Last week saw federal Judge Tanya Chutkan unseal a 165-page court filing from Special Counsel Jack Smith which contains numerous allegations against former President Donald Trump.

According to one observer, Smith's filing was less about upholding the law than bending the rules to help Vice President Kamala Harris. 

Judge and special counsel trying to "chip away at Trump's electoral prospects"

According to Fox News, that allegation was put forward in an op-ed piece for New York magazine by CNN senior legal analyst and former prosecutor Elie Honig.

In it, Honig complained that the special counsel "has essentially abandoned any pretense" and will "bend any rule, switch up on any practice — so long as he gets to chip away at Trump's electoral prospects."

"At this point, there's simply no defending Smith's conduct on any sort of principled or institutional basis," the former prosecutor continued.

Honig went on to argue that Smith's "unprincipled, norm-breaking practice" is not justified by suggestions that voters "need to know this stuff."

Filing contains grand jury testimony that was not subject to cross examination

He complained that the special counsel has turned the "rules of criminal procedure on their head" by filing his motion without waiting for the defense to file its motions first.

Honig maintained that Smith and Chutkan's actions can only be explained in the context of there being "an election right around the corner and dwindling opportunity to make a dent."

What's more, the legal analyst pointed to Smith's "ironic" accusations "that Trump’s words might taint the jury pool" as his filing "is prejudicial to Trump, legally and politically."

Honig stressed that Smith's filing contains normally secret grand-jury testimony which was "made outside of a trial setting and without being subjected to the rules of evidence or cross-examination."

"You know who’ll see those allegations?" he asked before quickly adding, "The voters, sure — and also members of the jury pool."

DOJ rules ban prosecutors from trying to affect "any election"

As he drew to a close, Honig pointed to the Justice Manual, a document which he describes as being the Department of Justice's "internal bible."

Part of it states, "Federal prosecutors … may never select the timing of any action, including investigative steps, criminal charges, or statements, for the purpose of affecting any election."

He concluded by saying, "If prosecutors bend their principles depending on the identity of their prey, then they’ve got no principles at all."