, making it more difficult to trace. Phone records indicated that Routh was lingering in the area for nearly 12 hours before a Secret Service agent spotted him while surveying the course ahead of Trump.

Ryan Wesley Routh speaks at a rally in Kyiv in 2022. Picture: AFP.

The FBI was also still awaiting information from several companies it contacted about Routh’s cellphones and social-media accounts, an official said. Investigators were poring over his significant online footprint, which included public posts indicating a fixation with Ukraine and that he had voted for Trump in 2016 before becoming a vocal critic, particularly over Trump’s decision as president to withdraw the U.S. from the Iran nuclear deal.

The FBI is hoping the inquiries will shed light on Routh’s motives as well as his movements in the hours and days before the incident. So far, investigators have gleaned little from Routh, who invoked his right to a lawyer during questioning.

In an initial court appearance Monday, Routh said he had “zero funds” and was assigned a public defender. When asked if he has any dependants, Routh mentioned his 25-year-old son.

“He has a job, but just occasional support. Not every day, no,” Routh told Magistrate Judge Ryon McCabe.

At a press conference later Monday, a top FBI agent said the bureau was co-ordinating with the Secret Service to conduct numerous interviews of agents on the scene. In Charlotte, N.C., and Honolulu, investigators had begun questioning several family members, friends and former colleagues of Routh’s.

The FBI is investigating Sunday’s apparent assassination attempt while it continues to examine the July 13 shooting at Trump’s campaign rally in Butler, Pa., where a 20-year-old gunman was fatally shot by a Secret Service sniper after opening fire on the former president.

The events underscore what law enforcement officials have described as a heightened, unprecedented threat environment – one that might affect Trump’s day-to-day routine. During a meeting with the former president Monday, the Secret Service’s acting director, Ronald Rowe, told Trump that more planning and security would be needed for him to continue going on golf outings, according to people familiar with the discussion.

Ryan Routh appears in federal court where he was charged with two gun-related crimes in West Palm Beach, Florida. Picture: Reuters.

In a press conference Monday, Rowe stressed that Trump’s outing had been unplanned, saying “the president wasn’t even really supposed to go there.” Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance, called Tuesday for the Secret Service to give the former president the same protection it provides President Biden.

“Donald Trump ought to have the same detail as Joe Biden,” Vance said at a campaign rally in Michigan, adding that it “makes no sense” for him to receive a lesser level of protection because of his status as a former president.

“It clearly doesn’t meet the challenge of what Donald J. Trump is dealing with,” he said.

Eight Republican senators echoed that call in a letter Tuesday to Rowe, saying the Republican nominee’s detail needed more staffing to allow agents to secure a broader perimeter around the former president.

“Put simply,” the senators wrote, “President Trump does not have the Secret Service protective detail commensurate with the existing threat environment.” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) and other top Democrats said they were open to passing a one-time cash infusion for the Secret Service that would enable the agency to keep up with demand for protective services through the election season.

Sen. Chris Murphy (D., Conn.), who leads the committee that funds the Department of Homeland Security, said he has been discussing with Secret Service officials a proposal to give the agency an amount of hundreds of millions of dollars, including for overtime and new technology. He said that proposal is still in the works.

“Everybody’s trying to do the right thing and make sure that Secret Service has everything they need,” he said.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.) has proposed extending current government spending levels beyond their current Sept. 30 expiration date in a bill that would give Secret Service officials the flexibility to shift money around as needed to keep up with demand for protective services.

White House officials had called for that spending flexibility in a letter last month, saying the agency wouldn’t have enough money to provide proper protection during the final stages of the presidential race if politicians keep the agency’s funding at its current level while they finalise spending bills for the next fiscal year.

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