‘He Goes On A Rant!’ CNN’s Elie Honig Stunned By ‘Unusual’ Jack Smith Tirade In Trump Report

CNN legal analyst Elie Honig was stunned by the “unusual” and “emotional” letter that accompanied Special Counsel Jack Smith’s just-released report on President-elect Donald Trump  and January 6.

After heated last-minute legal wrangling with Trump, the J6 half of Smith’s report was released Tuesday morning, and it included letters from Smith to Attorney General Merrick Garland, one in response to Trump’s legal team and another introducing the report. Smith slams Trump’s claims that he colluded with President Joe Biden and that the dismissal of charges represents Trump’s “total exoneration.”

On Tuesday’s edition of CNN News Central, anchor Sara Sidner asked if Smith’s report is “typical” for a special counsel, and Honig very much did not think so:

SARA SIDNER: Is what we are seeing, a typical report by a special counsel.

ELIE HONIG: So in most respects, yes. Sarah, when you look at the substantive body of this report, it’s what we expect to see from special counsel and from Jack Smith. It is a systematic, methodical laying out of the evidence and explaining how that evidence meets the laws that Jack Smith chose to indict Donald Trump on.

The part that’s unusual, though, is that four-page introductory letter that Katelyn just mentioned. It is an intense, almost emotional defense of Jack Smith’s team.

Now, it’s normal to see special counsel write something in a couple sentences saying, “My team was very hardworking and had high integrity. It was not political.”.

But he goes on a rant! He quotes John Adams. He quotes former attorneys general. He says the criticism of him was “laughable.”.

And I suppose one could look at that as an important and necessary example of Jack Smith standing up for his team.

On the other hand, though, it’s hard to read that and then conclude that everything that follows is completely separate from emotion and completely workmanlike and has nothing to do with his personal feelings.

So as with many things, Sara, it’s in the eye of the beholder.

SARA SIDNER: I’m just interested in him saying, Look, this does not mean that you, Donald Trump, are exonerated. Have you seen that before?

ELIE HONIG: Sure. I mean, Robert Mueller is one example, but this is a unique circumstance because we got to a place where there was an indictment.

A grand jury found probable cause, but we never got to a place where a jury had to decide whether there was proof beyond a reasonable doubt. So it’s 0% surprising that Jack Smith said, I don’t exonerate you. In fact, Jack Smith clearly feels strongly that his evidence was substantial.

Watch above via CNN News Central.