Donald Trump was proven wrong about the investigation of his second apparent assassination attempt within hours of issuing a statement attacking investigators.
The former president on Monday accused Department of Justice and FBI of "mishandling and downplaying" the incident because the alleged gunman was initially hit with only a pair of firearm charges, which he called "a slap on the wrist," but former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance wrote on her Civil Discourse blog on Substack that Trump's complaints were overblown.
"The Justice Department has indicted Ryan Routh, who was arrested in proximity to Donald Trump’s Florida golf course while Trump was playing, with attempting to assassinate the former president," Vance wrote.
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The original charges were filed in a complaint, which is a quick process that doesn't require a grand jury, and the more serious charges were added after prosecutors presented their evidence to a grand jury.
"In other words," Vance wrote, "Donald Trump was completely wrong when he issued this statement following the incident."
The 58-year-old Routh had already been detained without bail after prosecutors presented evidence he was attempting to assassinate the Republican nominee at his Florida golf course, and he was indicted this week after they presented the same evidence to the grand jury.
"Given there severity of the charges against Routh and at least some prior criminal history, it’s likely that he will face a serious sentence," Vance wrote. "The note Routh left behind at a friend’s house, although dated months before this attempt, suggests his intent to kill Trump, which is the most difficult of the elements the government will have to prove to obtain a conviction."
