(Ken Silva, Headline USA) Alleged would-be Trump assassin Ryan Routh is allowed to have an American Airlines pilot named Michael McClay testify as an expert witness in is upcoming trial, Judge Aileen Cannon ruled Friday.
McClay was an instructor at a U.S. Marine Corps sniper school, a National Guard pilot, and a Palm Beach County Sheriff’s deputy before joining American Airlines.
Routh initially hired him to test-fire the SKS-style rifle that he allegedly used in his Trump assassination plot. When McClay did so in May, the rifle misfired. It was able to fire the first round—but would not feed the subsequent rounds into its chamber, according to McClay’s report.
McClay’s findings undermined an FBI lab report, which said the rifle “functioned normally” when tested last September. The defense previously noted that the FBI disassembled the rifle before they could examine it—with agents having removed the scope, which appears to have been fastened by electrical tape.
🚨NEW: Court filings confirm that alleged would-be Trump assassin Ryan Routh's rifle indeed MISFIRED when tested. The rifle worked for the first round, but didn't feed the next round into the chamber.
The rifle was tested by Routh's proposed expert witness: Michael McClay, a… https://t.co/ClIhj3aDrP pic.twitter.com/XzI7ZkuDOz— Ken Silva (@JD_Cashless) June 10, 2025
After McClay found that Routh’s rifle jammed, the DOJ moved to exclude him as an expert witness.
“What possible relevance could McClay’s testimony about his test-fire have other than to suggest improperly that Routh might not have been able to succeed in killing President Trump if he had required a second shot to do so?” the DOJ said in a June filing.
“We have now moved past the idea that the gun would not have fired at all – so we are well and truly beyond any good faith connection between the rifle’s operability and Routh’s intent,” the DOJ added.
“Testimony casting doubt on the ability of the rifle to fire multiple rounds has no relevance legally to our charges, which of course do not require any degree of firearm operability at all, or the firing of a gun. It is quite frankly hard to conceive how this testimony could aid Routh in any way.”
However, Judge Cannon disagreed with the DOJ in her Friday ruling. Cannon noted that the FBI is allowed to have its experts testify about Routh’s rifle and his so-called sniper perch—and so Routh should be able to do the same.
“McClay proposes to testify as an expert on matters that sufficiently align with the topics identified by the United States’ expert disclosures, albeit with some differences,” she said. “As of a result of that significant overlap, and mindful of the general principle of equal treatment in the context of expert witnesses, the Court is not in a position to declare that McClay’s proposed testimony is wholly irrelevant and warranting full exclusion.”
Routh’s trial is set to begin Sept. 8.
Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.
