Trump 'better get his act together' or risk being demolished by D.C. jury: CNN analyst
Donald Trump’s courtroom dramatics aren’t going to fly in a criminal courtroom in Washington D.C. after his presidential immunity defense was overwhelmingly shot down down by the district’s appellate court, a CNN legal analyst said Tuesday.
Former federal prosecutor Elie Honig issued his warning to the former president on the heels of breaking news that the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously voted to slap down his primary defense in his criminal case linked to the U.S. Capitol riots on Jan. 6, 2021.
“He’s going to have a tough road in front that jury,” Honig warned. “He better get his act together.”
Honig’s argument rests on 2020 election data in the federal district where Trump faces criminal election interference charges and also in the $83.3 million payout a New York City jury ordered the former president to pay to E. Jean Carroll.
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The former federal prosecutor noted 95 percent of D.C. residents — the people who will make up the jury in special counsel Jack Smith’s federal case — voted against Trump in the 2020 election.
"It's a tough jury pool for Donald Trump," Honig said. "No question about it."
Honig then reminded viewers of Trump’s courtroom antics in New York City civil trial to determine damages he owed for defaming Carroll, the writer he was found liable in 2023 of sexually abusing in the 1990s.
“Right in front of the E. Jean Carroll jury, he’s stomping out of the courtroom he's muttering under his breath, the judge is condemning him in front of the jury,” Honig said. “You try that in front of a criminal jury and the consequences could be much worse than a huge civil verdict.”