Trump's victory could halt all criminal cases against him for 4 years - media outlet
Kyiv • UNN
After winning the election, Trump will be able to close federal cases against himself. However, he will not have control over cases in New York and Georgia.
Donald Trump's victory in the U.S. presidential election on Wednesday will essentially end the criminal cases against him for at least four years of his time in the White House, reports UNN citing Reuters.
As the publication notes, the first former US president to face criminal charges, Trump has faced four simultaneous prosecutions for much of this year on charges ranging from his attempt to cover up a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 campaign to his efforts to overturn his defeat in the 2020 election. A New York jury in May found him guilty of falsifying business records related to the Daniels payment, making him the first former U.S. president to be convicted of a felony.
On Oct. 24, Trump, a Republican, told an interviewer that he would fire Special U.S. Attorney Jack Smith, who led the federal prosecution over his efforts to overturn his election defeat and his retention of classified documents after leaving office, “within two seconds” of being sworn in.
Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges and called the prosecutions politically motivated.
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While Trump as president would have the power to fire Smith and close the federal cases against him, he would not have the same control over a bribes-for-silence case in New York or prosecuting him in Georgia for trying to overturn his 2020 defeat in that state. But his unique role as president makes it unlikely that he will face legal repercussions either way during his term, adds Reuters.
“He has been credibly charged with crimes under the system that we have,” said Christy Parker, special counsel for Protect Democracy, an advocacy organization that works to counter what it calls authoritarian threats to the United States. Parker said that if Trump does close the cases, “it won't mean he did the right thing.
Another court hearing is scheduled before he is due to be sworn in on Jan. 20, though legal experts said that is unlikely to happen.
