CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig on Wednesday asserted a Fulton County judge’s decision to toss six counts against former President Donald Trump will definitely hurt District Attorney Fani Willis’ case.
Judge Scott McAfee, who is set to soon determine whether Willis will be disqualified from the case over an alleged conflict of interest, sided with defendants in a motion to toss six counts because a lack of specificity left the defense unable to prepare adequately. While the judge will not throw out the case as a result of this development, it is undoubtedly a significant blow, Honig asserted on “CNN Newroom with Jim Acosta.” (RELATED: ‘Pattern Of Deceit’: Defense Attorney Identifies 6 Concrete Examples Of Conflicts That Should Disqualify Fani Willis)
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“This is an undeniable setback for the district attorney. Not the entire indictment, but six of the 40 counts have now been dismissed,” Honig said.
“The Court’s concern is less that the State has failed to allege sufficient conduct of the Defendants – in fact it has alleged an abundance,” McAfee wrote. “However, the lack of detail concerning an essential legal element is, in the undersigned’s opinion, fatal. As written, these six counts contain all the essential elements of the crimes but fail to allege sufficient detail regarding the nature of their commission, i.e., the underlying felony solicited.”
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis appears before Judge Scott McAfee for a hearing in the 2020 Georgia election interference case at the Fulton County Courthouse on November 21, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Dennis Byron-Pool/Getty Images)
The state can still bring fresh indictments for the six counts, which all relate to “Solicitation of Violation of Oath by Public Officer,” the judge added.
“I don’t think this ruling changes the type of evidence that the DA is going to be able to introduce, but it does knock out some of the charges, and look, it’s embarrassing for prosecutors,” Honig said. “It’s a screw-up by prosecutors when you bring a charge and then a judge throws it out before it even goes to trial.”
CNN legal analyst Elie Honig blasted the Department of Justice for making an “unholy mess” of the Hunter Biden probe. [Screenshot CNN]
The judge is slated to rule on the motion to disqualify Willis by Friday. Trump co-defendant Michael Roman accused Willis in a Jan. 8 motion of financially benefiting from appointing her romantic partner Nathan Wade to as special prosecutor on the case.
“Unlike the conflict of interest issue, this does go to the charges against the defendant,” Honig asserted. “This does go to the indictment itself. And there is still the case. The lead charge, the racketeering case, is still in place, but this is a setback.”
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