CNN Legal Analyst Elie Honig recently asserted that Special Counsel Jack Smith may be in breach of protocol by rushing Donald Trump’s criminal trial.
Honig declared on Saturday that any impartial observer would likely agree Smith is motivated to secure a conviction before the upcoming election, thereby indicating political motivations.
“The motivating principle behind every procedural request he’s made has been speed, has been getting this trial in before the election,” Honig said.
The former federal prosecutor provided evidence to back his accusation, noting that the typical timeline for a federal conspiracy and fraud trial is approximately eighteen months to two years between indictment and trial.
Smith, however, sought to compress this period into five months by requesting a January trial date.
Honig asserted that the special counsel’s decision to petition the Supreme Court demonstrated their haste in bringing justice, which could adversely affect its outcome.
“First of all, if Jack Smith is trying to get this case tried before the election, and he is— look that is political,” Honig explained.
Honig said the counter-argument — giving voters a resolution before Election Day — resonates with him, but it does not negate the political stench with which Smith’s petition reeks.
“Here’s the problem with that argument,” he explained, “Jack Smith doesn’t just want to get this trial done and let the chips fall where they may and let the consequences be what they can be. He’s the prosecutor. He believes this case. He wants this case to result in conviction. And so, his position isn’t just, ‘Well, I want this case tried before the election.’ His position really as a practical matter is, ‘I want Donald Trump convicted before the election.'”
“I have no problem with the first part of that it’s his job to want and try to convict Donald Trump now that he’s indicted. But the second part of that before the election, that’s where it crosses the line to the political in my view,” Honig said.
Last week, Smith petitioned the Supreme Court to review the legal defense Trump is employing in Smith’s election interference case.
Trump’s attorneys have posited that he is immune from criminal prosecution due to presidential immunity for the alleged crimes committed while in office, and they have further argued that double jeopardy prevents him from being criminally prosecuted as he was already tried by the Senate after impeachment.
District Judge Tanya Chutkan disagreed with these arguments and ruled that Trump is not exempt from prosecution. Subsequently, Trump’s lawyers appealed this decision which suspended court proceedings.
To circumvent potential delays stemming from this appeal, Smith has submitted a petition to the Supreme Court seeking reviews of the legal defense employed by Trump.
The trial is set to begin on March 4th, one day before Super Tuesday.
ICYMI: New Photo of Bill Gates With Victim of Jeffrey Epstein Emerges
