MIAMI 鈥� Florida鈥檚 Attorney General is asking a federal judge to stop the U.S. Justice Department from blocking the state from investigating and . Routh is charged with attempting to assassinate former President Donald Trump while he was golfing in September.
Deputies arrested Routh after fleeing from what the FBI says was a 鈥渟niper鈥檚 nest鈥� at Trump鈥檚 golf club in West Palm Beach. He鈥檚 , including attempting to assassinate a major Presidential candidate. Routh has .
Shortly after his arrest, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the state would . At a news conference, DeSantis questioned whether the Justice Department, which is prosecuting Trump in two criminal cases, can handle Routh鈥檚 prosecution fairly and transparently.
The federal government quickly blocked that move. Justice Department officials cited a law which gives the federal government superseding authority over state investigations in cases like this. In a letter to Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, U.S. Attorney for Florida鈥檚 Southern District Markenzy Lapointe said that the federal indictment of Routh on a charge of attempted assassination 鈥渞esolves any potential uncertainty鈥� about whether the federal law preempting the state鈥檚 authority applies.
That same law, Lapointe says, 鈥渄oes not preclude state prosecutions permissibly following the conclusion of the federal prosecution.鈥�
Moody has in federal court asking a judge to overrule the Justice Department鈥檚 action and allow the state鈥檚 investigation of Routh to go forward. She says forcing Florida to wait to begin its investigation until the federal government completes its prosecution makes the state鈥檚 case harder to prove at trial. 鈥淓vidence disappears, memories fade, and the State has no way to force the federal government to cooperate.鈥�
By blocking the state鈥檚 investigation and prosecution of Routh, she says the federal government is illegally taking authority from the state guaranteed under the Constitution鈥檚 10th amendment. 鈥淭he federal government鈥檚 attempt to thwart Florida鈥檚 investigation vastly overreads (the law),鈥� Moody says, 鈥渁nd any enforcement of it would constitute illegal executive action.鈥�
It's not clear when the federal judge will rule on the request.
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