Donald Trump’s victory means he is likely to name a U.S. attorney general who will halt the two federal prosecutions he is facing.
That means Fulton County’s election interference case could be the only criminal case left standing. And it will likely will be put on hold until at least 2029….
Legal experts have been divided on whether a state prosecution could continue after Trump is inaugurated on January 20. But even observers who believe there’s no law on the books precluding Willis from acting acknowledge the Supreme Court, may put a halt to it. They cite the high court’s current makeup and its July ruling that concluded that presidents are immune from prosecution for their official acts, would block the DA from moving forward while Trump is in office.
“If she tries this court will stop her,” University of Virginia Law Professor Saikrishna Prakash told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“DOJ moving to wind down Trump criminal cases before he takes office”
Justice Department officials have been evaluating how to wind down the two federal criminal cases against President-elect Donald Trump before he takes office to comply with long-standing department policy that a sitting president can’t be prosecuted, two people familiar with the matter tell NBC News.
The latest discussions stand in contrast with the pre-election legal posture of special counsel Jack Smith, who in recent weeks took significant steps in the election interference case against Trump without regard to the electoral calendar.
But the sources say DOJ officials have come to grips with the fact that no trial is possible anytime soon in either the Jan. 6 case or the classified documents matter — both of which are mired in legal issues that would likely prompt an appeal all the way to the Supreme Court, even if Trump had lost the election.
Now that Trump will become president again, DOJ officials see no room to pursue either criminal case against him — and no point in continuing to litigate them in the weeks before he takes office, the people said.
“Sensible, inevitable and unfortunate,” said former federal prosecutor Chuck Rosenberg, an NBC News contributor…
How Trump’s legal jeopardy has unfolded over the past year, in terms of both the criminal charges and his sweeping election victory, is unprecedented.
The sources said it will be up to Smith to decide exactly how to unwind the charges and many questions remain unanswered. Could the prosecutions resume after Trump leaves office or would they be time-barred? What happens to the evidence? What about the two other defendants charged with helping Trump hide classified documents? Will the special counsel write a report, as special counsels usually do?
NPR Talks with Chris Krebs About Election Security in Yesterday’s Election
Will the Senate Seat in NV Turn on Ballot-Curing Issues?
“The Case for Condorcet Voting is Clear”
A new Common Ground Democracy essay about the results of yesterday’s election, with this subtitle: “Yesterday, America chose hard-right over center-left but would have preferred center-right to either.”
Trump Convincingly Wins Election, Harris Expected to Concede Later Today, and Peaceful Transition of Power Seems Assured for 2024; Broader Implications for American Democracy Less Certain
Despite some minor hiccups—and a series of Russia-originating bomb threats aimed at voters and government officials in swing states–the election yesterday went remarkably smoothly in most of the United States. Donald Trump won election handily to become the 47th president, an astounding feat given “a criminal conviction, indictments, an assassin’s bullet, accusations of authoritarianism and an unprecedented switch of his opponent.” Harris was expected to concede later Wednesday.
As I wrote earlier this week, when contemplating the different election scenarios, “If the election is a blowout in Trump’s favor or if he narrowly ekes out a win, I suspect we won’t hear much about stolen elections for a while. Democrats may protest, but they won’t try to block Trump’s return to power. The question will then be about free and fair elections in 2026 and 2028.”
I will have much more to say about what the Trump victory means for the future of elections and democracy in elections later on down the line—I think there are some great risks coming in the next few years—but for now, congratulations to the Trump campaign and many thanks again to the election workers, government officials, and volunteers, who worked so hard to assure we could have a free and fair election despite efforts to undermine the election, including from the election’s winner.