Donald Trump’s election victory on Wednesday would essentially end the criminal cases brought against him, at least for the four years he has occupied the White House.
The first former US president to face criminal charges, Trump has faced four simultaneous indictments for most of this year, ranging from trying to cover up hush money payments to porn star Stormi Daniels during his 2016 campaign to trying to overturn his 2020 election. Defeat. A New York jury convicted him in May of falsifying business records linked to Daniels’ payments, making him the first US president to be convicted of a crime.
Trump, a Republican, told an interviewer on October 24 that he would fire US special counsel Jack Smith – who led the federal indictments in an attempt to overturn his election defeat and withheld classified documents after leaving office – “within two seconds”. Taking the oath. Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges and said the charges were politically motivated.
While Trump, as president, would have the power to fire Smith and close federal cases against him, he would not have the same control over the New York hush money case or the Georgia indictment trying to overturn his 2020 loss in that state. But his unique role as president makes it unlikely that he will face any legal consequences during his term.
In New York, Trump’s lawyers are expected to ask Justice Juan Mercant to delay his sentencing, scheduled for Nov. 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 trial to be delayed.
Trump also faces four charges in federal court in Washington accusing him of spreading false claims of election fraud after his 2020 loss to Democrat Joe Biden.
In the Georgia racketeering case, prosecutors used state racketeering laws — developed to fight organized crime — to charge Trump with an alleged plot to reverse his defeat in the battleground state in the 2020 election. Trump will not be able to drop the indictment, but his attorney has said in court that he will seek to block any activity related to Trump, arguing that he should not be burdened with criminal charges while in office.
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