CNN legal analyst scolds Georgia judge's statement on Trump 'capitalizing' on indictments: 'Nothing illegal'
CNN legal analyst Elie Honig scolded a Georgia judge's statement alluding to former president Donald Trump's efforts to "capitalize" on his legal troubles, arguing that there was "nothing illegal" about it.
CNN's Elie Honig scolded a Georgia judge on Tuesday after the judge seemed to reference Trump's efforts to "capitalize" on his legal troubles, emphasizing that there was "nothing illegal" about politicizing indictments.
Georgia's Supreme Court shut down Trump's efforts to halt an investigation into alleged 2020 election interference in July. CNN's Poppy Harlow asked Honig about Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney referencing the former president's "efforts to capitalize" on his legal troubles after rejecting the motion from Trump's legal team.
"So that motion was procedurally and legally flawed, I think. I think I gave it a 0% chance of success on this show, which I don’t often do. Thankfully, that turned out to be correct," Honig said, referencing Trump's efforts to stop the investigation.
"But I’m going to differ with the judge. I’m going to take issue with that statement by the judge. There’s nothing illegal about politicizing an indictment. You’re actually allowed to do that. You’re allowed to fundraise off of, ‘I’ve been indicted and this is unjust,’" he continued.
CNN legal analyst Elie Honig disagreed with a judge that seemed to call out Donald Trump's efforts to "capitalize" on his indictments. (Screenshot/CNN)
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Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney said in a nine-page ruling that the court wouldn't halt the investigation.
"[W]hile being the subject (or even target) of a highly publicized criminal investigation is likely an unwelcome and unpleasant experience, no court ever has held that that status alone provides a basis for the courts to interfere with or halt the investigation," MCBurney wrote.
"And for some, being the subject of a criminal investigation can, a la Rumpelstiltskin, be turned into golden political capital, making it seem more providential than problematic," the judge wrote. "Regardless, simply being the subject (or target) of an investigation does not yield standing to bring claim to halt that investigation in court."
Honig said the judge shouldn't be the "police on manners here" and pointed to ethical questions about DA Fani Willis, who is leading the special grand jury investigation in Trump
Donald Trump's legal team issued a motion to stop an investigation into whether the former president engaged in election interference in Georgia. ((Photo by Steve Marcus/Getty Images))
"He should not be the police of manners here. The judge should be worried about the law and conflict of interest. In fact, finally, Willis has fundraised, the DA, off of this case. That is ethically questionable," Honig told Harlow.
Honig argued that Willis has used her subpoenas to fundraise.
"I think that’s an ethical problem. Donald Trump doing what he’s doing is distasteful, is perhaps manipulative, as Errol and Phil pointed out, of people who are donating to him, who don’t quite realize this money is not going for yard signs. It’s going for lawyers to make sure people don’t flip, but it’s not illegal. And I actually think it’s beyond the judge’s province to get into that," Honig continued.
FILE - Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, right, and Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney speak in the Fulton county courthouse, Tuesday, July 11, 2023, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)
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