CNN’s Elie Honig Says Judge ‘Excoriated’ Trump DOJ Because They ‘Screwed Up Some of the Basics’

CNN’s senior legal analyst Elie Honig said Thursday that a federal judge “excoriated” President Donald Trump’s Justice Department because they “screwed up some of the basics” in their attempt to subpoena journalists at The New York Times. 

On Thursday, the DOJ withdrew subpoenas seeking phone records and grand jury testimony from three Times reporters after Judge Arun Subramanian sharply criticized the government’s handling of the case and indicated he would quash the subpoenas. The judge questioned whether prosecutors had followed the legal standards for subpoenaing journalists and raised concerns about inaccuracies in their court filings.

Speaking with CNN’s John King, Honig referenced the two-day turnaround between the Times’ initial article on security concerns in Trump’s gifted Qatari jet and the subpoenas, adding, “Today’s hearing went quite poorly for DOJ, for the [Trump] administration.”

He continued:

The judge called out DOJ, first of all, for using these subpoenas on journalists as a first resort when they’re supposed to be used as a last resort. The judge excoriated DOJ because they simply screwed up some of the basics. For example, DOJ actually requested information about one of the reporters’ mothers and another of the reporters’ spouses, and ultimately, John, at the end of this hour-long hearing, the judge said to the DOJ prosecutors, “Either you withdraw the subpoena, or I’m going to quash it.”

Now, that’s not much of a choice for DOJ. They had to back off. They agreed to withdraw the subpoenas. One more thing I should note, John — the judge asked the DOJ prosecutor specificially, “Did Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, know of and sign off on these subpoenas as he’s supposed to do under DOJ policy?” And the prosecutor confirmed that, yes, this did go all the way to the top, and Todd Blanche blessed this.

Watch the full clip above via CNN.

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