Top CNN legal analyst says Jack Smith is ‘racing against the clock’ to imprison Trump before 2024 election

On Saturday, Honig explained that Smith is trying to accelerate the many criminal indictments he has levied against Trump with one goal only: a conviction that would place Trump in prison which would ultimately thwart his campaign efforts.

Donald Trump, who is facing 91 felony counts in four criminal cases, has maintained his innocence and claims that he has been unfairly targeted due to a weaponized criminal justice system at the hands of President Biden and his administration.

"Just look at Jack Smith's conduct in this case. The motivating principle behind every procedural request he's made has been speed, has been getting this trial in before the election," Honig said on CNN.

"Let's take a couple of examples. The trial date. The average federal conspiracy and fraud trial takes about a year and a half to two years between indictment and trial," Honig said. "Jack Smith originally requested a trial date for Donald Trump, a far more complex case, five months out. He wanted a January trial. It was set for two months later. So, Donald Trump is being given far less time to prepare."

"This week, Jack Smith won an argument on immunity in the district court and then went right to the Supreme Court. The only reason you ask the Supreme Court to do that on an expedited basis is if you're racing against the clock, and Jack Smith clearly is doing that here," Honig claimed.

The CNN senior legal analyst agreed with President Trump's assessment that Jack Smith's indictments are politically motivated.

"Jack Smith is trying to get this case tried before the election and ... that is political," said Honig. "Jack Smith doesn't just want to get this trial done and let the chips fall where they may and let the consequences be what they can be."

"He's the prosecutor. He believes this case. He wants this case to result in conviction. And so his position isn't just, well, I want this case tried before the election. His position really as a practical matter is I want Donald Trump convicted before the election...It's his job to want and try to convict Donald Trump now that he's indicted. But the second part of that, before the election, that's where it crosses the line to the political in my view," he explained.

Special counsel Jack Smith has handed down multiple criminal indictments to former President Donald Trump since the current GOP frontrunner announced his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election. These include the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case, the Jan. 6 Capitol riot conspiracy case, and others.

Trump claims that these indictments are politically motivated and are meant to influence the outcome of the election.

However, even if Trump were to be convicted, the convictions would not prevent him from becoming the next president if he were to be elected to the White House in 2024, as per the US Constitution. Trump says the criminal indictments are an attempt to thwart his campaign efforts. Trump is currently leading President Biden in every swing state, according to a recent poll.