CNN legal analyst skewers Hillary Clinton’s comments on Jack Smith’s case against Trump: ‘Got her facts wrong’

CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig criticized former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday, claiming there was “nothing unusual” about former President Trump's treatment by the judicial system.

On Thursday, Mr. Honig wrote a column in New York Magazine that thoroughly criticized Special Counsel Jack Smith's “procedurally irregular” 165-page federal court filing regarding Mr. Trump's immunity from prosecution.

“The bigger headline, though not as obvious, is that Mr. Smith has essentially abandoned any pretense. He will bend any rules, do whatever he wants as long as he can chip away at Mr. Trump's electoral prospects. At this point, we are simply not defending Smith's actions on any principled or institutional basis,'' Honig wrote.

“Anyone who opposed James Comey's outrageous announcement about the Hillary Clinton email investigation on the eve of the 2016 election should feel the same way about Mr. Smith's actions now,” he added. He wrote, asking rhetorically what difference there was between these two incidents.

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But Clinton rejected the comparison, insisting there was “nothing unusual” in the case.

“I think the situation is very different. This is in the context of the ongoing criminal proceedings that the special counsel has brought against Donald Trump for months before the election,” Clinton said in an interview. . “Frankly, it was motivated by the order of the judge in this case, and it seems to me that the judge was very favorable to Trump, so I don't see anything unusual about it. ”

When asked for a response, a CNN legal analyst claimed that Clinton was “getting the facts wrong,” including the possibility that Justices Eileen Cannon and Tanya Chutkan were confused.

“Well, with all due respect to Secretary Clinton, I think she's the one who suffered the consequences of James Comey's outrageous conduct in 2016, which the Justice Department later said was outrageous. Okay, but the problem is with Secretary Clinton's analysis of the Jack Smith case.''With all due respect, her facts are wrong,'' Honig said.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks on a panel at the Vital Voices Global Festival on May 5, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Getty Images)

“First of all, she's confusing the justices here. I think she's thinking of Judge Cannon. Well, Judge Cannon is almost entirely in favor of Donald Trump. But that's a judge in a different case, Judge Chutkan, who has a similar name and has ruled almost entirely against Donald Trump. “I did,” he said.

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Mr. Honig went on to criticize Mr. Clinton, insisting there was “nothing unusual” about the incident.

“Moreover, the last thing we just heard from Secretary Clinton was — quote — 'There's nothing out of the ordinary.' “The way we flipped the procedure is the opposite of normal,” he said.

“They have reversed the way motions are actually filed. You can talk to 100 former federal prosecutors who have collectively handled 100,000 cases. They all filed motions in the first place. And I think it begs the question, what was that all about?'' In Judge Chutkan's words, why should Jack Smith require procedural irregularities? Wasn't there? ” Honig said. “Therefore, I respectfully disagree with the Director's opinion.”

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FOX News' Nicholas Lanum contributed to this report.