CNN Legal Analyst Explains How GA Prosecutor Could ‘Blow Up’ Jack Smith’s Indictment

CNN legal analyst Elie Honig explained Thursday how the Georgia prosecutor slated to indict former President Donald Trump and others could actually blow up special counsel Jack Smith’s case.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is expected to issue more than a dozen indictments in Georgia before a grand jury relating to Trump’s alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election. Willis is pursuing conspiracy and racketeering charges, according to CNN. Willis reportedly is focusing on pressure toward election officials and a voting system breach.

CNN’s Kate Bolduan asked if a dozen indictments is a lot.

“That is a lot for a case like this. You will see cases involving 20, 25 defendants if you’re talking about a large drug trafficking organization or something like that. But in a case like this, a corruption case, a case that involves the functioning of our government, that’s a remarkably high number. As to who [will be indicted] I think I could speculate that it will be two sort of buckets. One will be the national figures, the people we know about, some of the people, perhaps look, Donald Trump was charged by Jack Smith, he named six co-conspirators, we could see quite a bit of overlap. I also suspect Fani Willis is focused on local people, people in Fulton County, Georgia who may have fallen, really, candidly, beneath Jack Smith’s radar, he can’t worry about every state and local official, he would have an impossible task.”

 

 

 

“Talk about that overlap that could be happening between Jack Smith’s 2020 investigation which did cover Georgia and other states, and what we could be seeing from Fani Willis,” Bolduan asked. “Does that create tension?” (RELATED: CNN’s Legal Analyst Catches Himself After Saying GA Prosecutor Targeting Trump Circle ‘Is Really Alarming’)

“Really important points here. First of all, there is no legal bar on Fani Willis and Jack Smith, one a county prosecutor, one a federal prosecutor, charging the same person even with essentially the same conduct,” Honig said, arguing that even if Trump is charged by Willis, it does not count as double jeopardy because local charges are not the same as federal charges.

“There could be tension, first of all, trial dates, there’s only so many trial dates to go around,” Honig said. “Here’s the other thing, if somebody has cooperated with Jack Smith’s team and Fani Willis goes in and indicts that person, that’s what we call blowing up the cooperator, that’s gonna be a big problem for Jack Smith in particular.”

Trump has been indicted three times by Smith, most recently for his alleged attempt to interfere in the 2020 election and alleged involvement in Jan. 6.