House Republicans have launched an investigation into the release of would-be Trump shooter Ryan Routh’s manifesto.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan wrote to Attorney General Merrick Garland, questioning why the Department of Justice publicly shared the manifesto.
“The Committee on the Judiciary continues to conduct oversight of political bias and politicization within the Department of Justice. During your tenure as Attorney General, the Department has generally refused to release details about so-called ‘manifestos’ written by the perpetrators of high-profile crimes,” the letter says. “Yet, earlier this week, in a public court filing, the Department released a letter in which the man who sought to assassinate President Donald J. Trump in Florida on September 15, 2024, offered a $150,000 bounty on President Trump.”
“This decision seems to contravene the Department’s stated policy that ‘public access to legacy tokens,’ more commonly known as manifestos, ‘will contribute to further attacks’ by ‘spark[ing] incredibly intense interest and study’ by potential copycat offenders and providing a blueprint for future attackers.”
Jordan explained that the decision to “broadcast the attempted assassin’s bounty on President Trump—at the same time that the Department is aggressively and unconstitutionally prosecuting President Trump—raises significant concern that the Department could cause additional harm to occur.”
The letter then requests all communication and documents relating to the release of the manifesto. Information must be provided to the Committee by October 9.
Routh wrote in the manifesto, “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.”
“Everyone across the globe from the youngest to the oldest know that Trump is unfit to be anything, much less a U.S. president,” the letter continued. “U.S. presidents must at bare minimum embody the moral fabric that is America and be kind, caring and selfless and always stand for humanity.”
The letter was contained in a box Routh gave to an unknown witness and was written months before the attempt on Trump’s life.
