Former President Donald Trump notched a win in court Friday as the judge overseeing his Manhattan criminal trial postponed his sentencing until after Election Day—but the ex-president still faces a busy couple months in both his criminal and civil cases, as his federal case for trying to overturn the 2020 election gets back on track and his civil fraud case comes up for appeal.
Former President Donald Trump arrives for a news conference at Trump Tower on Sept. 6 in New York.
Lawyers for Trump will face off against several Capital Police officers seeking to hold him liable for the January 6 riot in a federal court hearing, as the case moves toward a trial after Judge Amit Mehta ruled Trump doesn't have any civil immunity.
Trump’s appeal of the $450 million civil fraud judgment against him and his business associates will be heard in state court, though it’s unlikely a decision would be reached on the appeal before the election.
Special Counsel Jack Smith is expected to release some new information on Trump’s effort to overturn the 2020 election, as Chutkan has directed prosecutors in the federal election case to file a brief by September 26 on why their case doesn’t conflict with the Supreme Court’s ruling giving Trump some immunity from criminal charges—which Smith has said will include “additional unpled categories of evidence that the Government intends to introduce at trial,” such as grand jury transcripts.
Trump will make a renewed push to dismiss his federal election case, as Chutkan directed him to file a new motion to dismiss the charges against him and respond to Smith’s new brief by this date.
The clock will start ticking for Chutkan to rule on whether Trump is immune from the charges against him in the federal election case, as the government’s reply to Trump’s motion to dismiss is due October 29—and a ruling on “whether further proceedings are necessary” will follow soon thereafter, though it’s probably unlikely the judge will issue a decision before Election Day.
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New York Judge Juan Merchan granted Trump’s request to postpone his sentencing on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records on Friday, after the ex-president requested the date be rescheduled for after the election. Merchan pushed back the sentencing from Sept. 18 to Nov. 26—after already delaying it from its original date in July—because he said he wanted to avoid any perception of being influenced by the election. Postponing the case “should dispel any suggestion that the Court will have issued any decision or imposed sentence either to give an advantage to, or to create a disadvantage for, any political party and/or any candidate for any office,” Merchan wrote. The judge also delayed his decision on whether the verdict against Trump should be thrown out in light of the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling, saying he will now issue that ruling on Nov. 12 instead of Sept. 16.
If Trump wins in November, these next few months will likely be the end for at least some of his criminal proceedings. Trump is likely to have the federal charges against him dismissed in the election case and a separate criminal case for allegedly withholding White House documents, if an appeals court revives it, which he could do by appointing DOJ officials willing to drop the charges. He would not have any power over state prosecutions against him, though they could be paused until Trump leaves office.
Trump’s criminal case in Georgia for trying to overturn the 2020 election isn’t expected to have any activity between now and November, as the case remains on hold while an appeals court considers whether Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis should be disqualified over her romantic relationship with former prosecutor Nathan Wade.
While Election Day isn’t until November 5, Trump’s busy September court calendar will come just before the start of voting season. Ten states mail out ballots more than 45 days before Election Day, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, which this year will be September 21, and early voting will also get underway in some states in September. That means some voters could see how Trump’s sentencing plays out on September 18—and then vote right after.
Trump has faced a slew of legal issues in recent years after his presidency, including four criminal cases and numerous civil lawsuits. The ex-president has broadly opposed the cases against him, pleading not guilty in his criminal cases and generally denouncing allegations as “witch hunts” designed to hurt his political campaign. While the criminal charges against Trump were all brought last year, only the ex-president’s Manhattan hush money case has gone to trial so far, as Trump and his attorneys have succeeded in delaying criminal proceedings in other cases. Trump’s federal election case started moving forward again in August after the Supreme Court ruled in July that Trump and ex-president’s can’t be criminally charged for “official acts” in office, disagreeing with district and appeals court judges who said he’s not entitled to immunity. That ruling has further upended the cases against Trump and resulted in his sentencing in the hush money case getting delayed, in addition to its impact on the election case.