Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody is demanding the FBI and U.S. Department of Justice formally declare if they plan to cooperate with the state’s investigation of the second assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.
In a September 23 letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray and U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Markenzy Lapointe, Moody asks them to respond by Friday about whether they plan to invoke a federal provision that would federal officials to not cooperate with Florida’s investigation, including allowing the state access to evidence already collected by federal agencies.
The code in question is 18 U.S. Code § 351, and it relates to the assassination, kidnapping and assault of government officials. Paragraph f of that section states that if federal investigative or prosecutive jurisdiction is asserted for a violation of this section, such assertion shall suspend the exercise of jurisdiction by a state or local authority, under any applicable state or local law, until federal action is terminated.
“Given all the public scrutiny on the FBI, DOJ and the Secret Service, one would think that having Florida conduct its own investigation alongside federal agencies would mitigate public concern regarding the credibility and reliability of these institutions and would be welcomed by the federal government,” Moody wrote. “As we move forward, I expect that the State of Florida will be given access to evidence and witnesses with the level of cooperation that state and federal law enforcement consistently provide each other on matters of public safety.”
In the three-page letter, Moody mentions how the head of the Secret Service resigned in wake of the first assassination on Trump earlier this year and how “many questions are now being asked about that agency.” She also notes how the FBI and DOJ “are embroiled in two DOJ prosecutions” against Trump and that “many Americans believe these prosecutions to be politically motivated” as well as Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey Veltri, who has been vocally anti-Trump in the past, investigating this second attempt.
“To be clear, I believe it would be a grave mistake for the federal government to invoke this provision (which is 18 U.S.C. 351(f)), and I urge you to cooperate with the state’s investigation rather than seek to frustrate it,” Moody wrote. “In the meantime, however, we must advise our agents in the field and consider any available legal course of action we may wish to take going forward.
“I therefore request that you clarify whether the federal government is invoking (the federal code in question) and, if it is, that it do so consistent with the analysis above. I also ask, to the extent you do invoke this provision, that you provide clarity regarding what you believe this provision prohibits and how you believe the federal government would enforce it.”
During a September 20 appearance on Fox News at Night,” Moody noted both she and Gov. Ron DeSantis were “federal prosecutors in our prior lives.”
“We have dual sovereignty with the federal government,” she said, adding that dual track investigations are “very common.”
“And you would think that the federal agencies that are prosecuting Donald Trump right now and investigating him would want to mitigate public concern and have the state of Florida come in and work alongside them to assure the credibility and transparency of this process,” Moody said on the show. “It’s fundamental that people have faith in the system and we’re here to do that. …
“And the real question is after that happened two months ago: How in the world was it able to get to a point where someone could lie in, wait along the president’s expected presidential route, get within a few hundred yards, a short distance from a major presidential candidate?”
Last week, DeSantis assigned Moody’s office to investigate the incident, saying he doesn’t trust federal law enforcement to be able to conduct a fair investigation into the September 15 incident at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach.
Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, was charged with two federal firearms offenses that include sentences of up to 20 years in prison. Neither charge is directly related to the attempted assassination. Federal authorities say they spotted Routh at the golf club in a bush and aiming a semi-automatic rifle toward Trump. But no shots were taken.
The first charge – felony possession of a firearm – carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison. The second – possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number – is punishable by up to five years. Both charges carry a maximum three-year period of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.