The U.S. Department of Justice was raked over the coals after the release of a letter by would-be Trump assassin Ryan Routh.
The Biden-Harris administration’s DOJ dropped the bombshell on Monday, releasing a letter reportedly penned by the 58-year-old prior to staking out a spot at Donald Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach where the former president was playing.
Almost immediately, there was an outcry about making the letter public as it contained an offer by Routh of $150,000 to anyone who could “finish the job.” Among those decrying the release of the missive was the eldest son of the former president, Donald Trump Jr.
“WTF!? Why is Kamala’s DOJ publicizing Ryan Wesley Routh putting a bounty on my dad’s head???'” the younger Trump posted to X on Monday.
His motives are unknown folks!!!! DOJ releasing this in a week but not the trans killer manifesto for months isn’t signaling anything.
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) September 23, 2024
In the letter, Routh addressed “the world” and said that he “failed” to successfully carry out the attempt on Trump’s life. The letter was part of a box of other letters delivered to the DOJ by a witness.
“This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I failed you. I tried my best and gave it all the gumption I could muster. It is up to you now to finish the job; and I will offer $150,000 to whomever can complete the job,” Routh reportedly wrote in the handwritten note.
Chilling letter from Trump assassination suspect released to public. Why? https://t.co/ojIzhdzPK3
— American Wire News (@americanwire_) September 23, 2024
There was also a book by Routh that was found by investigators in which he encouraged Iran to carry out an assassination of Trump.
“In the book, ROUTH stated that he ‘must take part of the blame for the [person] that we elected for our next president that ended up being brainless, but I am man enough to say that I misjudged and made a terrible mistake and Iran, I apologize. You are free to assassinate Trump as well as me for that error in judgment and the dismantling of the deal,” the DOJ noted.
While the DOJ claimed that publishing the letter would “assist counsel and the Court,” Trump Jr. vehemently disagreed.
“For the life of me, I do not understand why the Kamala-Biden DOJ is publicly releasing a letter from Ryan Wesley Routh announcing a $150,000 bounty on my dad’s head,” he told the Daily Wire. “They’re putting his life even more at risk with this reckless decision.”
Former Attorney General William Barr was among the many who were astonished at the release, saying he was “dumbfounded” by the decision.
“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,” he told Fox News Digital in a statement. “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.”
“DOJ had more than enough evidence to have Routh detained pending trial, without publicizing these details,” said Barr, who served in the Trump and George H. W. Bush administrations.
“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. 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,” he added.”It served no purpose other than to risk inciting further violence.”
