CNN’s Honig: Comey Indictment Is ‘Deeply Flawed’

Tuesday on CNN’s “The Lead,” network senior legal analyst Elie Honig said the indictment of two felony charges related to an Instagram post from former FBI Director James Comey was “deeply flawed.”

Host Jake Tapper asked, “How valid are these charges?”

Honig said, “This indictment is deeply flawed. I think it’s probably fatally flawed, and here’s why. The law that Justice Department prosecutors have chosen to charge here requires an intent to kill or physically injure the president of the United States. I think if you look at this communication, these seashells, it’s just way too ambiguous. What does 86 mean? Yes, there have been instances in pop culture and elsewhere where people have used 86 to mean kill, but there have been plenty of other instances, apparently far more instances, where it simply means to remove or to cross off a list.”

He added, “And that ambiguity is going to be a major problem for prosecutors. Because I will tell you, ambiguity is always the enemy of the prosecutors because you have to prove your case, not just by 51% or 75%. You have to prove your case beyond a reasonable doubt. And I don’t see any realistic way prosecutors are going to be able to do that here.”

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