CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig delivered a blistering assessment Wednesday of the Trump administration’s attempts to portray congressional investigations by Democrats as potential criminal activity, calling the legal arguments advanced by two top administration lawyers “quite embarrassing."
”No, this is not a thing. No, this is not a crime. No, this is not anything even remotely close to a crime,” Honig told CNN’s Brianna Keilar.
The remarks followed a warning from White House counsel Will Scharf to incoming House Oversight Committee Chairman Robert Garcia (D-CA), suggesting Democrats’ planned investigations could amount to “blatant criminality.”
Honig said Democrats have discussed aggressively wielding subpoena powers after last week’s election victory, including promises to “throw subpoenas out like Mardi Gras beads.”
But he flatly rejected suggestions that such rhetoric constitutes criminal threats or extortion.
“Not even close,” Honig said Wednesday. “All of this is core First Amendment protected political speech.” The CNN legal analyst and former federal prosecutor then took his criticism of the Trump administration a step further.
“It's actually quite embarrassing that experienced attorneys like Will Scharf and Todd Blanche are trying to say this is a crime,” he added. “They have to know that it's not. This has to just be political posturing.”
Honig also identified a potential legal “catch” for Trump officials who might refuse to comply with future congressional subpoenas.
He predicted President Donald Trump's attorney general would not pursue criminal contempt charges against administration officials who defied Congress, but cautioned that such protection might not last for long.
“There's a five-year statute of limitations on criminal contempt of Congress,” Honig explained. “So if anyone's going to bank on that, they've got to bank on that lasting into the 2030s. If you count out five years.”