Surprise: Trump’s Election Interference Case Is Paused

I’m not saying Donald Trump ran for reelection to stay out of jail. But let me posit that if the president-elect had such designs in mind, they’re working out pretty well for him. A judge today, according to CNBC, paused proceedings in the president-elect’s criminal election interference case, as requested by special counsel Jack Smith, who noted the pause would give his team time to “determine the appropriate course going forward consistent with Department of Justice policy.” NBC News reported on Wednesday that the Justice Department was reportedly preparing to drop two federal criminal cases against him.

Trump’s legal team, meanwhile, hopes to leverage a July Supreme Court ruling, which expanded the scope of presidential immunity, to argue for the dismissal of two other cases: one related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia, and the second stemming from hush money payments Trump made to adult film star Stormy Daniels. It’s unclear if Trump’s lawyers can fully quash those state cases, though it’s likely they’ll at least face significant holdups. His lawyers are expected to argue that Trump can’t stand trial until after he leaves office in 2029—at which point he will be 82 years old. A Manhattan jury previously convicted Trump on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in connection with the Daniels case. A judge postponed his sentencing to late November to avoid influencing the election. Some legal experts now predict that sentencing will never happen.

The two federal cases involve Trump’s mishandling of classified documents after leaving office and his attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Under longstanding DOJ policy, however, that department does not prosecute sitting presidents, leaving the policing of presidential misconduct to the legislature. Congress has, of course, impeached Trump on not one but two occasions now. With Republicans in control of the Senate in the next Congress, it seems unlikely he will face any consequences.

Speaking of consequences–or lack thereof–the president-elect has also pledged to pardon some of the more than 1,500 people charged with rioting at the US Capitol. Some have already petitioned Trump for his intervention. But there’s one area of the law where Trump’s victory likely won’t help him now: He still faces more than half a billion dollars in civil penalties stemming from two fraud and sexual assault/defamation cases.