Prosecutors are uniquely constrained in how they can respond to former President Donald Trump attacking and threatening them, in ways they wouldn't against other defendants — but they can't simply let his threats and attacks slide, said former federal prosecutor Elie Honig on CNN Wednesday.
Honig walked through a key way that prosecutors could still get the former president punished for his efforts to taint the jury pool, like his frequent pronouncements that special counsel Jack Smith, overseeing the federal January 6 and Mar-a-Lago cases, is "deranged" and a "thug."
"On the federal side of things, what we have seen from prosecutors, it echos a little bit of what they were doing the start of the case," said anchor Phil Mattingly. "What does it mean? And will it have any teeth or substance?"
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"Going to the judge to put a clamp on Donald Trump — a lot of this is under seal. We don't know exactly what they are asking for," said Honig. "They are trying to find a workable middle ground because Donald Trump is taking to social media daily and making aggressive, perhaps over-the-line pronouncements."
"I think prosecutors understand they can't do nothing," Honig continued. "They can't sit idly by and let this happen without asking the judge to do something. I think prosecutors also understand they can't ask to lock up Donald Trump, just given the reality he is running for president. Fair or not, special treatment, which it would be, I think they have to be aware of that reality. So my best estimate here is they are asking the judge to take a middle ground."
"One thing judges can do, they can impose financial penalties," added Honig. "If a defendant is violating an order of a court, a judge can say, you are in contempt and I am going to fine you a certain amount each day. That may be. But they need to do something here."
Watch the video below or at the link here.
Elie Honig says prosecutors know they need to do something about Trump's misbehaviorwww.youtube.com
