As President-elect Donald J. Trump prepares for his inauguration, some of the lawsuits leaked during Trump's first presidency will continue into his second.
Mr. Trump has indicated he will fight to delay sentencing on the criminal conviction, which is scheduled to be handed down by New York Supreme Court Judge Juan M. Marchan on Friday. Trump criticized the judge in a social media post this weekend, saying he should be disbarred.
Judge Machan made it clear that even if he was sentenced, he would not recommend any prison term or home confinement. In announcing the sentencing date, the judge granted Trump unconditional release in the case, indicating he would allow him to be released but would keep his criminal record.
Trump was found guilty in May of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in connection with hush money payments to porn stars who claimed to have had sexual relations with Trump during the 2016 election year. Ta.
But even if there were no actual penalties, the jury's verdict was a unique punishment for Trump, a measure of responsibility that he still seeks to erase. The unconditional discharge would still officially label Trump as a felon absent a higher court ruling overturning the jury verdict, making him the first president to hold that position.
Judge Marchan set a sentencing date and denied Trump's request to throw out the verdict, but was unmoved by Trump's arguments, including his claim of presidential immunity.
“Defendant argues that his removal would 'enhance public confidence' in the criminal justice system because anything less than outright removal would jeopardize the presidency,” Judge Machan wrote. “This court takes a different view.”
The justices said ignoring the jury's verdict “fails to meet the concerns expressed by the Supreme Court in a small number of cases concerning presidential immunity, nor does it serve the rule of law.” Rather, he wrote, it would “undermine the rule of law in immeasurable ways.”
Trump was indicted four times in the space of a few months in 2023, including two federal charges, one in Fulton County, Georgia, and one in New York.
Two federal lawsuits have been dropped since Trump won the election, and the Georgia lawsuit has been stalled for months. In December, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was dropped from the election interference case against Trump and others due to her romantic relationship with Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor chosen to handle the case.
The Justice Department's longstanding policy against prosecuting sitting presidents does not apply to state charges, but most legal experts say it would be difficult to pursue a case against Trump in Georgia while he was in office. are.
However, Mr. Trump is likely to continue pursuing civil litigation. He recently lost a bid for a new federal trial in a case brought by New York author E. Jean Carroll. The case centered on Carroll's claims that Trump sexually assaulted her in a department store fitting room decades ago.
New York Attorney General Letitia James said she would not dismiss the $486 million civil fraud judgment against him in a separate case, writing to Trump's attorney John Sauer, who is being nominated by the president-elect, last month. He expressed his intention in a letter. Attorney General of the Department of Justice.
The Court of Appeals is expected to rule soon on whether to uphold the ruling. The ruling follows a lawsuit in which Trump was accused of manipulating his net worth and lying about the value of his assets to obtain more favorable loan terms.
There are also eight civil lawsuits accusing Trump of inciting his supporters to storm the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, as President Biden's Electoral College victory was certified by a joint session of Congress. I'm awake.
In the New York criminal case, Trump's lawyers were able to push the verdict past Election Day. But Trump's legal team, led by Trump's picks for Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and Chief Deputy Attorney General Emile Bove, argued that the case was dismissed, citing broad immunity granted by the U.S. Supreme Court. argued that it should. Awarded to the president for official acts performed while in office.
Trump's lawyers said in post-election filings that the lawsuit should be put on hold because of Trump's election victory. “On November 5, 2024, the public issued an order superseding District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg’s political motives in this case,” they wrote. “This case must be dismissed immediately.”
People who have spoken to Trump about the matter say that even if the case does not appear to be poised to define the early stages of Trump's second term in Russia's way, he will not be able to secure a felony conviction. The inability to overturn it continues to be a source of frustration for Trump. The investigation was conducted during his first term.
