Trump’s 'hold over people' is a lot like a mafia boss: former mob prosecutor

Former prosecutor Elie Honig's new book Untouchable: How Powerful People Get Away With It, was released this week, specifically addressing the ways Donald Trump has been able to dodge accountability for several alleged crimes. Speaking to The Bulwark's Charlie Sykes, Honig detailed the ways in which the more recent case in New York made it clear that the former president operated like a mafia boss.

Honig explained that while working as the assistant US Attorney for the Southern District of New York he handled mafia cases. In the book, he tails some of those cases in the book, describing them as the "real life" version of "Goodfellas" and "The Sopranos."

"As I was researching and writing this book, I saw so many parallels between the tactics that actual mob bosses use," he explained. "I know it's a bit trending to say, oh, Trump's like a mob boss. He is, but I know exactly how he is. And tactics used by Donald Trump and other powerful people."

The main example he noticed is the "hold over people" that Donald Trump appears to have that prevents people from testifying against him or being witnesses against him.

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"You'll remember there was this crucial moment in time right after Jan. 6, where people like Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and others said, 'It's on him. We're done.' I'm paraphrasing," Honig continued. "Now, let's look at Kevin McCarthy. This guy was a key witness on Jan. 6. He got into a verbal fight with Trump on Jan. 6 and he came out against Donald. He actually came out and actually said Donald Trump is responsible and Donald Trump acknowledged to me, Kevin McCarthy, his own responsibility."

But like Sykes said in his introduction, no one is willing to jump all the way in. Two weeks after McCarthy's comments, he was at Mar-a-Lago begging for forgiveness. He has since refused to testify.

Honig said that it's remarkably similar to a case where a boss was shaking down a man named Gene who was a carpet salesman. They called him "Gene the Carpet."

The carpet salesman admitted that he'd been shaken down for a while.

"Well, a minute before he took the stand, he lost his nerve. He was crying in the back room, uh-uh. No. I don’t remember anything. He didn’t do anything wrong," Honig recalled. "And we threw him up on the stand, and he tried to lie and say, hey, I never you never paid me in. He’s crying. It’s pathetic. And he tried to tank our case. And luckily, the jury saw through it."

He is the Kevin McCarthy in this situation.

"He’s got a better haircut, but they both knew the truth and they both went out because of fear of a powerful person. And you can’t connect the dots here. He has successfully intimidated witnesses," Honig went on. "He has intimidated prosecutors. He has intimidated his political opponents. And there is that sense that he is kind of untouched. 'Well, don’t you dare because if you say anything about him, if you push back against him, he’s gonna call you a name or he’s going to unleash flying monkeys against you or what?' So, this question of how the justice system works, I think, is It’s been nagging on me. But I think it's been nagging on the entire country."

You can listen to the full interview at the Bulwark's podcast here.