CNN legal analyst Elie Honig on Friday laid out how the United States Department of Justice had made it easier to potentially prove that former President Donald Trump violated the Espionage Act by stashing away top secret government documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort.
In breaking down newly released documents related to the Mar-a-Lago search, Honig zeroed in the fact that the DOJ is saying it has evidence of willful retention of classified documents.
"As a prosecutor you don't shoot for the highest possible statute, you don't have to go right to the James Bond stuff if there is an easier way to get there," he said. "And this, the description of the crime that we now see in this document willful retention of national defense information, that's the easiest way to prove it. That's smart strategy."
Honig emphasized, however, that the DOJ did not name Trump specifically as the person who may have willfully retained documents, he said it's hard to imagine anyone else at Mar-a-Lago being guilty of this crime, as Trump is the one who "calls the shots."
"It would shock me if it was anybody but Donald Trump," he emphasized.
Watch the video below or at this link.
- Donald Trump's lawyers in 'direct talks' with Justice Department ... ›
- DOJ transcript request shows criminal probe of Trump allies just ... ›
- 'Overwhelming evidence' but no prosecution? Legal experts grapple ... ›