Donald Trump's U.S. presidential election victory on Wednesday will essentially end the criminal cases brought against him, at least for the four years he occupies the White House.
The first former U.S. president to face criminal charges, Trump for much of this year faced four simultaneous prosecutions, over allegations ranging from his attempt to cover up a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 campaign to his attempts to overturn his 2020 election defeat.
U.S. Justice Department officials on Wednesday were assessing how to wind down Special Counsel Jack Smith's two criminal cases against the Republican president-elect, due to a long-standing policy that forbids prosecuting a sitting president, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.
A New York jury in May found him guilty of falsifying business records tied to the Daniels payment, making him the first former U.S. president convicted of a felony.
Trump told an interviewer on Oct 24 that he would fire Smith -- who led the federal prosecutions over his attempts to overturn his election defeat and retention of classified documents after leaving office -- "within two seconds" of being sworn in.
Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges and cast the prosecutions as politically motivated.
"The American people have heard these Democrat prosecutors' cases against President Trump and they're still going to elect him anyway," said Mike Davis, the founder of the Article III Project, a conservative legal advocacy group.
Trump will not have the same control over the New York hush money case or Georgia's prosecution of him for trying to overturn his 2020 loss in that state. But his unique role as president makes it unlikely he will face legal consequences in either case during his term in office.
"He was properly charged with crimes within the system we have," said Kristy Parker, a special counsel at Protect Democracy, an advocacy organization dedicated to countering what it calls authoritarian threats to the U.S. Parker said if Trump does shut down the cases, "that won't mean it was the right thing."
One more court date is scheduled before he is due to be sworn in on Jan 20, though legal experts said that was unlikely to go forward.
NEW YORK HUSH MONEY CASE
In New York, Trump’s lawyers are expected to ask Justice Juan Merchan to delay his sentencing currently scheduled for Nov 26 - at which he could face up to four years in prison. Sentencing a president-elect ahead of Inauguration Day would be unprecedented in U.S. 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 due to a July U.S. Supreme Court ruling finding that presidents have broad immunity from prosecution over their official acts. Trump argues the case should be dismissed based on the ruling, which prosecutors dispute.
Trump has vowed to appeal his conviction once he is sentenced. Separately, his lawyers have asked the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to move the case to federal court. Such a move, 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 election fraud to try to block the collection and certification of votes following the 2020 election, which Trump lost to Democrat Joe Biden.
Smith had also charged Trump with unlawfully holding onto classified documents after his first term ended in 2021 and obstructing efforts by the U.S. government to retrieve the records.
Florida-based U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who was nominated to the bench by Trump, dismissed all charges in July after finding that Smith was improperly appointed to the role and did not have the authority to bring the case.
The Justice Department filed an appeal in the case.
James Trusty, who previously represented Trump in both matters, said he was not as optimistic that the Justice Department would dismiss the cases on its own.
“My instinct is they would rather sit in status quo or largely status quo, rather than affirmatively pull the plug," he said. "Politically, I think they would rather have the new Trump administration’s fingerprints on the demise of the cases.”
GEORGIA RACKETEERING CASE
Prosecutors in Fulton County, Georgia, last year used state racketeering laws -- developed to fight organized crime -- to charge Trump in an alleged conspiracy to reverse his defeat in the battleground state in the 2020 election.
Trump will not be able to end the prosecution, but his lawyer has already said in court he will seek to pause any activity related to Trump based on an argument that a president should not face the burden of a 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, over alleged misconduct stemming from a romantic relationship she had with a former deputy. Oral arguments are scheduled for Dec 5.
If that effort fails, the case will be able to proceed 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 that the case against Trump will not progress while he remains in the White House.
© Thomson Reuters 2024.
31 Comments
Simon Foston
What a ridiculous situation. Imagine a suspect in a criminal case having the authority to get the case closed down, or appoint the judges and jurors who'll be trying him. I suppose that's the way it goes with politicised justice.
dagon
And no cries from the MAGA faithful about a two-tier justice system in full effect.
Well, they did just elect an adjudicated rapist, fraudster, felon to be the most powerful man in the world.
TaiwanIsNotChina
A stupid policy. Fortunately the state cases continue.
bass4funk
Once you become President you are shielded from political persecution, unless you engage in a horrific crime like murder or rape where you have actual physical evidence.
Underworld
Doesn't mean they shouldn't do it...
Yrral
He had already raped someone
Yrral
He win Michigan and Wisconsin by 50 thousand,their were actually less people voting for this election,the blue wall will be made of steel next go around
bass4funk
Allegedly
Jack Smith is now winding down his political investigation against Trump, no surprise there.
Ken
Presidential immunity was never a thing, in the past there wasn't a US president that did that many dishonorable things or tried that hard to cling to power until recently
JJE
Jack Smith will be fired within 2 seconds.
This is a fact.
Blacklabel
You mean he is NOT going to prison as the left repetitively and obsessively claimed?
must be so disappointed.
too bad. Results of a democratic election and the will of the people says not happening.
JJE
Trump will jail those who employed lawfare.
So be it.
Ken
Elon, Putin and Trump working together? Yeah sure that sounds like a positive outcome for Americans
Toblerone
The charges and court cases were all bs and political shennanigans by the now shamed and trounced Demokratik party.
All those libs gleefully predicting Trump would go to jail and mocking those of us who knew better, where are you now?
JJE
Trump went before the highest jury in the land.
It's called the American public.
Mess with that at your peril.
bass4funk
If we can prevent any new wars, I am all for it.
Blacklabel
Man, wasn’t Jack Smith a complete and total disappointment?
All that hype from the left, and nothing.
Basically Robert Mueller, but even more disappointing if that is even possible.
Simon Foston
TobleroneToday 08:48 am JST
Of course you would say that.
Where do you think? I must concede, it was a bit silly to expect too much, what with the judiciary packed with people that Trump put there.
dagon
How can any American corporation on a job application have a box which you must check if you are a convicted felon on a job application if Trump is in the highest office in the land?
Talk about a two-tier justice system in the unfree labor job market.
JJE
Jack Smith announced he is throwing in the towel a number of hours ago.
Good for him. He can read tea leaves too.
He'd best look for another job in a completely different jurisdiction.
wallace
Only in America can a felon and sexual abuser become the president.
bass4funk
ROFL, so true, so true.
Bad Haircut
They were just political prosecutions designed to keep him out of office. And they failed spectacularly! With the popular vote confirming it.
Now can you just let his administration get on with the job he was elected to do?
Alan Harrison
Donald Trumps case has never reached a verdict. In civilised countries like the USA, one is innocent until proven guilty (unlike Japan).
theFu
It should speed them up, since he isn't President until Jan 20th. He could do his time in jail on 1 the cases, if he hurries.
The prosecutor in Georgia won her election with a mandate, unlike Trump.
Fani T. Willis (I) (Dem) - won with 68.12%
Trump won with 50.8% of the vote. Hardly a "mandate".
Lock him up!
I'm embarrassed that my fellow citizens decided to elect a loudmouth, convicted felon, who is petty and a questionable human to office. I'm disappointed, but they seemed to like his lies and want 4 more years of them.
Gotta say - where are all the cries that the election was stolen, like Trump claimed was going to happen? He didn't file any lawsuits ever after lying about massive election fraud ... and claiming that law enforcement was going after the violators.
4 more years of lies.
JJE
Popular vote is not a mandate now.
How convenient.
Also, there's not a jury in the land that would convict him.
Tokyo Guy
I remember learning Japanese from an anime show (a serious one, not one aimed at kids) and I recall coming across the phrase
もはや体制に正義は成し得ない
Seems apposite.
Still, if politics is all about winning, then this is evidently what winning looks like.
I read something online where it suggested that the response in the US was either elation or despair, depending on which side you were on, whereas in Europe is was "a roll of the eyes", suggesting that the Europeans are barely surprised by this at all. Which in turn raises questions about the USA's self-styled status as the world's moral exemplar. The thing is, this election result is clearly the beginning of a "turning inward", where the USA will essentially no longer GAF what other countries think of them (notable exceptions being Russia and possibly China). So the whole idea of having a country which leads by moral example has been sort of scrambled.
Still, it remains to be seen what the tangible outcomes will be.
ian
Lol land of bitter and salty
ian
Have you guys heard of the word democracy?
4Tno
Those crooked judges are trembling now.
bass4funk
They are and that is a good thing.