Shows / The Counsel
The Counsel
Join Elie Honig as he unpacks the complex legal issues shaping our country. A former prosecutor and co-chief of the organized crime unit at the Southern District of New York, CNN senior legal analyst, and author, Honig brings sharp insight and clear perspective to the intersections of law, politics, and current events. New episodes every Friday. From CAFE and the Vox Media Podcast Network.
Episodes
- The Counsel
Note from Elie 9/12: Trump’s Emergency Summer Becomes Fallback Fall
Elie Honig is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney and co-chief of the organized crime unit at the Southern District of New York, where he prosecuted more than 100…
- The Counsel
Note from Elie 9/05: Trump Can’t Fire the Fed at Will — But He Probably Can Fire Lisa Cook
Elie Honig is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney and co-chief of the organized crime unit at the Southern District of New York, where he prosecuted more than 100…
- The Counsel
Note From Elie 8/29: Will the Courts Let Trump Send the National Guard Into New York?
Elie Honig is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney and co-chief of the organized crime unit at the Southern District of New York, where he prosecuted more than 100…
- The Counsel
Note from Elie 8/22: Obergefell Isn't Dobbs. Gay Marriage Will Stand.
Elie Honig is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney and co-chief of the organized crime unit at the Southern District of New York, where he prosecuted more than 100…
- The Counsel
Note from Elie 8/15: The Calm Before the Epstein Storm
Elie Honig is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney and co-chief of the organized crime unit at the Southern District of New York, where he prosecuted more than 100…
- The Counsel
Note From Elie 08/08: Will the U.S. Supreme Court Actually Save Ghislaine Maxwell?
Elie Honig is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney and co-chief of the organized crime unit at the Southern District of New York, where he prosecuted more than 100…
- The Counsel
Note from Elie 8/1: Trump Is Only Pretending to Release More Epstein Material
Elie Honig is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney and co-chief of the organized crime unit at the Southern District of New York, where he prosecuted more than 100…
- The Counsel
Note from Elie 7/25: Ghislaine Maxwell Is Not the Savior
Elie Honig is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney and co-chief of the organized crime unit at the Southern District of New York, where he prosecuted more than 100…
- The Counsel
Note from Elie 7/18: Pam Bondi: Trump’s Clueless Heat Shield
Elie Honig is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney and co-chief of the organized crime unit at the Southern District of New York, where he prosecuted more than 100…
- The Counsel
Note from Elie 7/11: Nobody Trusts Pam Bondi
Elie Honig is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney and co-chief of the organized crime unit at the Southern District of New York, where he prosecuted more than 100…
- The Counsel
Note from Elie 7/3: The Diddy Verdict — What Went Wrong?
Elie Honig is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney and co-chief of the organized crime unit at the Southern District of New York, where he prosecuted more than 100…
- The Counsel
Note from Elie 6/27: The Quiet Unraveling of the Kilmar Abrego Garcia Prosecution
Elie Honig is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney and co-chief of the organized crime unit at the Southern District of New York, where he prosecuted more than 100…
- The Counsel
Note from Elie 6/20: The President’s Constitutional Power to Do Stupid Things
Elie Honig is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney and co-chief of the organized crime unit at the Southern District of New York, where he prosecuted more than 100…
- The Counsel
Note From Elie 06/13: The Kilmar Abrego Garcia Case: Prosecution as Political Cover
Elie Honig is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney and co-chief of the organized crime unit at the Southern District of New York, where he prosecuted more than 100…
- The Counsel
Note from Elie 6/06: The Supreme Court Will Settle Trump’s Tariffs – But When, and How?
Elie Honig is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney and co-chief of the organized crime unit at the Southern District of New York, where he prosecuted more than 100…
- The Counsel
Note from Elie 5/30: Trump vs. Harvard: Asymmetric Warfare
Elie Honig is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney and co-chief of the organized crime unit at the Southern District of New York, where he prosecuted more than 100…
- The Counsel
Note from Elie 5/23: Letitia James Started It, but Trump's Payback Isn't the Answer
Elie Honig is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney and co-chief of the organized crime unit at the Southern District of New York, where he prosecuted more than 100…
- The Counsel
Note from Elie 5/16: Trump’s Government by Hysteria
Elie Honig is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney and co-chief of the organized crime unit at the Southern District of New York, where he prosecuted more than 100…
- The Counsel
Note from Elie 5/09: How Diddy Just Might Avoid Disaster
Elie Honig is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney and co-chief of the organized crime unit at the Southern District of New York, where he prosecuted more than 100…
- The Counsel
Note from Rachel 5/7: Commandeering Through Intimidation
Rachel Barkow is the Charles Seligson Professor of Law at NYU School of Law and the Faculty Director of the Zimroth Center on the Administration of Criminal…
- The Counsel
Note from Elie 5/02: We’ve Got 99 Immigration Problems, but the Judge Arrests Ain’t One
Elie Honig is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney and co-chief of the organized crime unit at the Southern District of New York, where he prosecuted more than 100…
- The Counsel
Note From Barb 4/30: Freezing the Free Press
Barb McQuade is the former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, a law professor at the University of Michigan, and a legal analyst for NBC News…
- The Counsel
Note from Elie 4/25: The Trump Administration’s False Flag: Combating Anti-Semitism at Harvard is Really About Thought Control
Elie Honig is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney and co-chief of the organized crime unit at the Southern District of New York, where he prosecuted more than 100…
- The Counsel
Note from Elie 4/18: How Could the Kilmar Abrego Garcia Standoff End?
Elie Honig is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney and co-chief of the organized crime unit at the Southern District of New York, where he prosecuted more than 100…
- The Counsel
Note from Asha 4/16: What’s the Real Quid Pro Quo with Bukele?
Asha Rangappa is a Senior Lecturer at Yale University's Jackson Institute for Global Affairs. Before that, she served as a Special Agent in the New York…
- The Counsel
Note from Elie 4/11: Trump Threatens to Imprison Critics — and Now He’s Got the AG To Do It
Elie Honig is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney and co-chief of the organized crime unit at the Southern District of New York, where he prosecuted more than 100…
- The Counsel
Note from Rachel 4/9: Rethinking Precedent
Rachel Barkow is the Charles Seligson Professor of Law at NYU School of Law and the Faculty Director of the Zimroth Center on the Administration of Criminal…
- The Counsel
Note from Elie 4/3: Trump’s Blacklisted Law Firms: Surrender or Fight?
Elie Honig is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney and co-chief of the organized crime unit at the Southern District of New York, where he prosecuted more than 100…
- The Counsel
Note From Barb 4/2: Why Law Firms Must Resist the Bully-in-Chief
Barb McQuade is the former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, a law professor at the University of Michigan, and a legal analyst for NBC News…
- The Counsel
Note from Elie 3/26: DOJ’s Selective Do-Nothing Era
Elie Honig is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney and co-chief of the organized crime unit at the Southern District of New York, where he prosecuted more than 100…
- The Counsel
Note from Elie 3/21: “One Unelected Judge” vs. the President
Elie Honig is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney and co-chief of the organized crime unit at the Southern District of New York, where he prosecuted more than 100…
- The Counsel
Note from Asha 3/19: Why the Alien Enemies Act Is So Dangerous in Trump's Hands
Asha Rangappa is a Senior Lecturer at Yale University's Jackson Institute for Global Affairs. Before that, she served as a Special Agent in the New York…
- The Counsel
Note from Elie 3/17: Trump Pushes Courts to the Brink
Elie Honig is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney and co-chief of the organized crime unit at the Southern District of New York, where he prosecuted more than 100…
- The Counsel
Note from Elie 3/14: Eric Adams: NYC’s Mayor, DOJ’s Yo-Yo
Elie Honig is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney and co-chief of the organized crime unit at the Southern District of New York, where he prosecuted more than 100…
- The Counsel
Note from Mimi 3/12: Protecting Prosecutorial Independence
Mimi Rocah is the former District Attorney for Westchester County, New York, and a former federal prosecutor for the Southern District of New York. Throughout…
- The Counsel
Note from Elie 3/7: Blocked, Un-Blocked, Re-Blocked: How to Understand the Dizzying DOGE Court Rulings
Elie Honig is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney and co-chief of the organized crime unit at the Southern District of New York, where he prosecuted more than 100…
- The Counsel
Note From Barb 3/5: Trump's Retribution Tour Hits the 6th Amendment
Barb McQuade is the former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, a law professor at the University of Michigan, and a legal analyst for NBC News…
- The Counsel
Note from Elie 2/27: The Nation’s Most Dangerous Prosecutor
Elie Honig is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney and co-chief of the organized crime unit at the Southern District of New York, where he prosecuted more than 100…
- The Counsel
Note from Rachel 2/26: Authoritarian Agencies
Trump and Musk are on a self-declared mission to destroy the bureaucracy and the “deep state" — and they're taking aim at the government's independent…
- The Counsel
Note from Asha 2/19: Fearless Speech: What Are You Willing to Risk to Speak Out?
Asha Rangappa is a Senior Lecturer at Yale University's Jackson Institute for Global Affairs. Before that, she served as a Special Agent in the New York…
- The Counsel
Note from Elie 2/18: The Justice Department’s Existential Crisis Is Self-Inflicted
Elie Honig is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney and co-chief of the organized crime unit at the Southern District of New York, where he prosecuted more than 100…
- The Counsel
Note from Mimi 2/12: A Message to DOJ Rank and File
Former DA and federal prosecutor Mimi Rocah expresses concern over Attorney General Pam Bondi’s policies and urges junior federal prosecutors to stand firm in…
- The Counsel
Note from Elie 2/11: DOJ Abandons Adams Prosecution — and Independence
Elie Honig is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney and co-chief of the organized crime unit at the Southern District of New York, where he prosecuted more than 100…
- The Counsel
Note from Elie 2/7: The “Make Me” Presidency
Elie Honig is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney and co-chief of the organized crime unit at the Southern District of New York, where he prosecuted more than 100…
- The Counsel
Note from Barb: Trump’s Demonization of Public Servants
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
- The Counsel
Note from Elie 1/31: Donald Trump’s Assault on DOJ
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
- The Counsel
Note from Rachel 1/29: Pardons Without Process
CAFE Contributor Rachel Barkow reflects on the pardons issued by President Trump and former President Biden, highlighting the flaws in the pardon process and…
- The Counsel
Note from Elie 1/24: The Power of Pardons (To Distract)
Elie Honig is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney and co-chief of the organized crime unit at the Southern District of New York, where he prosecuted more than 100…
- The Counsel
Note from Asha 1/22: Meta's Pay to Play Gambit
Asha Rangappa is a Senior Lecturer at Yale University's Jackson Institute for Global Affairs. Before that, she served as a Special Agent in the New York…
- The Counsel
Note from Elie 1/14: Jack Smith, Paper Tiger
Elie Honig is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney and co-chief of the organized crime unit at the Southern District of New York, where he prosecuted more than 100…
- The Counsel
Note from Elie 1/10: The Trump Hush Money Sentencing: A Felon, Unpunished
Elie Honig is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney and co-chief of the organized crime unit at the Southern District of New York, where he prosecuted more than 100…
- The Counsel
Note from Barb 1/8: Only One President is a Felon
Barb McQuade is the former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, a law professor at the University of Michigan, and a legal analyst for NBC News…
- The Counsel
Note from Elie 1/7: TikTok's Last Stand
Elie Honig is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney and co-chief of the organized crime unit at the Southern District of New York, where he prosecuted more than 100…
- The Counsel
Note from Elie 1/3: Your Legal Questions Answered
Elie Honig is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney and co-chief of the organized crime unit at the Southern District of New York, where he prosecuted more than 100…
- The Counsel
Note from Elie 12/20: The GOP's Criminal Case Against Liz Cheney Is a Total Mess
Elie Honig is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney and co-chief of the organized crime unit at the Southern District of New York, where he prosecuted more than 100…
- The Counsel
Note From Joyce 12/18: Birthright Citizenship
Joyce Vance, co-host of the CAFE Insider podcast, is a former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, a University of Alabama Law School professor…
The CounselThe Daniel Penny Trial (with Rikki Klieman)
In this excerpt of CAFE Insider, Elie Honig and defense attorney Rikki Klieman discuss the jury deliberations in Daniel Penny’s trial, the former marine…
- The Counsel
Note from Elie 12/12: The Bizarre Infatuation with Luigi Mangione Won’t Help Him Beat a Murder Case
Elie Honig is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney and co-chief of the organized crime unit at the Southern District of New York, where he prosecuted more than 100…
- The Counsel
Note From Barb 12/11: The Art of the Counterpunch
Barb McQuade is the former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, a law professor at the University of Michigan, and a legal analyst for NBC News…
The CounselPresidential Pardons & the Death Penalty (with Rachel Barkow)
In this excerpt of CAFE Insider, CAFE Contributors Elie Honig and Rachel Barkow discuss how President Biden and former president Trump have used the pardon…