WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal judge presiding over criminal case of a man accused of attempting to assassinate former President Donald Trump refused Tuesday to recuse herself, saying the defense’s request that she do so was baseless.

Ryan Wesley Routh’s lawyers had urged U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon to step down, saying his handling of prosecutions related to Trump’s classified documents created at least an appearance of bias in favor of the former president and current Republican candidate. They cited the fact that she had been appointed to the bench by Trump and had been repeatedly praised by him for her decisions in the documents case, including its dismissal in July from the prosecution — a decision that is now being appealed by special counsel Jack Smith.

Cannon denied the recusal request, writing Tuesday that she has “no control over what private citizens, members of the media, public officials or candidates choose to say about me or my judicial decisions” and that she was not concerned about the political consequences of her decisions. .

“I have never spoken to or met with former President Trump except as required to attend an official legal proceeding through an attorney. I have no ‘connection to the alleged victim’ in any reasonable sense of the term,” Cannon wrote. “I uphold my oath to administer justice faithfully and impartially, in accordance with the Constitution and laws of this country.”

She also disputed defense claims that her recusal would eliminate any public perception that the attempted murder case was assigned to her non-randomly.

“This case, like the previously cited cases involving former President Trump, was randomly assigned to me via the Clerk’s Random Case Assignment System. Period,” Cannon wrote. “I will not be guided by highly inaccurate, ill-informed or speculative contrary opinions.”

Authorities say Routh monitored Trump for 12 hours at his Florida golf course in September and wrote about her desire to kill him. He was charged with attempted murder.

The potential shooting was thwarted when a member of Trump’s Secret Service spotted a partially masked man’s face and a rifle barrel protruding from the golf course fence in front of where Trump was playing. The officer fired in the direction of Routh, who fled and was arrested by law enforcement from a neighboring county.

Eric Tucker, Associated Press