Fotografía de autor
2 Obras 76 Miembros 5 Reseñas

Obras de Elie Honig

Etiquetado

Conocimiento común

Género
female

Miembros

Reseñas

If the last book I reviewed, Condemned, by Keith Lamar, laments how poor, black and other minorities get the short end of the stick as far as the criminal justice system goes in the U.S., Untouchable clearly demonstrates the exact opposite. Author Elie Honig, a former US prosecutor for the Southern District of New York and CNN senior legal analyst details how powerful people often shield themselves effectively from criminal prosecution, even when they are clearly guilty as sin. Honig shifts between focusing on some of the mob bosses and underlings he went after and Donald J. Trump. Not surprisingly, many of the tactics and built in defenses, are exactly the same. Each of his chapters demonstrates a slightly different defense that protects the most powerful, typically those at the very top of the criminal enterprise, like the Don or Mafia head, as well as the president of the United States. For example chapter one, "Do What You Have to Do" demonstrates that a kingpin need not be specific to be understood and this complicates matters for prosecutors who may lack a smoking gun. This theme is picked up in a later chapter - Say it Without Saying it. Other chapters discuss how lawyers that represent underlings often serve the Godfather, the impossibly high cost of legal representation that favors the rich over everyone else, how difficult it is to go after those at the apex of an organization as opposed to those at the lowest levels (to get the guy at the top you have to flip a lot of underlings), fear among jurors and others in the family, Omerta or enforcing silence, individual and systemic biases, among other factors. It is a fascinating litany. And when Honig focuses on Trump, you see how the office of the presidency offers even more advantages. Untouchable came out before Trump was eventually indicted. But even so, Honig is not optimistic of Trump's chances of being convicted. He feels that both Fani Willis and Merrick Garland waited much too long and squandered some early advantages. Honig is an excellent lawyer and analyst and I don't doubt he may be correct, as much as I wish he were not.… (más)
 
Denunciada
OccassionalRead | Jan 4, 2024 |
I already knew about many of Barr's inappropriate actions but this book dove in and explained them in detail. I appreciated how Honig gave background information as well as legal and procedural rules and norms to explain why so many of Barr's exploits should never have happened. Honig did a good job of weaving in stories about some of his trial experiences to help explain many of his points.
 
Denunciada
carolfoisset | 3 reseñas más. | Apr 23, 2022 |
Former prosecutor Honig, in this well-written critique, lays out the highly compelling and infuriating case against former Attorney General Bill Barr. Firstly, he skewers Barr for actively seeking the AG job (see Dick Cheney and the Jeopardy guy) despite the fact that he had NEVER prosecuted a case. Honig sees this as a clear disqualifier for the role of chief defender of the Constitution (NOT the president). He cites the many unprecedented actions taken by Barr, against either Dept of Justice rules or traditions, in his quest to bolster his concept of the imperial presidency that places the chief executive above the law. Included in this critical narrative are Honig’s own experiences at the SDNY as a prosecutor in organized crime cases (Gotti) and a view into the workings of that office. He also offers nine reforms to fix what Barr tried to destroy. Hopefully, Merrick Garland will buy this excellent book!

Barr’s dirty deeds:
- He thwarted the DoJ prosecutions of Flynn and Stone, leading to the resignations of the prosecuting leads in the cases and cutting the knees right out from under them – “Barr’s interference was both politically driven and legally incorrect. He showed the world that DoJ’s own house was not in order by contradicting his own people, in service of dubious ends.” A total of seven prosecutors resigned during his tenure.
- He lied and obfuscated to Congress when asked why he was not investigating Trump’s commuting of Stone’s prison sentence, and he denied seeking a lower sentence in the case. The Justice Department charges more than 80,000 defendants annually, and Barr undermined the sentencing recommendation IN THIS ONE CASE ONLY.
-He booked a 30k party at Trump’s DC hotel.
-He defended Trump’s defaming of E. Jean Carroll, saying that Trump was “acting within the scope of his office.”
-He authorized federal agents to use force on civilians to set the stage for a campaign event, and lied about it.
-He never publicly acknowledged the plot to kidnap MI governor Whitmer nor condemned any right-wing terrorists, contributing to the Jan 6th insurrection.
-He discussed ongoing investigations publicly, ignoring the “blackout rule” (Comey had done the same as FBI Director)
-He lied about ballot fraud in Texas
-He was in thrall to the Federalist Society and to advancing a stronger role for religion in politics, decrying the “evils of secularism”
-He reversed course when it became clear that Trump was going to lose the 2020 election

The book went to press before the latest revelations that Trump, when Barr resigned, considered firing Acting AG Rosen in favor of Jeffrey Clark, who had been introduced to Trump by a Pennsylvania politician and had told the president that he agreed that fraud had affected the election results.

Quotes: "Barr used every tool at his disposal to protect Trump from Mueller's investigation."

“The exasperating trademark of the Mueller Report: here’s a bunch of damning evidence, but who’s to say if it constitutes a crime?”
… (más)
 
Denunciada
froxgirl | 3 reseñas más. | Aug 14, 2021 |
Excellently organized, cogent dissection of Barr's actions at the Department of Justice that shattered prosecutorial standards to serve his political and cultural beliefs. A well-written primer on what happened that includes Honig's recommendations for how to restore integrity at DOJ. The book resonates because his interest is in supporting the work at DOJ as far more important than making political points.
1 vota
Denunciada
Perednia | 3 reseñas más. | Jul 2, 2021 |

Estadísticas

Obras
2
Miembros
76
Popularidad
#233,522
Valoración
3.9
Reseñas
5
ISBNs
15
Idiomas
1

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