CNN’s resident legal expert criticized Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and her team for their lackluster performance, resulting in the dismissal of charges against former President Donald Trump and his co-defendants by Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee.
Elie Honig, an expert and former federal prosecutor, pointed out that Willis’ mistakes were the reason behind McAfee’s decision, labeling it as an “embarrassing” turn of events for the prosecution.
Although Honig acknowledged that the case is still ongoing, the dropped charges are undoubtedly a setback for Willis and her team.
Earlier this year, Willis’ case against Trump faced difficulties due to allegations of an inappropriate relationship between her and Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade, who was hired to work on the case.
This raised concerns about a potential conflict of interest and led to a contentious evidentiary hearing last month, during which Willis denied the allegations while testifying.
Honig, speaking to CNN’s Jim Acosta, described the situation as a series of “screw-ups” on the part of Willis and her prosecutors, adding to the list of missteps in the case.
“I don’t think this ruling changes the type of evidence that the DA’s going to be able to introduce, but it does knock out some of the charges, and look, it’s embarrassing for prosecutors,” he 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.”.
“There have been several screw-ups, frankly, by the DA throughout the history of this case,” he said.
“Going back to the investigative phase, the DA got herself disqualified from a small piece of the case because she created a political conflict of interest.”
“The judge who was overseeing the grand jury removed Fani Willis from the case.
“We’ve seen Fani Willis make public statements in the church and elsewhere that have now been called into question that I think violate the ethics of prosecutorial rules, and now we’ve seen six of the charges thrown out of the case,” Honig continued.
“And unlike the conflict of interest issue, this does go to the charges against the defendant.
“This does go to the indictment itself,” he added before saying that the dismissal of the charges by McAfee is another “setback.”
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