Trump can wield the vast powers of the American presidency to shut down federal prosecutions, because he will have ultimate authority over the Justice Department. Although he cannot order state prosecutors to drop cases, Trump could try to delay them indefinitely.

The most immediate legal threat to Trump is the Nov. 26 ruling by a New York state judge in the so-called hush money case, the only one that has gone to trial so far. Trump’s victory gives his legal team new ammunition to try to overturn the ruling and dismiss the case entirely.

Trump has denied wrongdoing in every case that state and federal prosecutors have brought against him.

Hush-Money Case (New York State)

In May, a New York jury found Trump guilty of 34 felonies for falsifying business records to conceal a $130,000 payment to former adult film actress Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg alleged that the payment was part of a plan to influence the election by preventing sensational articles from being published.

New York State Judge Juan Merchán delayed sentencing until after Tuesday’s election. Trump has called for the verdict to be overturned, arguing that the trial included evidence that should not have been allowed under a new immunity standard from the U.S. Supreme Court.

In July, the high court held that former presidents are largely immune from criminal charges arising from official conduct while in office. Merchan said he will rule on Trump’s immunity argument on Nov. 12.

With Trump’s victory, the judge could cancel the sentence to avoid concerns about the president-elect’s appearance in criminal court and the case could be postponed until Trump’s term ends. In light of the election victory, Trump’s lawyers will also likely fight to have the verdict overturned.

Federal election fraud case (Washington)

In August 2023, special counsel Jack Smith charged Trump with conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 election and inciting a deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Trump argued that he has immunity from prosecution because he was president, a fight that went all the way to the Supreme Court. While the justices broadly sided with Trump, they sent the case back to U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan to decide whether it could move forward under the court’s new immunity standard.

Seeking to keep the case alive, Smith filed an updated indictment in August that removed some details that could be affected by the SCOTUS ruling but included the same claims against Trump.

Now, Trump will likely order his attorney general to close the case. Trump also told a conservative podcast host that he would quickly fire Smith.

Federal Classified Documents Case (Florida)

In June 2023, Smith charged Trump with dozens of counts of withholding national security documents after leaving the White House and repeatedly obstructing U.S. efforts to recover the records.

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the case in July after ruling that Smith’s appointment was unconstitutional. The Trump appointee determined that Congress had not given Attorney General Merrick Garland authority to appoint a private citizen as special counsel. The government has appealed, arguing that the ruling deviates from decades of legal tradition supporting the work of special prosecutors in high-profile criminal cases.

As with the voter fraud case, Trump can move quickly to have the Justice Department drop the prosecution. That would prevent the appeals court from being able to reinstate the case as the government is currently trying to do.

Voter fraud case (state of Georgia)

In August 2023, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis filed her own case against Trump over the 2020 election based on Georgia state law. Georgia prosecutors charged more than a dozen Trump supporters, including attorney Rudy Giuliani, with participating in a scheme that violated the state’s racketeering law.

The case was also put on hold until an appeals court rules whether Willis should be removed because of an affair with one of the prosecutors.

Trump’s lawyers will likely seek to have the case dismissed on the grounds that continuing to prosecute Trump would interfere with their constitutional duties.