During an appearance on CNN Wednesday morning, legal expert Elie Honig explained how Donald Trump can use his presidential status to avoid his legal issues.
There were many reasons that Donald Trump again ran for the White House in 2024, but using the White House to avoid prosecution was near the top. And according to Honig, formerly an Assistant US Attorney, the president-elect could get his wish.
The legal expert told CNN:
"The two federal cases, Trump said that he's going to fire [special counsel] Jack Smith two minutes into his presidency. He has the power to do it, and his [attorney general] will do do it. That will be a colossal injustice, he will have the power to throw those cases out as president, but the classified documents case and the Jan. 6 case, the fact that he's saying 'I have the power to throw them out, I'll never face a jury' – it's worth reflecting on that."
Honig then discussed the New York felony case where Trump had been found guilty on 34 counts, saying:
"The two state cases are more complicated," Honig continued. "Three weeks from yesterday, Donald Trump is scheduled to be sentenced here in Manhattan on the hush money case, the conviction that he had. It's an interesting dilemma for the judge already, putting aside the fact that Trump is the president-elect, I think it's 50/50 if the judge sends him to prison on that case. The majority of those cases have been non-prison time, but the prosecutors have been saying that this case is worse than normal. What does the judge do? Do you sentence the president-elect to prison?