Elie Honig (born April 3, 1975) is an American attorney and legal commentator. He is the senior legal analyst for CNN. Prior to working for CNN, Honig was an assistant United States Attorney.

Elie Honig
Honig in 2013
Born (1975-04-03) April 3, 1975 (age 49)
EducationRutgers University, New Brunswick (BA)
Harvard University (JD)
SpouseRachael A. Honig
Children2

Early life

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Honig was born in Camden, New Jersey, on April 3, 1975[1] and grew up in Voorhees Township and Cherry Hill. Voorhees is adjacent to Cherry Hill. [2] He is Jewish and had a bar mitzvah ceremony.[3] Two of his grandparents survived the Nazi concentration camps during the Holocaust.[4]

Honig graduated from Cherry Hill High School East, a public high school in Cherry Hill in 1993.[5] He earned his bachelor's degree from Rutgers University in 1997 and his Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 2000.[6]

Career

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Honig (second from left) during a press conference in October 2013

After graduating, Honig took a job with Covington & Burling in Washington. D.C.[2] From 2004 to 2012, Honig was an assistant United States attorney in the Southern District of New York. He prosecuted organized crime. In 2010, he became the deputy chief of the Organized Crime Unit. He secured convictions against 100 members of the American mafia, including members of the Genovese and Gambino crime families[6] such as Ciro Perrone, Matthew Ianniello, Angelo Prisco, Daniel Marino, and Joseph Corozzo.[2][7]

In September 2012, Honig joined the Attorney General of New Jersey's office as the deputy director of the Division of Criminal Justice.[2] He was named director of the division in February 2013.[7] He led the division's bail reform initiative in 2017.[8]

Honig joined Lowenstein Sandler in June 2018.[9] In September 2018, he became a senior legal analyst for CNN.[5] Honig's first book, Hatchet Man: How Bill Barr Broke the Prosecutor's Code and Corrupted the Justice Department, was published in 2021.[10] His second book, Untouchable: How Powerful People Get Away with It, shipped in late-January 2023.[11][12] He has also produced a podcast, "Up Against the Mob", and a documentary for CNN on the trial of Adolf Eichmann, in which he interviewed the trial's prosecutor, Gabriel Bach.[4]

Personal life

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Honig's wife, Rachael, is also an attorney; she was an assistant United States attorney for New Jersey.[13] They have two children and live in Metuchen, New Jersey which is near Rutgers University.[2][3]

Bibliography

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  • Honig, Elie (2021). Hatchet Man: How Bill Barr Broke the Prosecutor's Code and Corrupted the Justice Department. HarperCollins. ISBN 9780063092372.
  • Honig, Elie (2023). Untouchable: How Powerful People Get Away with It. HarperCollins. ISBN 9780063241626.

References

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  1. ^ "Cherry Hill High School East" (PDF). chplnj.org. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e "New N.J. chief of criminal prosecutions sharpened skills battling N.Y. mobsters". nj.com. March 24, 2013. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  3. ^ a b "CNN's senior legal analyst fights for Holocaust remembrance". Jewish Community Voice. December 1, 2021. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  4. ^ a b Jacova Feld, Jayne (January 31, 2022). "CNN's Elie Honig Goes Up Against The Mob In New Podcast: Mafia Stories". South Jersey Magazine. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  5. ^ a b Pensiero, Nicole (July 31, 2019). "Elie Honig: A CNN analyst who explains courtroom drama with South Jersey flair". South Jersey Magazine. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  6. ^ a b "Honig returns to Cherry Hill to dish on all things political and criminal - The Sun Newspapers". Thesunpapers.com. January 6, 2023. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  7. ^ a b Media, Greater (March 6, 2013). "Metuchen man will lead N.J. criminal justice dept. – Central Jersey Archives". Archive.centraljersey.com. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  8. ^ Sharon M. Goldman (July 7, 2021). "Elie Honig Analyzes Justice, Jersey-Style". New Jersey Monthly. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  9. ^ "Elie Honig, Former AUSA, Southern District of New York, and Former Director of New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice, Joins Lowenstein Sandler" (Press release). Lowenstein Sandler. June 4, 2018. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  10. ^ "'Off the Rails.' How a Veteran Prosecutor Sees Bill Barr's Legacy". Time.
  11. ^ "Elie Honig – It's All In Your Head – NYDLA". Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  12. ^ "Untouchable". HarperCollins. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  13. ^ Friedman, Matt (October 10, 2018). "Feds wiretapped Norcross". Politico. Retrieved January 10, 2023.