Donald Trump winning a second term presents an unprecedented legal situation. He’s awaiting sentencing in a federal case and is trying to prevent prosecution in other state and federal cases.
New York case
The President-elect is scheduled to be sentenced in New York criminal court on Nov. 26 after being convicted of 34 felony counts for falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
The judge has until Nov. 12 to decide whether to wipe away the conviction because of the Supreme Court’s decision to grant presidential immunity.
If the judge decides in favor of that, Trump’s charges would be dismissed and he won’t be sentenced.
Trump’s lawyers are expected to ask for a delay so they can appeal if the judge decides to keep the conviction.
If a sentencing does go forward, Trump could be ordered to serve as much as four years of prison time, but the judge could impose a lesser sentence like probation.
Georgia case
In Georgia, Fulton County District attorney Fani WIllis is prosecuting Trump on racketeering charges over the 2020 election.
Willis won her reelection race, allowing her to maintain her spot leading Trump’s prosecution, for now.
A state appeals court is weighing whether she should be removed over her romantic relationship with a former special prosecutor on the case.
Since the cases in New York and Georgia are state cases, not federal cases, Trump cannot pardon himself in 2025 after he is sworn into office.
Federal cases
Trump also faces other criminal charges from special counsel Jack Smith in Washington D.C. and Florida.
In one case, Trump is accused of conspiring to subvert the 2020 election results.
In the other case, he faces charges related to mishandling classified documents after leaving office and obstructing the government’s effort to retrieve them.
Trump said he plans to immediately fire Smith’s office, which would reportedly end the two cases against him.
“It’s so easy I would fire him within two seconds … Jack Smith is a scoundrel,” Trump said on The Hugh Hewitt Show in October. “He is a very dishonest man in my opinion.”
Civil cases
President-elect Trump is also defending himself in multiple civil lawsuits including cases involving his role in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
There’s also two defamation cases filed by E. Jean Carroll and a civil fraud case brought by the New York attorney general where Trump was ordered to pay more than 450 million dollars in damages.
It’s possible that all of these cases will play out even as Trump serves his second term.
A unanimous Supreme Court ruling in 1997, stemming from a civil lawsuit then-President Bill Clinton was involved in, decided sitting presidents could not use presidential immunity to avoid civil litigation.
