‘This Is a Pile Of Useless Garbage’: CNN Legal Analyst Flames Potential Trump Legal Defense

CNN chief legal analyst Elie Honig said federal prosecutors investigating Donald Trump’s actions after the 2020 presidential election need to be prepared to face a “garbage” legal defense he anticipates the former president’s attorneys will deploy.

Special Counsel Jack Smith is probing Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, which he lost. In the aftermath of the contest, Trump falsely claimed the election was rigged against him. Between the election and his last day in office, Trump leaned on Republican officials in states he lost in a vain attempt to get them to overturn the election results.

The former president revealed last week he had received a target letter from federal prosecutors, a strong indication that may be indicted in the case.

On Monday, CNN’s Paula Reid reported that Trump ally and former NYPD Commissioner Bernard Kerik handed over thousands of documents regarding the Trump team’s efforts to find voter fraud and reverse the election. Reid further reported prosecutors are set to interview Kerik next month.

During CNN’s The Situation Room, Wolf Blitzer asked Honig to weigh in.

“What is the significance of that in terms of efforts to find fraud?” the host asked.

“So, I think this is sort of the flip-side of the intent issue, Wolf, which is showing or disproving this argument that Donald Trump may make, that, ‘Well, some of my advisers brought me compelling evidence that there was fraud. and that’s why I went out trying to reverse the election.'”

Honig threw cold water on the potential defense.

“And I think prosecutors need to get that because they need to know what’s in those documents,” he continued. “And I think they need to be prepared to counteract those, to say, ‘This is nothing. This is a pile of useless garbage.’ A lot of courts found that, and I think prosecutors have to be ready for that defense.”

He concluded that the evidence given to prosecutors is likely “nothing and unsubstantiated” when it comes to suggesting serious voter fraud occurred.

Smith has already indicted Trump on 37 counts in an unrelated matter stemming from the former president’s retention of government documents upon leaving office. Trump pleaded not guilty to all counts.

Trump also faces state charges of falsifying business records in New York.

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