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Trump’s imminent return to the White House halts criminal cases

Sakege November 6, 2024

Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election on Wednesday will essentially end the criminal proceedings brought against him, at least during his four years in the White House.

Trump, the first former US president to face criminal charges, for much of this year faced four simultaneous indictments, on allegations ranging from his attempt to cover up a money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 campaign to his attempts to overturn his 2020 campaign election defeat. In May, a New York jury found him guilty of falsifying business records linked to Daniels’ payment, making him the first former US president convicted of a felony.

Trump, a Republican, told an interviewer on Oct. 24 that he would fire U.S. special counsel Jack Smith, who led federal prosecutions over his attempts to overturn his election loss and withholding of classified documents after leaving office, “in two seconds.” “to take the oath.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges and called the prosecutions politically motivated.

Supporters of former US President Donald Trump wait near the entrance to the Fulton County Jail, as Donald Trump is expected to turn himself in for arraignment following his impeachment in Georgia, in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, on 24 August 2023. (credit: REUTERS / DUSTIN CHAMBERS)

“The American people have heard these Democratic prosecutors’ cases against President Trump and they are going to elect him anyway,” said Mike Davis, founder of the Article III Project, a conservative legal advocacy group.

While Trump, as president, will have the authority to fire Smith and close the federal cases against him, he will not have the same control over the hush money case in New York or the prosecution in Georgia against him for trying to reverse his 2020 defeat in that state. But his unique role as president makes it unlikely that he will face legal consequences in either case during his term.

“He was appropriately charged with crimes within the system we have,” said Kristy Parker, special prosecutor for Protect Democracy, an advocacy organization dedicated to countering what it calls authoritarian threats to the United States. Parker said that if Trump closes the cases, “That doesn’t mean it was the right thing to do.”

One more court date is scheduled before he is sworn in on Jan. 20, although legal experts said that was unlikely to go ahead.

New York hush money case

In New York, Trump’s lawyers are expected to ask Judge Juan Merchán to delay his sentencing currently scheduled for November 26, in which he could face up to four years in prison. Sentencing a president-elect before Inauguration Day would be unprecedented in American history, and legal experts expect the hearing to be delayed.

Merchan has already twice postponed Trump’s sentencing, which was initially scheduled for July 11, in part because of a July ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that found presidents have broad immunity from prosecution for their actions. officers. Trump argues that the case should be dismissed based on the ruling, which prosecutors dispute.

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Trump has promised to appeal his conviction once he is sentenced. Furthermore, his lawyers have asked the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to transfer the case to federal court. This measure, if successful, could create new legal obstacles for the case.

federal prosecutions

Trump faces four charges in federal court in Washington, accusing him of spreading false claims of voter fraud to try to block the collection and certification of votes following the 2020 election, which Trump lost to Democrat Joe Biden.

Smith also accused Trump of illegally withholding classified documents after his first term ended in 2021 and of obstructing the US government’s efforts to recover the records.

Florida-based U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, Trump’s nominee to the position, dismissed all charges in July after determining that Smith was improperly appointed to the position and did not have the authority to bring the case.

Smith’s team is appealing the ruling, but Trump’s promise to fire Smith immediately after taking office likely signals the end of the case.

Georgia extortion case

Prosecutors in Fulton County, Georgia, last year used the state’s racketeering laws, developed to fight organized crime, to charge Trump with an alleged conspiracy to overturn his loss in the key state in the 2020 election. .

Trump will not be able to end the prosecution, but his lawyer has already told the court that he will seek to pause any Trump-related activity based on the argument that a president should not face the burden of criminal prosecution while in office.

Trump and eight of his 14 co-defendants in the case are asking a Georgia appeals court to disqualify the lead prosecutor, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, for alleged misconduct stemming from a romantic relationship that he had with a former deputy. Oral arguments are scheduled for December 5.

If that effort fails, the case could move forward against the other co-defendants, who include Trump’s former personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. But legal experts expect the case against Trump will not move forward while he remains in the White House.

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