CNN’s Top Legal Analyst: Criminal Trial Trump Faces In Georgia Is ‘Over’

CNN’s top legal expert said this week that there is a good chance that the criminal charges former President Donald Trump faces in Georgia over his alleged attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election may completely fall apart now that the case has been postponed.

Elie Honig, CNN’s Senior Legal Analyst and former Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, made the remarks after a Georgia appellate court halted the case this week.

“It’s over. Let’s be realistic. It’s not happening before the 2024 election. It’s not happening in 2024. It’s maybe not happening at all,” Honig said. “Now, look, the appeals court, we can never predict what they’re going to do. But there’s some things we know for sure. Number one, they didn’t have to take this case, the appeal, and they chose to. The other thing is they didn’t have to pause the district court.”

“In fact, the trial court judge, when he issued his ruling, allowing Donald Trump, and the others, to ask the appeals court to take the case, the trial court judge specified, while you all are doing that, I am going to continue holding proceedings in this trial court,” he continued. “And now, today, just a couple hours ago, the appeals court said no, no, no, pause that, too. So, that tells me that they are taking this appeal very seriously. And if Trump and the defendants prevail in this appeal, this case is essentially toast.”

He added that if the case gets dismissed, former Trump officials who pled guilty in the case will most certainly walk their guilty pleas back.

“There is a separate issue that Trump and the other defendants are going to raise that I think is a bigger deal, which is Fani Willis’ inappropriate comments about the case outside of court,” he said. “Judge McAfee found those comments to be, quote, ‘legally improper,’ and then he did nothing about it. And so, the defense is going to argue to the Court of Appeals, if the prosecutor makes, quote, ‘legally improper’ statements that impair the constitutional rights of the defendant, there needs to be a remedy for that.”