(WGHP) — The judge presiding over the case of Ryan Wesley Routh, the man accused of staking out former President Donald Trump's Florida golf course with a gun, will not step aside after the suspect raised concerns about her impartiality. Ryan Routh faces up to life in prison for allegedly attempting to assassinate Trump. Trump was golfing at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach when Ryan Routh was reportedly caught staking out the course with an automatic weapon. He now faces up to life in prison.  Ryan Routh's legal team filed a motion Thursday to have Judge Aileen Cannon recuse herself from presiding over his case, citing potential conflicts of interest and the potential for "partiality" due to her appointment by Trump in May of 2020. Donald Trump to hold Greensboro rally on Saturday In the initial motion, Ryan Routh's legal team does not directly accuse Cannon of being partial. Instead, they argue that the intense media attention on the case only heightens the need to maintain an impartial appearance. "This motion presumes that this Court would preside over this case impartially," Ryan Routh's team said. "However, given the heightened stakes and the public scrutiny, there should not be any doubts about even the appearance of impartiality of the presiding judge." Cannon denied the request, writing, "Upon a full review of the Motion, the specific factual circumstances presented, and the applicable law, I see no valid basis for recusal." Nominated by Trump Cannon's position as a U.S. district judge is, in part, thanks to the former president. In 2020, Trump nominated Cannon, who had served as a federal prosecutor since 2013, for the position. The U.S. Senate confirmed her appointment that November. Cannon said that the fact of a judge having been appointed by a litigant or alleged victim would not make "reasonable minds" assume that a judge's integrity, impartiality or competence would be "impaired." "This principle does not change because of the 'unprecedented nature of this scenario,' as Defendant notes, or because a judge’s rulings 'are likely to face intense public scrutiny,'" Cannon said. NC Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson speaks at ‘controversial far-right’ conference alongside Roger Stone, Michael Flynn The court cases Cannon has twice before presided over Trump's legal battles. Both cases involved the former president's handling of classified documents. In Aug. 2022, Trump filed a lawsuit against the U.S., calling for the court to appoint a special master to review the classified documents for attorney-client or executive privilege. Cannon ordered the Department of Justice's investigators to stop reviewing the documents and appointed a special master. An appeals court later restored the DOJ's access to the documents and ended the special master review. In the summer of 2023, Trump was indicted on 40 felony charges in connection with the classified documents case. Cannon presided and granted a motion from Trump's team to dismiss the case on the grounds that the special counsel was improperly appointed without a nomination from the president or confirmation by the Senate. Prosecutors criticized the ruling, arguing that precedent allows for the appointment of special prosecutors, including a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court in former Pres. Richard Nixon's Watergate case. Ryan Routh's legal team argued that Cannon issued “some rulings that were favorable” to Trump, yet also acknowledged that a judge’s rulings in “the same or a related case” are not typically used as the basis for recusal. "To the extent this case can even be said to qualify as a 'same or related' case as compared to the cited cases involving former President Trump—a strained assumption to begin with—the Motion presents no facts or law warranting a departure from the general rule of no recusal, much less the 'pervasive bias and prejudice' necessary to trigger the exception to the general rule," Cannon said. Trump's praise of Cannon Trump has praised Cannon on the campaign trail. The motion to dismiss quotes Trump as saying Cannon is "very smart and very strong and loves our country. We need judges that love our country so they do the right thing." "By repeatedly and publicly praising this Court by name for its rulings in his case, Mr. Trump has arguably bolstered the perception that the Court is partial in his favor," the motion to dismiss says. Cannon highlights, as did Ryan Routh's team in their motion, that she has "no control over what private citizens, members of the media, or public officials or candidates elect to say about me or my judicial rulings." She adds, "Nor am I concerned about the political consequences of my rulings or how those rulings might be viewed by 'some in the media.'" While the former president was obligated to be present at an official judicial proceeding, she says she has "never spoken to or met" Trump. Potential promotion If Trump is re-elected, Ryan Routh's legal team suggested that Cannon could theoretically receive a federal appointment. "Were Mr. Trump to become President again in the future, he would be in a position to nominate Your Honor to a vacancy on a higher appellate court, including the U.S. Supreme Court," Ryan Routh's legal team argues. "In the mind of the public, this prospect of a judicial promotion could arguably affect this Court’s ability to be impartial in this case, where Mr. Trump is the alleged victim and has an interest in the outcome." The judge dismissed the argument, citing prior cases that established precedent for judges to preside despite “highly tenuous speculation” or “rumors” and “innuendos” in publicized cases. ‘Obviously vulnerable to manipulation’: NC Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson’s argument against CNN centers on porn website’s outdated software Random assignment Additionally, the motion raises questions regarding how cases are assigned within the court. "The media previously reported that the 'odds' of this Court receiving either the civil lawsuit by Mr. Trump or the criminal case against Mr. Trump 'were low,' prompting questions about the randomness of the case assignments," the motion to dismiss states. "This is the now third case involving Mr. Trump that has been assigned to this Court, which has already been described as a 'remarkable coincidence.' "Given these very low odds, the public may suspect that Mr. Trump’s cases have somehow been deliberately steered to this Court. That perception would irreparably damage the integrity of this Court as an institution, not to mention the judicial process. To be clear, there is no evidence that this case (or any other) was assigned in a non-random manner. But conspiracy theories have been based on less. Recusal would thus have the added benefit of preventing the public from harboring such a dangerous perception." Cannon strongly rebuked this claim. "This case, like the prior cited cases involving former President Trump, were randomly assignedto me through the Clerk’s random case assignment system. Period," Cannon said. "I will not be guided by highly inaccurate, uninformed, or speculative opinions to the contrary." Background On Sunday, Sept. 15, the former president was playing golf at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach when the Secret Service located a man staking out the golf course and opened fire. The suspect, Ryan Routh, was arrested about 45 minutes later. Ryan Routh was taken into custody miles away from the golf course where investigators found a backpack, the gun he was allegedly using and a GoPro camera. He was initially charged with possession of a firearm by a felon and possession of a firearm with a destroyed serial number. Following that, he was indicted by a grand jury for additional charges, including attempted assassination. He remains in custody. Having lived most of his life in Greensboro, Ryan Routh was known to the community and to law enforcement in the area before moving to Hawaii around 2018 with his younger son. An older son of Ryan Routh, Oran Routh, was arrested in September on federal charges of possessing child sexual abuse images after authorities searched his Greensboro home “in connection with an investigation unrelated to child exploitation,” an FBI official said in court papers. A friend of Ryan Routh's was in possession of a box that contained a note that detailed the suspect's desire to kill Trump, investigators say. "Dear world, this was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I am so sorry I failed you. I tried my best and gave it all the gumption I could muster," the alleged letter reads. A woman who knew Ryan Routh during the time he spent in Ukraine described him as a "ticking time bomb" to authorities long before the assassination attempt, telling the Associated Press, "Ryan was the kind of guy who would blow up a building on Tuesday just because he felt like it."