Elie Honig (born April 3, 1975) is an American attorney and legal commentator. He is the senior legal analyst for

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

. Prior to working for CNN, Honig was an

assistant United States Attorney An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal gov ...

Early life

Honig was born in

Camden, New Jersey Camden is a City (New Jersey), city in Camden County, New Jersey, Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan region. The city was incorporated on February 13, 1828.Snyder, John P''The Story of ...

, on April 3, 1975 and grew up in Voorhees Township and

Cherry Hill Cherry Hill often refers to: * Cherry Hill, New Jersey, a township in Camden County, New Jersey * Cherry Hill, Prince William County, Virginia, a census-designated place Cherry Hill may also refer to: Places Canada * Cherry Hill, Nova Scotia, a ...

. Voorhees is adjacent to Cherry Hill. He is

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

and had a

bar mitzvah A ''bar mitzvah'' () or ''bat mitzvah'' () is a coming of age ritual in Judaism. According to Halakha, Jewish law, before children reach a certain age, the parents are responsible for their child's actions. Once Jewish children reach that age ...

ceremony. Two of his grandparents survived the

Nazi concentration camps From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps (), including subcamp (SS), subcamps on its own territory and in parts of German-occupied Europe. The first camps were established in March 1933 immediately af ...

during

the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

. Honig graduated from

Cherry Hill High School East Cherry Hill High School East (also known as Cherry Hill East or CHE) is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades in Cherry Hill, in Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating ...

, a public high school in Cherry Hill in 1993. He earned his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

from

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

in 1997 and his

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

in 2000.

Career

Operation Predator Alert II press briefing

After graduating, Honig took a job with

Covington & Burling Covington & Burling LLP is an American multinational law firm. Known as a white-shoe law firm, it is headquartered in Washington, D.C. and advises clients on transactional, litigation, regulatory, and public policy matters. The firm has addition ...

in Washington. D.C. From 2004 to 2012, Honig was an

assistant United States attorney An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal gov ...

in the

Southern District of New York The Southern District of New York is a federal judicial district that encompasses the counties of New York (Manhattan), Bronx, Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, Orange, Dutchess, and Sullivan. Federal offices or agencies operating in the distri ...

. 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 The American Mafia, commonly referred to in North America as the Italian-American Mafia, the Mafia, or the Mob, is a highly organized Italian-American criminal society and organized crime group. The terms Italian Mafia and Italian Mob apply to ...

, including members of the

Genovese Genovese is an Italian surname meaning, properly, someone from Genoa. Its Italian plural form '' Genovesi'' has also developed into a surname. People * Alfred Genovese (1931–2011), American oboist * Alfredo Genovese (born 1964), Argentine arti ...

and Gambino crime families such as

Ciro Perrone Ciro Perrone (January 8, 1921 – November 26, 2011) was a New York City mobster and soldier in the Genovese crime family. Perrone was captain Matthew Ianniello's top soldier and his second-in-command since the 1970s. At various times, Perrone se ...

Matthew Ianniello Matthew Joseph "Matty the Horse" Ianniello (June 18, 1920 – August 15, 2012) was an American mobster with the Genovese crime family of New York City, of which he was once the acting boss. During the 1970s and 1980s, Ianniello controlled the ...

Angelo Prisco Angelo Prisco (August 1, 1939 – June 21, 2017) also known as "The Horn", was an American mobster in New Jersey who became a caporegime in the Genovese crime family. Relatives include Michael Prisco and Angelique Prisco Prisco was a relative ...

Daniel Marino Daniel Marino (born October 7, 1940) is an Italian American mobster and member of the Gambino crime family. He was identified as a member of the family's leadership panel, alongside John Gambino and Bartolomeo Vernace, in 2009. On June 23, 196 ...

, and

Joseph Corozzo Joseph "Jo Jo" Corozzo, Sr. (October 1, 1942 – December 4, 2024) was an American mobster who was the reputed '' consigliere'' of the Gambino crime family of New York. Biography Background Corozzo was born in Brownsville, Brooklyn. His brother ...

. In September 2012, Honig joined the

Attorney General of New Jersey The attorney general of New Jersey is a member of the executive cabinet of the state and oversees the New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety, Department of Law and Public Safety. The office is appointed by the governor of New Jersey, confi ...

's office as the deputy director of the Division of Criminal Justice. He was named director of the division in February 2013. He led the division's bail reform initiative in 2017. Honig joined Lowenstein Sandler in June 2018. In September 2018, he became a senior legal analyst for

. Honig's first book, ''Hatchet Man: How Bill Barr Broke the Prosecutor's Code and Corrupted the Justice Department'', was published in 2021. His second book, ''Untouchable: How Powerful People Get Away with It'', shipped in late-January 2023. He has also produced a podcast, "Up Against the Mob", and a documentary for CNN on the

trial of Adolf Eichmann The Eichmann trial was the 1961 trial of major Holocaust perpetrator Adolf Eichmann who was captured in Argentina by Israeli agents and brought to Israel to stand trial. Eichmann was a senior Nazi party member and served at the rank of ''Oberst ...

, in which he interviewed the trial's prosecutor, Gabriel Bach.

Personal life

Honig's wife, Rachael, is also an attorney; she was an assistant United States attorney for

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. They have two children and live in

Metuchen, New Jersey Metuchen ( ) is a suburban Borough (New Jersey), borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The borough is a commuter town of New York City, located in the heart of the Raritan River, Raritan Valle ...

which is near

Bibliography

* *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Honig, Elie 1975 births Assistant United States attorneys Cherry Hill High School East alumni CNN people Harvard Law School alumni Living people Lawyers from Camden County, New Jersey Lawyers from Middlesex County, New Jersey People from Camden, New Jersey People from Cherry Hill, New Jersey People from Metuchen, New Jersey People from Voorhees Township, New Jersey Rutgers University alumni 21st-century American lawyers