Tennessee political commentator and documentary filmmaker Robby Starbuck said Attorney General Merrick Garland should be “removed immediately” following the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) release of a hand-written letter by Ryan Routh, the man accused of attempting to assassinate former President Trump on September 15.
In the letter, which the DOJ publicly released on Monday, Routh confirmed his intent to assassinate the former president and offered a $150,000 bounty should someone prove successful.
Addressed to “The World,” the letter reads, “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.”
On Monday’s edition of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show, Starbuck said the DOJ is amplifying “essentially a bounty on President Trump’s life” through the public release of Routh’s letter.
“They’re willing to put this out with an active threat on Trump’s life. This guy’s alive. The shooter, to be very clear, is still alive, in custody, who has a home, has assets. Some crazy person could absolutely believe that this man will get them $150,000 if they go and kill the president,” Starbuck explained.
“This is lunacy. This is really an open naked threat. I don’t know how else to take it other than that the DOJ is putting out an active bounty on President Trump’s life,” Starbuck added. “I don’t know how you read them releasing this any other way than it being a threat to President Trump, and they’re doing this at a time where not only is it perilous because he’s had these two attempts on his life, but you know there’s active threats.”
Starbuck also pointed out how, despite the release of Routh’s letter, the DOJ continues to withhold the Covenant School shooter’s full manifesto nearly a year and a half after the March 27, 2023 shooting that left six dead.
“If you really think about this, these are the same people who refused to put out the Covenant manifesto. It’s the top layer down all the way to the state level, people who are making these decisions. They’re all the same ilk,” Starbuck added.
Earlier this year, The Tennessee Star exclusively reported how the FBI “strongly” advised Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) against the release of “legacy tokens” left by Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale, who was a biological woman but identified as a transgender man during the attack where she claimed the lives of six.
With that in mind, Starbuck said the so-called “protection of legacy tokens” is simply the DOJ protecting tokens that are “going to be politically harmful to the Democratic Party.”
“I try not to be surprised by things. I really do. I think I’m pretty aware of just how far these people are willing to go, but there’s certain lines you think they won’t cross. I have to say my jaw actually was on the floor this morning when I saw this was put out because it is a very clear message, in my opinion, to crazy people,” Starbuck said.
In regards to the DOJ’s decision making that went into releasing Routh’s letter, Starbuck said Attorney General Merrick Garland should be “removed immediately” whether he did or did not personally sign off on the letter being released to the public.
“This goes up to Merrick Garland. You think this went out without Merrick Garland knowing? That’s Kamala and Biden’s AG. He knew. He had to sign off on this. There’s no question he had to sign off on this. And if he didn’t sign off on it, that would be another reason to have him removed, because you clearly can’t keep control of your operation there at the DOJ if something like this can be released without your knowledge,” Starbuck said.
“So either way, I hold him totally culpable for this, and he should be removed immediately,” Starbuck added.
Watch the full interview:
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Merrick Garland” by Department of Justice.
