President Donald Trump undermined Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH)'s most recent attack on Jack Smith with an early morning social media post, CNN legal analyst Elie Honig argued Thursday.
The attack in question is the House Judiciary Committee chairman's letter to the DOJ requesting a criminal investigation of the former special counsel who investigated Trump, alleging that Smith made false statements last year during a closed-door congressional deposition.
Trump weighed in on the matter Thursday morning – posting a link on Truth Social to a right-wing website reporting the criminal referral and adding, "Justice at last?"
Honig said that could also undermine the case against Smith.
"Well, if there comes a day where Jack Smith does get indicted, he surely will make a motion to dismiss based on vindictive prosecution," Honig said.
"He will argue, 'This prosecution is the result of a long-standing anger or beef that the president has with me, I was therefore singled out for prosecution because of political reasons, because there is a vendetta going on here,' and if he makes that argument, which he surely will, if he gets prosecuted, this will be an exhibit to make that argument."
The evidence, no matter what Trump posts about the allegations, just isn't strong enough to support a criminal prosecution, Honig argued.
"In order to make a perjury case, you have to show a specific, clear question and a specific, clear, intentional, false answer," he said.
"If there was a critique of Jack Smith that he wasn't fully forthcoming, that's valid," Honig added. "But that's different from saying he committed a criminal act of felony perjury."
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