<img src=”https://storage.googleapis.com/prod-zenger-upload/image/20230609/feat_9872e6b6-50b0-4cf5-a731-509b1674c21e.jpg” alt=”Opponents of former President Donald Trump gather outside of the Manhattan Criminal Court during his arraignment on April 04, 2023 in New York City. With the indictment, Trump becomes the first former U.S. president in history to be charged with a criminal offense. Reacting to Donald Trump’s recent indictment in the Mar-A-Lago probe, a former federal prosecutor said the ex-president faces the fight of his life. PHOTO BY SPENCER PLATT/GETTY IMAGES”>
Reacting to Donald Trump’s recent indictment in the Mar-A-Lago probe, a former federal prosecutor said the ex-president faces the “fight of his life.”
Elie Honig, a former New Jersey and federal prosecutor, in an interview with CNN, said the charges attached to Trump’s indictment in the mishandling of classified documents case are likely “much more severe” than his previous indictment in Manhattan.
“Bigger picture, even without seeing the specifics of this indictment, I think it’s clear that Donald Trump is in for the fight of his life,” Honig said.
“This is a man who has been sued, deposed, taken the Fifth, impeached twice, tried in the Senate, investigated by Congress, even indicted by the state authorities here in Manhattan. But being indicted by the Justice Department is different.”
“This is a whole different ball game. The DOJ has way more resources,” he said, adding, “The conduct here is going to be, I think it’s safe to say, more significant than what he was indicted for in Manhattan. And the consequences, if he is convicted, are going to be much more severe than what he is looking at in Manhattan.”
Late Thursday, Trump took to his Truth Social platform to share that his legal team had been told he was indicted in the Mar-A-Lago documents probe and was summoned to appear in the Miami federal court on Tuesday.
Trump became the first U.S. president to face federal charges for mishandling classified documents.
The former president’s attorney Jim Trusty told the publication that Trump is facing seven counts in the classified documents indictment, including a “break out from an Espionage Act charge” and “several obstruction-based-type charges and then false-statement charges.”
Produced in association with Benzinga
Edited by Saba Fatima and Newsdesk Manager