Former President Trump is scheduled to be sentenced on his 34 felony convictions three weeks after Election Day.
Winning the election is effectively Trump’s get-out-of-jail-free card.
His legal team largely succeeded in delaying his criminal trials until after the election. If he wins, those prosecutions will likely be over for good. But if he lost, he could find himself back in court.
Trump has vowed to fire special counsel Jack Smith “within two seconds” of taking office, wiping out the two federal cases against him on charges of election interference and mishandling of classified documents.
And Justice Department policy prohibits the prosecution of a sitting president.
The most acute threat to Trump’s freedom comes from Manhattan, where he was convicted in May on fraud charges for his hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels in 2016. On Nov. 12, a week after the election, Judge Juan Merchan will rule on Trump’s motion to dismiss the conviction in light of the Supreme Court’s ruling on presidential immunity.
If that motion fails, Trump’s lawyers will likely appeal — all the way up to the Supreme Court if they have to — delaying the sentencing even further.
But if sentencing proceeds on Nov. 26, Trump could face jail time.
To N.Y. Times analysis found that more than a third of business fraud convictions in Manhattan over the past decade resulted in incarceration.
Given Trump’s advanced age and status as a first-time offender, experts say Merchan could opt for leniency as he weighs prison, probation or something less severe.
Trump has shown no remorse for his crimes, and he violated a gag order against commenting on witnesses, prosecutors, jurors and court officials 10 times during his trial.
“As mandated by the United States Supreme Court, this case, along with all the other Harris-Biden hoaxes, should be dismissed,” Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a statement.
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