Trump's judicial docket clears up, with Fani Willis’ and Letitia James’ cases still pending
In the wake of Jack Smith's defeat, the president-elect is awaiting whether Judge Merchan agrees to dismiss the Stormy Daniels case and the open cases in Georgia and New York, both of which are in the hands of appellate courts.
Trump, with his lawyers at a hearing.
The request by Jack Smith for the federal cases against Donald Trump for his involvement for election interference in 2020 and the Mar-a-Lago documents to be dismissed has cleared up president-elect's judicial docket. However, the Republican still has pending cases from Fani Willis in Georgia (also for election interference) and the corporate fraud trial brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James and Judge Engoron.
Smith's defeat comes on top of that of Alvin Bragg over the Stormy Daniels case. The Manhattan district attorney agreed to indefinitely delay sentencing following the jury's verdict. Donald Trump's lawyers are not satisfied and will try to get Judge Juan Merchan to agree to dismiss the case. The defense of the president-elect has until Dec. 2 to present the appropriate allegations, while Bragg will be able to respond until Dec. 9.
Jack Smith will resign so as not to give Trump the satisfaction of firing him
Jack Smith is expected to fulfill his last assignment as special counsel by drafting a report on what happened, in which he will try to make clear that the reason he asked for the dismissal of the cases was the DOJ's policy of not prosecuting a sitting president. He will then resign so as not to give Trump the satisfaction of being able to fire him.
In the pending cases, Willis has made it clear that she intends to go all the way with Trump's trial. Or at least as far as she can, since the appeals court has yet to decide whether to disqualify her and transfer the case to another prosecutor. For the time being, the Fulton County district attorney managed to win reelection on Nov. 5, and she insisted on her intentions in an interview with Atlanta News First:
"That's what age teaches you, patience. If someone has an indictment in this office, no matter who they are, we continue to pursue those charges. I’m here for eight more years, is my plan. So if that’s what it takes for us to get justice in some cases, we come to work every day, we’ll come to work and look for justice."
Georgia and New York in the hands of appellate courts
The assigned judge, Scott McAfee, is also in favor of moving forward, but the Court of Appeals postponed the beginning of oral arguments, originally scheduled for Dec. 5, without a date or reason for its decision. It should be noted that this is a state case and that Georgia has no meaningful avenue for executive clemency.
The case of Letitia James has a different profile. This time, the reason the president-elect was brought to the court was for alleged irregularities in the management of his businesses. The record fine imposed on him by Judge Engoron is under appeal. In fact, the five-judge panel of the Court of Appeals expressed doubts about the validity of the sentence due to the excessive fine (more than $450 million) imposed on Trump.
LATEST
