Sean O’Driscoll, a senior crime and courts reporter, reports that President-elect Donald Trump’s legal challenges are unraveling as he prepares to take office in January 2025. Trump faced four criminal cases, but only one went to trial in New York, where he was convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records related to hush money payments. The judge in the New York case will rule Tuesday on whether the conviction will stand.
If upheld, Trump’s sentencing may still be delayed until after his presidency. The three other cases against Trump are expected to be dropped or delayed for years. In the federal election case, proceedings were paused when Trump claimed presidential immunity.
The trial timeline was pushed past Election Day, and Special Counsel Jack Smith delayed it further by filing new motions. The federal documents case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, was postponed indefinitely in May. In July, Cannon dropped the charges entirely, ruling that Smith was unlawfully appointed.
The special counsel has requested an appeals court to take up the case.
Trump’s legal battles overview
In Georgia, Trump and his allies were indicted in August 2023 for efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
The appeals process paused the case, and it’s expected the court will further delay proceedings until after Trump leaves office. Special Counsel Smith is expected to end the federal government’s two criminal cases against Trump before Inauguration Day. It’s unclear how Smith will proceed, but policies seem to dictate not prosecuting sitting presidents.
Unlike the federal criminal charges, civil cases against Trump, including defamation and fraud cases, are expected to continue. Supreme Court precedent holds that sitting presidents can be held liable in civil court for actions before they took office. Senior legal analyst Elie Honig suggests that Smith’s move to remove upcoming deadlines in Trump’s criminal case might be a strategic consideration to ensure a thorough re-evaluation of the case’s direction and to better align legal actions with the evolving political landscape.
Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani indicated that the statute of limitations would have run out by the time Trump left office in 2029, preventing prosecutors from reviving the election fraud case. Legal experts agree that Trump’s election fraud case cannot be revived once dismissed. The complexity of Trump’s legal challenges and the presidential transition underscore the unusual nature of the cases.
The passage of time and procedural hurdles have become critical factors shaping the prospects of any legal consequences for Trump.
