CNN legal analyst Elie Honig did not appear confident in a Georgia investigation into former President Donald Trump after the grand jury’s forewoman turned what was a political witch hunt into a national spectacle.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, a Democrat, has pursued Trump for two years, alleging he tried to tamper with the state’s 2020 election results.
A special grand jury was convened to investigate the matter and has spent a year forcing everyone from GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina to former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani to participate in the sideshow.
On Tuesday, the grand jury’s forewoman, Emily Kohrs, 30, turned the investigation into a circus by speaking to establishment media outlets about the jury’s recommendations.
Kohrs appeared gleeful in interviews with CNN and MSNBC as she hinted the panel was prepared to recommend multiple indictments. She also expressed excitement at the prospect of personally facing Trump.
The foreperson, Emily Kohrs, then continued her media tour on MSNBC, joking about how “awesome” it would be to personally subpoena Trump. pic.twitter.com/x36YqWWD59
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) February 22, 2023
Kohrs teased big names would be involved and used Trump’s name numerous times. Her demeanor could best be described as giddy.
Her media tour continued when she spoke to NBC News, The Associated Press and The New York Times, among other outlets.
Do you think this Georgia grand jury probe is just another witch hunt?
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Kohrs made a mockery of what was already a questionable misuse of the legal system to many objective viewers.
On Tuesday night, Honig told CNN host Anderson Cooper the woman might very well have torpedoed any shot prosecutors had at getting to the former president.
“First of all, why this person is talking on TV, I do not understand,” Cooper said. “Because she’s clearly enjoying herself, but, I mean, is this responsible? She was the foreperson of this grand jury.”
Honig responded by saying it was a “horrible idea” to allow Kohrs to speak to the media.
“I guarantee you that prosecutors are wincing watching her go on this,” he said.
Cooper responded, “I was wincing just watching her eagerness to, like, hint at stuff.”
“It’s a prosecutor’s nightmare,” Honig said. “Mark my words, Donald Trump’s team is going to make a motion, if there’s an indictment, to dismiss that indictment based on grand jury impropriety.
“She’s not supposed to be talking about anything, really, but she’s really not supposed to be talking about the deliberations.”
He concluded, “I think she’s potentially crossing a line here — it’s going to be a real problem for prosecutors.”
CNN’s reaction to the foreperson of the Grand Jury that investigated Donald Trump in Georgia making her rounds on cable news:
“Why this person is talking on TV, I do not understand”
“I guarantee you prosecutors are wincing… It’s a prosecutor’s nightmare” pic.twitter.com/DsQK0g60h2
— ALX 🇺🇸 (@alx) February 22, 2023
Honig expanded on his remarks on Twitter, saying Kohrs was “doing no favors to prosecutors with this giddy PR romp.”
It’s a bad idea generally for a grand juror to speak publicly. The specific legal line in GA is whether the grand juror discloses “deliberations.” That’s debatable. She doesn’t discuss vote counts. But she does discuss specific witnesses and the grand jury’s findings as to them.
— Elie Honig (@eliehonig) February 22, 2023
It will help (or hurt less) that she’s part of a special grand jury which can recommend but cannot indict. Again: a motion to dismiss is a high bar and unlikely to prevail but this is an unnecessary headache for prosecutors.
— Elie Honig (@eliehonig) February 22, 2023
Neither Cooper nor Honig appeared pleased by the reality the Fulton County investigation was undercut by her actions.
The legal analyst was correct in that Kohrs’ bizarre behavior did catch the attention of Trump, who posted about the matter on Truth Social early Wednesday.
“This Georgia case is ridiculous, a strictly political continuation of the greatest Witch Hunt of all time,” the former president said. “Now you have an extremely energetic young woman, the (get this!) ‘foreperson’ of the Racist D.A.’s Special Grand Jury, going around and doing a Media Tour revealing, incredibly, the Grand Jury’s inner workings & thoughts.
“This is not JUSTICE, this is an illegal Kangaroo Court.”
The Georgia case is likely a failsafe for other politically motivated investigations into Trump, of which there are many nationwide.
In one day, an attention-starved woman might have blown it all up.
The fact the left-wing media helped make it happen by pointing a camera in her face is all the more satisfying.
