Trump has won the election. What happens to his legal cases?
Trump is the first person with a felony conviction to serve as president
- Published
Donald Trump will be the first president to take office while several criminal cases against him are still pending.
His ascent to the highest office in the US while facing dozens of criminal charges has plunged the country into uncharted territory.
Many of his legal problems will now go away when he steps foot in the White House, as he will be able to dismiss some of the cases as a sitting president.
Here's a look at what could happen with each of the four legal challenges he faces.
New York hush-money conviction
Donald Trump has already been convicted on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the state of New York.
In May, a jury of New Yorkers found him guilty of the counts in relation to a hush-money payment made to an adult film star.
New York Judge Juan Merchan pushed back Trump’s sentencing from September to 26 November, after the election.
Judge Merchan could still go forward with the sentencing as planned despite Trump’s win, said former Brooklyn prosecutor Julie Rendelman.
Legal experts say it is unlikely that Trump would be sentenced to time behind bars as an older first-time offender.
But if he were, his lawyers would appeal the sentence immediately, arguing that jail time would prevent him from conducing his official duties and that he should remain free pending the appeal, Ms Rendelman said.
“The appellate process in that scenario could go on for years,” she said.
January 6 case
Special counsel Jack Smith filed criminal charges against Trump last year over his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden.
Trump has pleaded not guilty.
The case has been in legal limbo since the Supreme Court ruled this summer that Trump was partially immune from criminal prosecution over official acts committed while in office.
Smith has since refiled his case, arguing Trump’s attempts to overturn the election were not related to his official duties.
Since Trump has won, his criminal problems from the case now “go away”, according to former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani.
“It’s well established that a sitting president can’t be prosecuted, so the election fraud case in DC District Court will be dismissed,” he said.
Mr Rahmani said that if Smith refuses to dismiss the case, Trump can simply get rid of him, as he has pledged to do already.
“I would fire him within two seconds," Trump said during a radio interview in October.
Classified documents case
Smith is also leading a case against Trump over his alleged mishandling of classified documents after he left the White House, charges Trump denies.
He is accused of storing sensitive documents in his Mar-a-Lago home and obstructing Justice Department efforts to retrieve the files.
The judge assigned to the case, Trump-appointee Aileen Cannon, dismissed the charges in July, arguing Smith was improperly appointed by the Justice Department to lead the case.
Smith has appealed the ruling.
But with Trump set to take office, the classified documents case now faces the same fate as the election case, Mr Rahmani said.
“The DOJ will abandon its Eleventh Circuit appeal of the dismissal of the classified documents case,” he said.
Georgia election case
Trump is also facing criminal charges in Georgia over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election in the state.
That case has faced a number of hurdles, including efforts to disqualify District Attorney Fani Willis over her relationship with an attorney she hired to work on the case.
An appeals court is in the process of weighing whether Willis should be allowed to stay on the case.
But now that Trump is the next president, the case could face even more delays, or possibly dismissal.
The case is expected to be paused during Trump’s time in office, according to legal experts.
Trump’s attorney Steve Sadow said as much when asked by the judge if Trump could still stand trial if elected.
“The answer to that is I believe that under the supremacy clause and his duties as president of the United States, this trial would not take place at all until after he left his term in office,” he said.