The Trump administration's move to investigate election workers in Fulton County, Georgia, hit a major roadblock as a judge quashed a Justice Department subpoena to reveal those workers' personal information.
That's something that almost never happens, former federal prosecutor Elie Honig told CNN's Jake Tapper — and it reveals just how far the Trump administration's abuse of power has gotten.
"Elie, what message does this decision send about the Justice Department's effort here?" asked Tapper.
"It is extraordinarily rare for a judge to block a prosecutor's subpoena," said Honig. For reference, he said, prosecutors can usually "subpoena just about anything [they] want for just about any reason [they] want."
The only exceptions, he said, are "something where you have 0 percent chance of bringing a criminal case, or for a bad reason." And the judge here, U.S. District Judge William M. Ray II, a Trump appointee, had a "straightforward" problem with the subpoena: "He said even if you were investigating crimes from the 2020 election, the statute of limitations on almost all federal crimes is five years. Here we are, five-and-a-half going on six years. So there's no possible way you could bring a valid criminal investigation here."
While blocking subpoenas is a rare occurrence in the federal courts, Honig added, it's no longer so rare in the Trump administration.
"I should note, this is now the third time in the last few months that three different district court judges have blocked subpoenas," he said. "And I think it just shows that DOJ is running away with its discretion."