Donald Trump’s prediction won on election night which will probably lead him to a number of other court victories.
Being elected president would likely result in federal criminal charges against him is firedwhile his state criminal cases may be frozen at least until he leaves office.
Justice Department officials have already begun evaluating how to drop two federal cases against Trump before he takes office to comply with department policy that a sitting president cannot be prosecuted. This was reported by NBC News Wednesday, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Meanwhile, Trump’s legal team is evaluating its next steps on how to handle all four criminal cases and plans to soon argue that all cases should be “dismissed immediately,” according to a source directly involved in the discussions.
The presidency likely won’t protect Trump from the hundreds of millions of dollars in penalties he faces from various civil cases against him, but it could be an asset in his defense against others still pending.
Trump has denied wrongdoing in all cases, calling them “witch hunts” that should be dismissed.
Steven Cheung, a spokesman for Trump’s campaign, said his election victory “makes it clear that Americans want an immediate end to the weaponization of our justice system.”
Here’s a look at where the various court cases against Trump stand and how his victory could affect them.
State criminal cases
Trump, who was found guilty earlier this year, is scheduled to be sentenced on November 26 in New York. 34 criminal cases falsifying business records related to a 2016 hush money payment to adult film star Stormi Daniels.
Judge Juan Merchan if the verdict is continued He can sentence Trump to prison. It would be immediately appealed, and Trump’s lawyers could successfully argue that he could never serve until the end of his term because the Constitution prohibits the president from being limited in his official duties.
It is not yet clear whether the sentence will stand at all.
Trump’s lawyers have filed motions seeking to overturn his conviction because the Supreme Court expanded the scope of its July ruling. presidential immunity.
They argue that some of the evidence presented to the grand jury and criminal trial should not have been allowed after the high court’s ruling.
Mercha is expected to rule on the request by November 12, and he could decide whether to continue the sentence, dismiss the charges or retrial. A new trial was supposed to take place after Trump ends his term in 2029.
Trump is also awaiting a criminal trial in Georgia, where he is accused of conspiring to illegally overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
The spreading case expected at least until December the appellate court will argue Whether Fulton County District Attorney Fannie Willis and her office should be allowed to stand trial.
If he is removed, officials would have to find another prosecutor to take over the case, a lengthy process that could lead to a new prosecutor deciding to reduce or drop the charges.
Even if Willis moves forward, legal experts told NBC News he will face the same hurdle as New York prosecutors. Trump cannot be tried until his term ends. Meanwhile, Willis will also have to overcome new legal hurdles created by the immunity ruling.
Federal criminal cases
Trump is the subject of two criminal cases — one involving federal charges — brought by special counsel Jack Smith To illegally cancel the 2020 elections and the other to catch confidential documents after leaving his post and lying to investigators about it.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, dismissed the documents earlier this year after finding that Smith’s appointment as special counsel was illegal.
The Justice Department appealed the decision, but the department is part of the executive branch that Trump will regain control of in January. He can direct the Justice Department not to even deal with the appeal. NBC News legal analyst Danny Cevallos said.
The election interference case was still pending, but U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan had not yet set a trial date because the case was entangled in arguments stemming from the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling.
Smith was moving forward with filings in both cases, as he always has during an election cycle, but two sources told NBC Tuesday that is no longer the case and that DOJ officials see no room and no point in pursuing a criminal case. continues to litigate with them in the remaining weeks before taking office.
The position of the department originates from the year 2000 memo by his Office of the General Counsel, he affirmed the Watergate-era finding that the prosecution of a sitting president would “improperly interfere, directly or indirectly, with the conduct of the presidency.”
Sources said it will be up to Smith how to dispose of the charges.
“These cases are, for all intents and purposes, gone,” Cevallos said before reporting on the DOJ’s new position. “Federal cases will go.”
Civil cases and judgments
The presidency could be an asset in Trump’s defense in a number of expectations civil claims Related to his role in the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. Trump has argued that his actions are protected by presidential immunity and that he can use his new position to bring the Justice Department to his defense.
He may now argue that these cases should not be heard pending the conclusion of his criminal trial in Georgia because they cover similar ground and may affect his right to incriminate himself.
Trump’s victory is unlikely to affect pending appeals of more than $550 million in civil judgments against him.
The president-elect is appealing a $478 million judgment, the largest award in a civil fraud case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James. during arguments Before the state Appellate Division in September, three members of a five-judge panel said they thought the award was too large. It is unclear when the board will make a decision.
Trump too attractive a pair of jury awards of nearly $88 million to writer E. Jean Carroll. She has filed two lawsuits against Trump, one for sexual harassment and defamation against him in the 1990s, and another for defamation while he was president.
The appeals court is expected to rule on the sexual assault case first, but it is unclear when that will happen.
A situation that his new office cannot protect him from defamation suit He was sued last month by members of the Central Park Five, who now call themselves the Exonerated Five.
Five people are suing Trump over false allegations he made about them in September presidential debate.
In 1997, according to the decision of the Supreme Court, the presidents decided to do so they are not immune from civil lawsuits it does not apply to their time in office.