Jeffrey Toobin, a former federal prosecutor and CNN legal analyst, made a return to the network on Friday, expressing his belief that the election interference case against Donald Trump in Georgia was "going nowhere."
Toobin's comments came during a discussion with former DeKalb County district attorney Gwen Keyes, CNN's Elie Honig, and Anderson Cooper.
Toobin, known for his legal expertise, stated, "Today was a very good day for Donald Trump. This case is going nowhere." He further elaborated on his stance, saying, "In the extremely unlikely event that this somehow staggers to trial in August or in the fall. Think about this: Theres another racketeering case in Georgia where jury selection, not the trial. Jury selection has taken a year. This case is never going to trial before the election. It's an embarrassment, all of this. Fani Willis has hung on, but this case is going nowhere very quickly."
However, Gwen Keyes, a former district attorney in DeKalb County, Georgia, respectfully disagreed with Toobin's assessment. "I do think that there is enough evidence to go forward. I think that particularly the timing in this case, while weve had one racketeering case that has taken a long time to go to a jury, thats an anomaly. In my 17 years as a state prosecutor. Ive never seen it take 10 or 12 months to get a jury. And in the last RICO case that Im aware of D.A. Willis taking to trial with 12 defendants she was able to get a jury in about four weeks. So, I think thats the precedent that we should be looking at," Keyes said.
A significant development occurred on Friday when a Georgia judge ruled that Willis must either step aside from the case against Trump or dismiss special prosecutor Nathan Wade. Willis was accused of having an improper romantic relationship that she attempted to cover up with special counsel on the case, Nathan Wade, who resigned shortly after the ruling.
When asked by Cooper if the ruling was going to impact her trial, Honig responded, "Absolutely. She survived, I don't think she won, but she survived and thats the most important practical bottom-line. Shes still on the case. But Fani Willis' credibility is in tatters in a way that Ive never seen from any prosecutor. Shes now been reprimanded twice by two separate judges and the language, in this opinion, you never see this."
Honig further elaborated, "I mean, the judge said there are seven or eight attacks on her credibility, founded by the record. He said there are reasonable questions about whether the DA testified untruthfully. That means the judge is saying theres a realistic probability the district attorney got on the witness stand and committed perjury."
Toobin, who has been in the spotlight for his 2020 indiscretion, has appeared on CNN nearly a dozen times since the beginning of the year to provide commentary on various legal hot topics. These include former President Trump's ongoing indictments, Special Counsel Robert Hur's report on President Biden, and the Supreme Court's unanimous decision to toss Colorado's Trump ballot ban.
Toobin has most frequently appeared on "Anderson Cooper 360," making five appearances on that program since early February, according to Grabien transcripts. He has also appeared on CNN programs like "Laura Coates Live," "The Source with Kaitlan Collins," "CNN Newsnight" and "CNN This Morning." A former legal analyst for the network, he is simply introduced as a "former federal prosecutor."
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