Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump addresses the Fraternal Order of Police in Charlotte, NC on September 6, 2024. | Photo credit: Nell Redmond
The year 2024 is set to be a tough one for Donald Trump judicially, with some believing the former president could end up behind bars even before the November 5 presidential election.
However, Republican candidates have managed to postpone three of the four trials until after the election, despite facing a total of 88 criminal charges.
He accomplished this through numerous appeals and other maneuvers by his army of lawyers, including a broad immunity ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court.
He was found guilty only of the least serious count, which involved falsifying business records to conceal money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels.
The latest good news for Trump came on Friday, when a judge officially postponed his sentencing in the case until November 26 — just weeks after the US presidential election.
Here’s an overview of how his legal troubles currently stand.
Challenging the 2020 election results
Donald Trump faces federal charges for illegal efforts to overturn results US President Joe Biden has won the 2020 elections.
Special prosecutor Jack Smith has charged Trump with “conspiracy to defraud the United States” and “obstruction of an official proceeding.”
Although Mr Trump is not directly accused of inciting the Capitol insurrection on January 6, 2021, Smith has alleged that he incited violence and chaos.
The trial was originally scheduled to begin in Washington on March 4, and if Trump is found guilty he could face decades in prison.
However, the case was significantly delayed when the Supreme Court issued a decision in July on presidential immunity, ruling that Trump enjoys broad protection for “official acts” as president.
Smith filed an amended indictment for judgment in late August, but will now have to resume fighting with Trump’s legal team over the trial’s timeline.
The judge in the case, Tanya Chutkan, acknowledged during a hearing on Thursday that it would be impossible to set a new hearing date in the two months before the elections.
2020 election in Georgia
The former Republican president also faces charges in the southeastern US state of Georgia for alleged election interference, including a phone call in which he asked a local official to “find” 11,000 missing votes — the margin by which he lost the state to Joe Biden in 2020.
Trump had to go to Atlanta jail to have his photo taken in this case, which was the first humiliating incident for a former US President.
However, the case’s progress was hampered when it was revealed that the local prosecutor, Fanny Willis, was having an intimate relationship with Nathan Wade, the investigator she had assigned to the case.
Mr. Trump’s lawyers argued for the case to be dismissed because of a conflict of interest, and the Supreme Court’s ruling on presidential immunity did not help.
As a result, the trial, which was previously scheduled to begin on August 5, has officially been put on hold while the case continues to wind through the court system for the coming months.
Classified Documents at Mar-a-Lago
In Another federal case, under special prosecutor Jack Smith, faces charges against Trump Top-secret documents were recovered at his private residence in Mar-a-Lago, Florida.
He is also accused of Attempts to destroy evidence of retentionThe most serious charges carry a prison sentence of up to 10 years.
Though the trial was originally scheduled to begin on May 20, Trump scored a victory when Judge Ellen Cannon — who was appointed by the former president — halted the criminal proceedings on July 15, based on allegations that Smith was illegally appointed.
Smith appealed the decision in late August to get the case back on track, but given the speed of federal appellate courts, a decision will likely take months.
Punishment of paying money to keep quiet
The financial crimes case was the only one tried in New York The event for Mr Trump will run from mid-April to the end of May.
Despite the claims Mr Trump was tried for “fraud”, with a jury finding him guilty of 34 counts of business fraud Porn star Stormy Daniels was paid to keep quiet to avoid a scandal just before the 2016 presidential election.
Mr Trump, who faces up to four years in prison, was originally scheduled to be sentenced in September.
However, on Friday (September 6, 2024), Judge Juan Merchan adjourned the hearing for three weeks After the election, the Republican candidate was granted a reprieve.
Published – September 07, 2024 07:05 am IST