Special counsel Jack Smith’s desire to convict former President Donald Trump before the 2024 election underlines his political intentions, CNN admitted.
CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig disagreed with the timeline of Smith’s prosecution against Trump, claiming that his attempt to hear the case before Election Day next November is clearly within the political domain and not just but is a legal procedural issue.
‘Just look at Jack Smith’s behavior in this case. The motivating principle behind every procedural request he has made is speed, getting this process in before the election,” Honig explained on “Smerconish” on Saturday, noting that the average federal conspiracy/fraud trial is 1.5 to 2 takes years.
CNNs @eliehonig: Jack Smith wants “Donald Trump convicted before the election” pic.twitter.com/I05htw5OmG
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) December 16, 2023
“First of all, if Jack Smith is trying to get this case in court before the election, and he clearly is, that’s politics. The counterargument would be, “Jack Smith just wants American voters to make up their minds before they go to the polls.” I understand that. As a voter I would like to know that.”
“But here’s the problem with that argument,” Honig continued. “Jack Smith doesn’t want to just wrap up this trial and let the chips fall where they may and let the consequences be what they may be. He’s the prosecutor. He believes this thing. He wants this case to lead to a conviction. So his position is not just, “I want this case to be tried before the election.” His position is basically: ‘I want Donald Trump to be convicted before the election.’”
“I have no problem with the first part of that. His job is to want and try to convict Donald Trump. But in the second part of that, before the elections, I think it crosses the line into the political,” Honig added.
Smith overplayed his hand when even CNN criticized his actions to advance his case against Trump as politically motivated.
Smith overrode the appeals court and went straight to the US Supreme Court Monday to rule on Trump’s claim that he was immune from prosecution as a former president, hoping to start the trial on March 4 — the day before Super Tuesday.
The Supreme Court granted Smith’s request for expedited review and ordered Trump to respond by December 20.
However, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan legal proceedings temporarily suspended amid Trump’s appeal, conceding she has no jurisdiction over the case while a higher court considers claims of immunity.
The decision will almost certainly delay Smith’s hopes for a March 4 trial date.
These are the trial deadlines that have now been suspended by Judge Chutkan’s order.
Not only is the March 4 trial date in Washington now dead, the May 20 Secret Documents trial in Florida has likely disappeared since Judge Cannon ordered a hearing with Jack Smith on March 1 for updates on the DC trial. pic.twitter.com/q10Zg992Hg
— Julie Kelly 🇺🇸 (@julie_kelly2) December 13, 2023
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