CNN
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Two cases that could run afoul of President Donald Trump's ability to block prosecutions and even potentially overturn his convictions once he returns to the White House were announced Thursday as critical cases with significant implications for the 2024 election. reach the test.
In the latest surprising development in a multiple legal saga, Trump is expected to appear in a New York courtroom for a procedural hearing ahead of a trial over hush money payments to adult film stars before the 2016 election. President Trump wants the lawsuit dismissed, but a judge on Thursday forced the case to the end of March in what could be the first case in which the fate of a former president and potential presidential nominee is left to a jury. It is possible to confirm that. Criminal case.
While Trump is in court in New York, a judge in Georgia disqualifies Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and holds an evidentiary hearing on Trump and her efforts to drop the massive extortion case against him. He will likely become the central character in another drama. Officials criticized his efforts to overturn President Joe Biden's 2020 election victory in battleground states. Judge Scott McAfee has already said Willis could be disqualified if he benefited financially from a romantic relationship with his colleague, who was appointed as the prosecutor in the case.
Most of Mr. Trump's legal claims in his various lawsuits have one thing in common. It is an attempt to block the case from going to court and postpone accountability until at least the next election. President Trump is particularly interested in stopping the hush money case in New York and the election interference case in Georgia. Even with a sympathetic attorney general, this executive power makes it difficult for a president to intervene in ongoing prosecutions, overturn convictions, or even pardon himself. State crimes are not covered.
The high-stakes hearings, nearly 900 miles away, illustrate the unusual tangle of the 2024 election and President Trump's legal quagmire that spans multiple presidential elections. Thursday is not the first time this week that the former president's legal predicament has played out in two different cities. For example, on Monday, President Trump held a hearing on charges against him related to keeping classified documents, the day his lawyers sent a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, based on a broader call for presidential incorrigibility. He was in court in Fort Pierce, Florida. immunity to protect him from his actions after the 2020 election.
The former president emphasized that he always has double duty in court and in election trials, delivering an impassioned speech in South Carolina Wednesday night before heading to New York ahead of the state's primary election later this month. I did it. “They're weaponizing law enforcement for high-level election interference. That's what they've done,” he said. President Trump told the audience: “I am indicted for you. Never forget.” “I'm glad I did that.”
Just before Trump spoke, Special Counsel Jack Smith sent a response to Trump's request for immunity to the Supreme Court, arguing there was a significant public interest in putting him on trial. However, while the defendants allege political persecution, Mr. Smith did not specifically mention it. The calendar narrows ahead of the November election.
In yet another lawsuit, a separate New York judge ruled Friday whether President Trump will have to pay hundreds of millions of dollars over ill-gotten gains uncovered in a civil fraud trial involving the former president and his adult sons. is scheduled to issue a verdict. Trump organization. The ruling could strip Trump of his ability to do business in New York, the city that made him famous.
Trump's legal When the crisis ends, the country will become even more politically alienated, further eroding trust in elections and politics. Judiciary.
The former president has a habit of appearing in court and performing exaggerated plays to express his disdain for the legal system and frame the charges he faces as political persecution (a key theme of his 2024 election campaign). It has become.
His presence has the potential to turn any calm court hearing into a circus, and several judges are furious as they struggle to control him.
In New York, Judge Juan Marchand will rule on the remaining claims in the case, including a motion by Mr. Trump's lawyers to dismiss the case and confirm whether the currently scheduled March 25 trial start date remains valid. It is expected that this will be addressed.
President Trump has been charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records. They allegedly did this to conceal payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels in order to prevent her from going public with allegations of a past affair that could influence voters. The former president denies any extramarital affair, but, as with all four criminal charges, he has maintained his innocence in this case.
Some legal experts say the New York case is the least serious of the four criminal threats facing the former president, and that even if convicted, he would not face a prison sentence. I don't think so. But some see the 2016 incident as the beginning of President Trump's attempts to mislead voters and interfere in the conduct of U.S. elections.
The New York case, which is scheduled for its first criminal trial, may still have important political implications. So far, polling evidence and early Republican primary results suggest that Trump's indictment is helping unite the party's grassroots voters behind his campaign. . But the impact of President Trump's legal problems on the broader electorate remains to be tested. Some recent polls suggest that some voters may have second thoughts about him if he is a convicted felon by Election Day.
In Georgia, Mr. McAfee is hearing evidence on allegations that Mr. Willis profited financially from a romantic relationship with Mr. Willis after he hired special prosecutor Nathan Wade.
“The questions here are whether a relationship existed, whether it was romantic or non-romantic in nature, when it was formed, and whether it continues,” McAfee said Monday. That's what I mean.'' “And that's relevant because it's combined with the question of the existence and scope of the interests that are passed on as a result of their relationship.”
Michael Roman, one of Trump's co-defendants, claims that Willis and Wade have profited greatly from the case at the expense of taxpayers and have a significant conflict of interest. . He cited financial statements from Mr. Wade's divorce proceedings and claimed that Mr. Wade took Mr. Willis on lavish vacations after hiring him. Roman has called for both Willis to be fired and the entire case to be shelved, arguing that the case raises questions about the fairness of the legal system and that the entire prosecution is tainted by the drama. There is.
But the district attorney's attorney has accused Roman of trying to divert attention from the underlying case. “The defense isn't bringing the facts, the defense isn't bringing the law, the defense is bringing gossip,” attorney Anna Cross said. “The court should not tolerate that behavior.”
In an amicus brief filed with the court, a group of legal experts, former prosecutors and law professors wrote that even if all the accusations against Willis are true, “this does not mandate disbarment. ' he claimed. True, they don't come close. ”
Willis suggested the allegations were racially motivated. “Are there some people who will never see a black man as qualified, no matter his accomplishments?” Willis said last month at Big Bethel AME Church in Atlanta, without naming anyone. he said, referring to Mr. Wade.
Michael Moore, a former U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, told CNN's “This Morning” in January that the charges against Willis were “devastating” to the massive extortion case against Trump and his fellow defendants. He said it was not a thing. But at the same time, changing prosecutors could significantly slow down the proceedings, which plays into some of President Trump's goals.
According to a CNN report, President Trump at one point expressed interest in attending Thursday's hearing in Georgia rather than the one in New York, but said he had been personally affected by the latter incident. He was convinced that it made more sense for him to be present at the same time. .
If a New York judge rejects Trump's motion to remove him from office, the former president is certain to claim he has been politically victimized. And if Willis is not fired from the Georgia case, he will undoubtedly use the very existence of the charges against her to ensure that her justice has been tainted and that those seeking to hold Willis accountable are They will claim that it is corrupt. This not only has the political effect of solidifying Trump's appeal to supporters who claim he is the victim of a witch hunt. It also strengthens his long-term attempt to craft a public narrative that any future convictions against him are unjust.
