President Donald Trump undermined Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH)’s criminal most recent attack on Jack Smith with an early morning social media post, CNN legal analyst Elie Honig argued Thursday.
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The attack in question is the House Judiciary Committee chairman’s letter to the DOJ requesting a criminal investigation of the former special counsel, alleging that Smith made false statements last year during a closed-door congressional deposition.
Trump weighed in on the matter Thursday morning – posting a link on Truth Social to a right-wing website reporting the criminal referral and adding, “Justice at last?”
Honig said that could also undermine the case against Smith.
“Well, if there comes a day where Jack Smith does get indicted, he surely will make a motion to dismiss based on vindictive prosecution,” Honig said.
“He will argue, ‘This prosecution is the result of a long-standing anger or beef that the president has with me, I was therefore singled out for prosecution because of political reasons, because there is a vendetta going on here,’ and if he makes that argument, which he surely will, if he gets prosecuted, this will be an exhibit to make that argument.”
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The evidence, no matter what Trump posts about the allegations, just isn’t strong enough to support a criminal prosecution, Honig argued.
“In order to make a perjury case, you have to show a specific, clear question and a specific, clear, intentional, false answer,” he said.
“If there was a critique of Jack Smith that he wasn’t fully forthcoming, that’s valid,” Honig added. “But that’s different from saying he committed a criminal act of felony perjury.”
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