‘A Very Close Call’: CNN Legal Analyst Says ‘Reasonable Prosecutor’ Could Have Charged Hillary

‘A Very Close Call’: CNN Legal Analyst Says ‘Reasonable Prosecutor’ Could Have Charged Hillary

Harold Hutchison on June 23, 2023

CNN legal analyst Elie Honig said Friday that a “reasonable prosecutor” could have chosen to prosecute former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton over her handling of classified materials.

Then-FBI Director James Comey said in a July 2016 press conference that “no reasonable prosecutor” would have moved forward with charges against Clinton over a server set up in her Chappaqua home. Former President Donald Trump entered a plea of “not guilty” to all counts during his arraignment June 13, after Special Counsel Jack Smith secured a grand jury indictment on 37 counts, including violations of the Espionage Act, that was unsealed June 9.

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“I don’t necessarily agree with James Comey based on what we know about the case,” Honig, a former federal prosecutor, told “The Firing Line” host Margaret Hoover. “I don’t agree that no reasonable prosecutor would have charged Hillary Clinton. I do think there are reasonable prosecutors that could have charged Hillary Clinton. I think it’s a very close call.”

Former Vice President Mike Pence reported the discovery of classified documents to the National Archives and Records Administration Jan. 18, following reports of classified material being found at the Penn Biden Center and the Wilmington, Delaware, home of President Joe Biden.

Republicans criticized the indictment, noting that FBI agents raided Mar-a-Lago, the Florida estate owned by former President Donald Trump, Aug. 8 over allegations classified documents had been removed from the White House, even though Trump claimed the documents were declassified.

“I understand the argument that these cases are all somewhat similar, and they are,” Honig said. “They’re similar, but they’re not the same.”