CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig on Thursday explained why a CNN report that staffers and contract workers at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort may testify in the classified documents case could spell seriously bad news for the former president.
The potential calling of a woodworker, a plumber, a maid and a chauffeur to take the stand in Trump’s upcoming trial is a “dream scenario for prosecutors,” said Honig, a former assistant U.S. attorney.
“Ordinarily in the federal system, when you’re a prosecutor, you build your case on the back. ofa cooperator, somebody who was part of the crime who’s pled guilty and who is now your witness,” Honig explained.
He continued: “The defense lawyers stand up in closing and they say, ‘Folks, you’re going convict my client based on the word of a criminal?’ And then we prosecutors stand up and say to the jury, ‘Look, we’d love to call honest, hard-working people to come in here and tell you about a crime, but that type of person isn’t on the inside of a crime.’ Here, they’re literally on the inside of a crime. These are honest, hard-working, regular folks, had nothing to do with the crime. They’re inside the bedrooms, inside the closets.”
“And even if they can’t give the whole story, A to Z, they can give important details,” Honig added. “They saw a box here or there, they overheard a conversation. So, if I’m a prosecutor, this is the best-case scenario.”