A former federal prosecutor said his phone blew up Wednesday when newly minted U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi made an eye-popping announcement: that they had "filed charges against the state of New York."
At her news conference, Bondi said the Justice Department filed charges against Gov. Kathy Hochul, state Attorney General Letitia James and DMV Commissioner Mark Schroeder.
"New York has chosen to prioritize illegal aliens over American citizens," she said, echoing President Donald Trump's campaign claims. "It stops. It stops today. As you know we sued Illinois — and New York didn't listen. So now, you're next."
CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins noted on her show, "The Source," that at the time of the news conference, Bondi hadn't actually filed the lawsuit.
When asked if holding a news conference before filing a lawsuit is common for prosecutors, Elie Honig, legal analyst at CNN, blasted Bondi and her team.
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"No, Kaitlan. It can only be the result of incompetence. It is 101 when you're announcing a case as a prosecutor. You don't get out there, announce it, and then file it later. Sometimes you have to file it five minutes after your presser ends or 10 minutes after your presser ends, but to have it go hours without filing anything is completely inexplicable."
"Don't hold the presser when you don't have anything on the books yet," he railed.
Honig scoffed when Collins noted Bondi said her team had filed "charges" against state officials — when she merely sued them.
"What a bizarre way to open this press conference," Honig continued, noting Bondi made the flub three times.
"Ninety-nine out of 100 civilians understand that to mean criminal charges; 100 out of 100 prosecutors understand that to mean criminal charges. When she said that, my phone went crazy. People saying, 'Wait — has Pam Bondi indicted Leticia James?'"
The answer is no — it was a civil lawsuit.
"To use that terminology is either an inexplicable screw-up by the new attorney general — although she's been a prosecutor for 20 years — or it was an intentional choice of overheated, misleading rhetoric," he said.
Even so, Honig acknowledged Bondi's team may have a strong case — New York laws on the books could prevent federal authorities from enforcing immigration laws.
Watch the clip below or at this link.
