Trump's impending return to White House brings criminal cases to a halt

Donald Trump's S. presidential election victory on Wednesday will essentially end the criminal cases brought against him, at least for the four years he occupies the White House.

The first former US president to face criminal charges, Trump for much of this year faced four simultaneous prosecutions, over allegations ranging from his attempt to cover up a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 campaign to his attempts to overturn his 2020 election defeat. A New York jury in May found him guilty of falsifying business records tied to the Daniels payment, making him the first former US president convicted of a felony.

Trump, a Republican, told an interviewer on October 24 that he would fire US Special Counsel Jack Smith — who led the federal prosecutions over his attempts to overturn his election defeat and retention of classified documents after leaving office — "within two seconds" of being sworn in.

Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges and cast the prosecutions as politically motivated.

"The American people have heard these Democrat prosecutors' cases against President Trump and they're still going to elect him anyway," said Mike Davis, the founder of the Article III Project, a conservative legal advocacy group.

While Trump as president will have the authority to fire Smith and shut down the federal cases against him, he will not have the same control over the New York hush money case or Georgia's prosecution of him for trying to overturn his 2020 loss in that state. But his unique role as president makes it unlikely he will face legal consequences in either case during his term in office.

"He was properly charged with crimes within the system we have," said Kristy Parker, a special counsel at Protect Democracy, an advocacy organisation dedicated to countering what it calls authoritarian threats to the US. Parker said if Trump does shut down the cases, "that won't mean it was the right thing".

One more court date is scheduled before he is due to be sworn in on January 20, though legal experts said that was unlikely to go forward.

In New York, Trump’s lawyers are expected to ask Justice Juan Merchan to delay his sentencing currently scheduled for November 26 — in which he could face up to four years in prison. Sentencing a president-elect ahead of Inauguration Day would be unprecedented in US history, and legal experts expect the hearing to be delayed.

Merchan has already twice postponed Trump's sentencing, which was initially scheduled for July 11, in part due to a July US Supreme Court ruling finding that presidents have broad immunity from prosecution over their official acts. Trump argues the case should be dismissed based on the ruling, which prosecutors dispute.

Trump has vowed to appeal his conviction once he is sentenced. Separately, his lawyers have asked the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals to move the case to federal court. Such a move, if successful, could create new legal obstacles for the case

If that effort fails, the case will be able to proceed against the other co-defendants, who include Trump’s former personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and White House chief-of-staff Mark Meadows. But legal experts expect that the case against Trump will not progress while he remains in the White House.