Donald Trump (centre) Photo: Reuters
Donald Trump won the US presidential election despite a series of criminal charges and court cases. Now his lawyers are preparing to fight for a review or delay of the sentences in New York and other states. The next hearing is scheduled for 26 November, when Trump is to be sentenced in the case of hidden payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels, Reuters reports.
This situation is unprecedented for the United States, as Trump is the first president in history to be elected while being prosecuted. His legal team plans to file appeals and challenge the judges’ decisions, arguing that the incumbent president is immune from criminal charges.
In the federal cases concerning the attempted cancellation of the 2020 election and the mishandling of classified documents, Trump has already announced his intention to fire Special Counsel Jack Smith, which could halt the proceedings. In Georgia and New York, where the charges against Trump are brought at the state level, self-pardon is not possible. Nevertheless, Trump’s lawyers are considering all possible legal avenues to make the cases more difficult to resolve in the coming years.
The election victory will also have an impact on civil litigation, including fraud and defamation cases. Trump has a chance of appealing the verdicts and suspending the trials while he is in office.
