Donald Trump's Criminal Cases: What Happens Now?

Mar. 15, 2025

Donald Trump.Photo:Hannah Beier/Bloomberg via Getty

Hannah Beier/Bloomberg via Getty

His win in the election comes as he is scheduled to face sentencing in New York over his hush-money case on Tuesday, Nov. 26, after it wasdelayed for the second time in September.

On May 30, Trump, 78, wasfound guilty of all 34 felony countsin an attempt to bury evidence of an illegal conspiracy to influence the 2016 election. Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges.

TheSupreme Court’s July decision for Trump and former presidents to have immunity from prosecutionmeans that Trump is entitled to some protective measures now as president.

Donald Trump.Grant Baldwin/Getty

Grant Baldwin/Getty

Judge Juan Merchan will decide on Tuesday, Nov. 12, whether or not to dismiss Trump’s conviction based on the Supreme Court’s protective ruling, according toCNN. If his charges are dismissed, Trump would not be sentenced as a result.

Per the outlet, Trump still faces up to four years in jail should the judge continue to keep his conviction or he may receive a lesser sentence of community service or a fine. It is expected that Trump’s lawyers would appeal this decision.

However, when Trump becomes president, the act of self-pardoning could be a possibility.

“The big unanswered question is whether the president might be able to pardon himself,” Jeffrey Crouch, an assistant professor of American politics at American University, toldCBS News. “No president has ever tried it, so we don’t know what the result would be if it was attempted.”

Donald Trump at Manhattan criminal court in New York on May 30.Michael M. Santiago/Getty

Michael M. Santiago/Getty

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While Trump could possibly excuse himself of his federal charges, he could not eliminate his state case over racketeering in Georgia.

Trump’s criminal cases might be excused altogether now that he has been elected president, should any form of punishment or imprisonment interfere with his governing duties, legal experts say.

“There’s a sense out there that they would follow the norm of the feds and therefore delay the sentencing in the New York case until after he finished his presidency,” Stanford law professor Robert Weisberg toldUSA Today.

source: people.com