A judge has released a letter penned by the man accused of attempting to assassinate Donald Trump in Florida last year, in which he makes the bizarre offer to be traded to Russia, China, Iran or North Korea in exchange for hostages being held overseas.
“I had wished for a prisoner swap with Hamas, Iran for a female protester, China for Jimmy Lai or one of the 40 others, or to freeze to death in Siberia in exchange for a Ukrainian soldier so that I could die being of some use and save all this court mess, but no one acts,” suspect Ryan Routh wrote in a letter addressed to U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon.
“Perhaps you have the power to trade me away,” he added. “What an easy diplomatic [victory] for Trump to give an American he hates to [a foreign adversary] as a gesture of peace in exchange for an unjustly held democratic prisoner — everyone wins.”
The letter, dated June 29, was made public on Friday, a day after Routh appeared in court for a hearing to determine whether he could fire his publicly financed lawyer. Routh confirmed his decision to represent himself during his trial in September, and revealed that plan in his letter to Cannon.
“It was ridiculous from the outset to consider a random stranger who knows nothing of who I am, to speak for me. That was foolish and ignorant, and I’m sorry — a childish mistake,” he wrote.
“I am so sorry, I know this makes your life harder,” he continued. “I had thought these attorneys really wanted this case towards preserving democracy and freedom, but no, perhaps I was not the man they had wished for, and now we are a million miles apart.”
During his court appearance on Thursday, Routh did say he would accept help from standby lawyers to assist him if necessary.
As of Saturday, Cannon had not made a final decision on the matter. As she considers the request, she told Routh’s lawyers to stick to their responsibilities, including responding to a government motion to exclude certain evidence.
Earlier in the week, prosecutors said that Routh had presented them with evidence he wants jurors to hear that isn’t at all pertinent to the case, even including Eagle Scout applications from 40 years ago.
“Routh has been very explicit in his desire to turn this trial into a circus where his supposed good character is weighed against the president’s,” prosecutors wrote in a July 8 motion requesting the “irrelevant” evidence be keep out of the trial.
Routh, who’s from Hawaii, is accused of spending weeks planning and preparing to kill the president as he golfed at Florida’s Trump International Golf Club on the afternoon of Sept. 15, less than two months before the election.
During a perimeter sweep of the West Palm Beach course, Secret Service agents spotted Routh crouched in brush near the sixth hole, and opened fire when they realized he was armed. He was toting a SKS-type 7.62×39 caliber rifle, which he did not manage to fire.
Routh was arrested despite his best efforts to flee the scene. He was later charged with attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate and assaulting a federal officer, in addition to a number of weapons offenses.
If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
With News Wire Services
