CNN host Michael Smerconish enlightened his audience on Saturday after the Justice Department overwhelmingly approved putting Donald Trump on trial before the 2024 election. .
The Supreme Court last week agreed to hear Trump’s appeal from special counsel Jack Smith’s election interference case, arguing that presidential immunity protects him from criminal prosecution.
The ruling prompted weeping and gnashing of teeth among liberals, as the court had set oral arguments for the week of April 22nd. That means the judge is likely not to issue a ruling until the end of June. And with court proceedings suspended pending a verdict, Trump’s trial won’t begin until late summer at the earliest.
This schedule has major problems. Justice Department policy specifically prohibits election interference or political swaying, and rushing to try Mr. Trump could run afoul of that longstanding policy.
But CNN viewers apparently don’t care about the attention to fairness, or justice, that this policy is supposed to protect.
On Saturday, Smerkonish polled the audience on the following question: “Is it appropriate for the Justice Department to try Mr. Trump in the fall of 2024?” With about 40,000 votes, 88% of the audience answered He said he agreed that it was appropriate for the department to break with its longstanding policy of prosecuting Trump.
This result clearly shocked Smerconish.
“Oh, come on, come on, everyone! Everyone!” cried Smerconish.
“My regret is, please put the camera down for a second. It’s not a very biased question. It’s not a 90 out of 90. It’s like if the poll question today was ‘Why wouldn’t you?’ That makes me think, ‘Why not skip the trial and go straight to the sentencing stage? ‘That would probably attract 82% of today’s audience,’ he chided.
“No. That’s the wrong answer. At least by that margin,” he scolded.
Earlier in the show, Mr. Smerkonish spoke with legal expert Elie Honig to explain why he was troubled by Mr. Smith’s rush to bring Mr. Trump to justice. He said:
If you look at the actual judicial manual, it’s essentially the internal bible of the Department of Justice. We all have it printed out on our desks. There is a provision that says, “Prosecutors must never choose the timing of any action.” I’ll say it again,
any action — with the election in mind and the timing of the election in mind. ”And it’s hard for me to understand that Jack Smith is making a decision and asking for a trial and asking for everything to be expedited significantly. Because I don’t think anyone would dispute what motivates him, even if we don’t say it. Election day. So I think it violates the Department of Justice’s own internal manual.
Mr. Smerkonish enlightened the audience, quoting Mr. Honig’s explanation of why putting Mr. Trump on trial this fall is questionable.
“Ellie Honig made a great point: If Donald Trump’s federal indictment doesn’t come to a conclusion in time, it’s not Trump, his lawyers, or SCOTUS’ fault. Merrick Garland with the candy gag. It’s my fault,” Smerconish said.
“So President Trump is doing what any defendant in this case would do, and if Garland had been acquitted, time would be running out. That’s the bottom line.” he explained.
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