Washington:

The year 2024 was set to be a judicial minefield for Donald Trump, with some thinking the former president could be behind bars before the November 5 presidential election.

However, the Republican candidate has managed to delay three of the four trials until after the election, despite facing 88 criminal charges in total.

He pulled it off via an array of appeals and other tactics by his army of lawyers, including a broad immunity ruling by the US Supreme Court.

He was only found guilty in the least serious case, which involved falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels.

The latest good news for Trump came Friday, when a judge officially delayed his sentencing in that case to November 26 — weeks after the US presidential election.

Here’s an overview of how his legal woes look currently.

Challenging the 2020 election results

Donald Trump faces federal charges for his illegal attempts to reverse the results of the 2020 election won by US President Joe Biden.

Special prosecutor Jack Smith has charged Trump with the likes of “conspiracy to defraud the United States” and “obstructing an official proceeding,” among others.

Although Trump is not directly accused of the Capitol insurrection on January 6, 2021, Smith has alleged he stirred up violence and chaos.

The trial was initially set to begin March 4 in Washington, with Trump facing a potential sentence of decades in prison if found guilty.

However, the case was delayed significantly when the Supreme Court decided to rule on presidential immunity, issuing a decision in July that Trump had broad protection for “official acts” as president.

Smith filed a revised indictment in late August accounting for the ruling, but now has to restart the battle with Trump’s legal team about the trial’s timeline.

The judge in the case, Tanya Chutkan, acknowledged during a hearing Thursday that it would be impossible to set a new trial date in the two months before the election.

The 2020 election in Georgia

The former Republican president also faces charges in the southeastern US state of Georgia for alleged election interference, including a phone call where he asked a local official to “find” him 11,000 missing votes — the margin by which he lost the state to Joe Biden in 2020.

Trump had to visit an Atlanta prison to get his mug shot taken for the case, a humiliating first for a former US president.

However, the progress of the case suffered when it came out that the local prosecutor, Fani Willis, had an intimate relationship with an investigator she hired for it, Nathan Wade.

Trump’s lawyers advocated for the case to be dismissed due to the conflict of interest, and the Supreme Court’s ruling on presidential immunity has not helped either.

As a result, the trial, which was initially supposed to start on August 5, has been officially paused while the matter winds through the court system for months to come.

The classified documents at Mar-a-Lago

In another federal case under special prosecutor Jack Smith, Trump faces accusations of retaining top-secret documents at his private residence in Mar-a-Lago, Florida.

He is also accused of attempting to destroy evidence of the retention. The most serious charges carry a prison sentence of 10 years.

Though originally set to go to trial on May 20, Trump scored a victory when Judge Aileen Cannon — who was appointed by the former president — stopped criminal proceedings on July 15, based on allegations that Smith had been appointed illegally.

Smith appealed the decision at the end of August to get the case back on track, but given the pace of federal appellate courts, it will likely be months before a decision is made.

The hush money sentencing

The financial crimes case in New York was the only one that made it to trial for Trump, taking place from mid-April until the end of May.

Despite claims by Trump the trial was “rigged,” a jury found Trump guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records to make hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels in order to avoid a scandal right before the 2016 presidential election.

Facing up to four years in prison, Trump was originally set to be sentenced in September.

However, on Friday, Judge Juan Merchan postponed the hearing until three weeks after the election, offering reprieve for the Republican candidate.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

U.S. former President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump departs after speaking during a press conference at Trump Tower in New York City on September 6, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AFP

A judge agreed Friday (September 6, 2024) to postpone Donald Trump’s sentencing in his hush-money case until after the November election, granting him a hard-won reprieve as he navigates the aftermath of his criminal conviction and the homestretch of his presidential campaign.

Manhattan Judge Juan M. Merchan, who is also weighing a defence request to overturn the verdict on immunity grounds, delayed Mr. Trump’s sentencing until November 26, several weeks after the final votes are cast in the presidential election.

It had been scheduled for September 18, about seven weeks before Election Day.

Mr. Trump’s lawyers pushed for the delay on multiple fronts, petitioning the judge and asking a federal court to intervene. They argued that punishing the former President and current Republican nominee in the thick of his campaign to retake the White House would amount to election interference.

Mr. Trump’s lawyers argued that delaying his sentencing until after the election would also allow him time to weigh the next steps after Mr. Merchan rules on the defence’s request to reverse his conviction and dismiss the case because of the U.S. Supreme Court’s July presidential immunity ruling.

In his order Friday, Mr. Merchan delayed a decision on that until November 12.

A federal judge on Tuesday (September 3, 2024) rejected Mr. Trump’s request to have the US District Court in Manhattan seize the case from Mr. Merchan’s State court. Had they been successful, Mr. Trump’s lawyers said they would have then sought to have the verdict overturned and the case dismissed on immunity grounds.

Mr. Trump is appealing the federal court ruling.

The Manhattan district attorney’s office, which prosecuted Mr. Trump’s case, deferred to Mr. Merchan and did not take a position on the defense’s delay request.

New York:

A judge postponed on Tuesday Donald Trump’s sentencing following his conviction for covering up hush money payments until September 18 to allow time for a Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity to be considered.

“The matter is adjourned to September 18, 2024, at 10 am for the imposition of sentence, if such is still necessary,” judge Juan Merchan said in a court filing.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New York:

After approximately five weeks, 19 witnesses, reams of documents and a dash of salacious testimony, the prosecution against Donald Trump rested its case Monday, handing over to the defense before closing arguments expected next week.

Trump’s team immediately sought to undermine key testimony against the former president, who is accused of covering up hush money paid to a porn star over an alleged encounter that could have derailed his successful 2016 White House bid.

His attorneys called lawyer Robert Costello — who once advised star prosecution witness Michael Cohen before falling out with him — in an apparent attempt to puncture Cohen’s credibility.

But Costello’s start on the stand was shaky at best, as his dismissive tone provoked an angry response from Judge Juan Merchan.

The judge ordered the jury out of the courtroom to admonish Costello, and, still unsatisfied, also ordered the press and others to briefly leave.

Trump, speaking to reporters afterward, called the episode “an incredible display,” branding the proceedings “a show trial” and the judge “a tyrant.”

Extended quibbling among the two legal teams, along with the upcoming holiday weekend, means closing arguments that the judge had hoped could start Tuesday are now anticipated for next week.

It’s unlikely and risky, but the door remains open for Trump to take the stand in the criminal trial, the first ever of a former US president.

Experts doubt he will, as it would expose him to unnecessary legal jeopardy and forensic cross-examination by prosecutors — but his lawyer Todd Blanche has raised the prospect.

– Marathon questioning –

On Monday, Blanche finished his third day of questioning Cohen after hours of at times digressive, at other times bruising, exchanges.

Cohen, Trump’s former personal lawyer and fixer, recounted last week how he kept Trump informed about $130,000 paid to porn star Stormy Daniels to buy her silence about an alleged affair ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

Trump’s lawyers set out to paint Cohen as a convicted criminal and habitual liar, recalling his time in prison for tax fraud and lying to Congress.

Blanche also probed Cohen’s loyalty to Trump and then to the prosecution, looking to show jurors that Cohen is self-serving and willing to go to great lengths to accomplish his aims.

Blanche vied to goad Cohen, who has a reputation for a short temper that could have hurt him on the stand — but the witness largely maintained his composure.

Cohen’s story generally lined up with Daniels and David Pecker, the tabloid boss who said he worked with Trump and Cohen to suppress negative coverage during the Republican’s White House run.

After Blanche finished with him, the prosecution returned for redirect, with prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asking Cohen what the whole experience has meant for him.

“My entire life has been turned upside down,” Cohen said, genuine emotion in his voice. “I lost my law license, my financial security… my family’s happiness… just to name a few.”

– Trump 2024 –

Trump meanwhile has complained his 2024 election campaign for another White House term is being stymied by the weeks-long court proceedings, which he has to attend every day.

He did so again Monday, complaining to journalists he’s “not allowed to have anything to do with politics because I’m sitting in a very freezing cold, dark room for the last four weeks. It’s very unfair.”

Calling the case politicized, a coterie of leading Republicans have stood in the wings behind him as he gives remarks to reporters outside the courtroom.

The growing list includes several lawmakers eyeing Trump’s vice presidential pick, including Ohio Senator JD Vance and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum.

Yet despite the palace intrigue and courtroom drama, the charges ultimately hinge on financial records, and whether falsifying them was done with intent to sway the 2016 presidential vote.

When the jury begins deliberating, the often juicy testimony will likely linger, but they will also have stacks of documents to consider.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)