Elie Honig Critiques Jack Smith for Claiming the 2024 Election Didn’t Affect His Decision to Prosecute Trump

Legal Analyst Questions Special Counsel’s Motives in Trump Case

On Wednesday, CNN’s senior legal analyst Ellie Honig criticized former special counsel Jack Smith for asserting that the upcoming 2024 presidential election didn’t influence his decision to pursue charges against President Donald Trump.

In a conversation with former prosecutor Andrew Wiseman, Smith dismissed the notion that politics played a role in the two charges brought against Trump, branding it as “ridiculous.” However, Honig contended on CNN News Central that while Smith may not be overtly partisan, it’s “undeniable” that he seemed to expedite the case with the 2024 election looming.

“Jack Smith isn’t really a partisan figure in the traditional sense, and he isn’t likely to let party affiliations dictate his approach. But as Abbe [Lowell] puts it, he does have some partisan inclinations,” Honig stated. “I argue in my book that this perspective led him to stretch the usual rules and procedures to rush the case forward, aiming for a trial before the 2024 election.” She suggested that the record is clear on this point. “It’s up to the public to interpret whether it’s political to push for a trial right before an election. Smith claims his intentions were pure, but I’m not convinced the evidence fully backs that up,” she added.

“It’s hard to ignore that he was thinking about the 2024 election when he sought to alter standard rules and procedures. I think it’s disingenuous for him to deny this and suggest he was completely oblivious to the upcoming election. The records suggest otherwise,” Honig expanded.

On June 9, 2023, Smith indicted Trump on 37 felony counts, allegedly involving the improper storage of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate, which included 31 counts under the Espionage Act. However, on July 15, 2024, Judge Eileen Cannon—a Trump appointee—dismissed the case, stating that the special counsel’s appointment breached the Constitution’s Appointments Clause.

Additionally, in August 2023, Smith charged Trump with four felonies for alleged attempts to meddle in the 2020 election during the January 6th events. These charges included “conspiracy to defraud the United States” and “conspiracy to obstruct the January 6th proceedings.”

Smith requested that the trial for these charges start on January 2, 2024, close to the Iowa caucuses, while Trump’s legal team aimed for a later date in April 2026. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, appointed by Obama, ultimately set the trial for March 4, 2024, just a day before Super Tuesday.

A Supreme Court ruling in July 2024 established that a president cannot be prosecuted for official actions, prompting Smith to file an expedited indictment in line with the immunity decision. In October 2024, just weeks prior to the election, Judge Chutkan released a redacted version of Smith’s 165-page brief to Trump.

After Trump’s election victory, Smith dismissed the case, adhering to the Department of Justice’s long-standing policy against prosecuting sitting presidents.