CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig said on Tuesday that it wouldn’t surprise him if a Georgia appeals court dismisses former President Donald Trump’s election interference case in the state.
Trump’s attorneys are appealing to get the case thrown out, based on Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ “improper allegations of racism” against “defendants and their counsel,” according to a Monday court filing. Honig, on “CNN News Central,” said Trump’s appeal may be successful, as Willis’ racism allegation could cause a jury to be biased against defendants. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Fani Willis Failed To Disclose Airline Ticket Paid For By Alleged Lover, Docs Show)
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CNN’s Elie Honig Says ‘It Wouldn’t At All Shock’ Him If Trump’s Georgia Case Gets Tossed pic.twitter.com/RJHhuihl06
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“I think Trump has a decent chance on getting this case thrown out. And the focus of the brief that was filed last night, it’s important to remember, it’s not on the conflict of interest,” Honig said. “Remember, the DA Fani Willis had this relationship with one of the lawyers. Did they intermingle their cash or not? The focus here is on alleged prosecutorial misconduct by Fani Willis because, you’ll remember, she went in front of a church outside of court and made public statements blasting the defense lawyers, essentially accusing them of being racist.”
Willis’ office appointed Nathan Wade as a special prosecutor in the RICO case against Trump and his associates pursuant to the 2020 election. Wade then allegedly used money from his appointment to pay for trips with Willis as they engaged in a romantic relationship.
Willis insinuated that the allegations against her and Wade are primarily the product of racial animus during a January speech at Big Bethel AME Church, saying that Trump’s attorneys are “playing the race card” by questioning Wade, but not questioning other special counsels she appointed.
“Donald Trump’s claim here is that tainted the jury pool. The people who are going to be my juror and the jurors for the other defendants here all saw that and that’s going to incline them against us,” Honig added. “And I think Trump’s got a real leg to stand on there. It wouldn’t at all shock me if the Georgia court of appeals agrees and says prosecutorial misconduct, this case is out.”
“When you talk about a case outside of a court as a prosecutor, you have to be really careful … When you start assailing the motives and suggesting that the defendants or the defense lawyers are racist, you are in really dangerous territory,” he said. “The DA should know that. She’s an accomplished prosecutor. She’s been doing this for a long time. It’s still astonishing to me that she would have done what she did and now there may be consequences.”
Judge Scott McAfee compelled Wade to resign from the case in March as a condition of allowing Willis to remain on the case. The judge found “reasonable questions” about whether Wade and Willis testified truthfully regarding the timing of their relationship, which they said started after Wade’s appointment.
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