Donald Trump, elected as the 47th president of the United States, is – as CNN reminds – a “convicted criminal” who is “awaiting sentencing in a bribery case in New York and is still trying to avoid prosecution in other state and federal cases.” Trump has pleaded not guilty to any of the charges against him. What will happen now to his criminal and civil cases?
This is a doubly unprecedented situation. Never before has a man accused of a crime been elected to office President of the United States. At the same time, until last year, no former president was accused of committing a crime – notes CNN on the day Donald Trump won the presidential election. What will happen now to his criminal and civil cases?
– It's obvious that it paid off to actively try to delay these cases as long as possible, commented Jessica Levinson, a professor of constitutional law at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.
Money Judgment for Stormy Daniels
Donald Trump is scheduled to appear in a New York court on November 26 to be sentenced on 34 counts of falsifying business records to conceal silence payment given to Stormy Daniels during the 2016 election campaign. The adult film star accused him of having an affair, which Trump denies.
It remains an open question whether a verdict will be announced. Judge Juan Merchan set himself a November 12 deadline to decide whether to overturn the conviction. The reason is supposed to be this year's Supreme Court ruling granting partial immunity to presidents. If Merchan overturns the conviction, the charges will be dismissed and Trump will not be convicted.
However, if the judge decides to uphold the verdict, the former president's lawyers will likely ask Merchan to delay its announcement so they can appeal. An appeal can take months.
However, if Merchan announces his verdict, Trump could be sentenced to up to four years in prison. However, the judge is not obliged to sentence the president-elect to prison and may impose a lighter penalty: probation, house arrest, community service or a fine.
As CNN notes, any verdict will be complicated due to the fact that Trump is scheduled to take office as president on January 20, 2025. His lawyers “will likely frame their appeal to raise constitutional issues questioning whether a state judge can convict the president-elect, which could keep the case tied up in the courts for years.”
Because this is a state matter, Trump has no right to pardon himself once he is sworn in.
Attempting to invalidate the 2020 elections and keeping secret documents
Trump's election victory will have the biggest impact on two criminal cases brought against him by special prosecutor Jack Smith in Washington and Florida. It's about allegations related to an attempt to invalidate the 2020 presidential election. and keeping secret documents after leaving the White House.
As CNN notes, Trump's main strategy was to delay trials until after the election. If he became president, he could fire prosecutor Smith, which would end both cases. At the end of October, the former president said he would take such steps without hesitation. – Oh, it's that simple. It's as simple as that, Trump said when radio host Hugh Hewitt asked him if he would “fire Jack Smith” if re-elected. “I would fire him in two seconds,” Trump said.
Smith's dismissal would allow the Justice Department and attorney general to drop charges against Trump and end the legal proceedings. But Smith will have time until Inauguration Day on Jan. 20, 2025, to consider his options. One of the primary issues is whether the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel believes that a president-elect is afforded the same legal protection from prosecution as a sitting president.
Charge of attempting to interfere with the election results in Georgia
In August 2023, the former president was charged with 13 charges related to attempting to interfere with the results of elections in the state of Georgia, including violating the provisions of the Organized Crime Act, conspiracy to commit fraud, certifying untruths and inciting state officials to violate their oath.
That trial stalled after lawyers for one of the co-defendants, former Trump campaign adviser Mike Roman, revealed in February 2024 that District Attorney Fani Willis and special counsel Nathan Wade, who was leading the investigation, had a “romantic relationship.” Then they demanded that both prosecutors be excluded from participating in the case.
Currently, according to CNN, “it is unlikely that a state-level judge will allow the proceedings to continue while Trump is president.” However, if he allowed it, Trump's lawyers would certainly ask for the case to be dismissed.
There is also no clear answer to the question of whether a state-level prosecutor like Fani Willis can prosecute a sitting president.
Harassment, defamation, fraud
The former president also defends himself in numerous civil lawsuits. Trump lost two cases with the writer E. Jean Carroll in 2023 and 2024 in federal court after a jury found him liable for sexual harassment and subsequent defamation of a columnist. Two juries awarded Carroll $5 million and $83 million. Trump's lawyers have filed appeals and the cases are pending.
The second thing concerns fraud amounting to $454 million. In late September, a state appeals court heard arguments as part of Trump's effort to dismiss a judgment in a civil case in which a judge found that he, his adult sons and his company inflated the value of assets to get better loan and insurance rates. The appeals court has not yet issued a decision.
Trump also still faces civil lawsuits brought by Democratic lawmakers and others regarding his role in the January 6 attack on the Capitol.
As CNN notes, it's possible that all of these cases will continue to unfold even as Trump serves his second term in the White House. In a 1997 Supreme Court ruling, the justices unanimously held that sitting presidents cannot invoke presidential immunity to avoid civil prosecution while in office.
Main photo source: Spencer Platt/Getty Images/Bloomberg via Getty Images