'Lingering courtroom questions' could 'doom Trump’s general election chances': legal expert
Cable news pundits have used the words "uncharted territory" a lot in connection with former President Donald Trump, but it's a phrase that certainly applies. There is no precedent in U.S. history for a GOP presidential candidate who is his party's likely nominee despite facing four criminal indictments.
Trump has been in court a lot recently in connection with civil lawsuits he is fighting, but none of the four criminal cases have gone to trial.
In an article published by Politico on January 22, formerly federal prosecutor Ankush Khardori examines the possible effect a criminal conviction could have in the United States' 2024 presidential election — assuming that Trump is the Republican nominee.
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"The results in Iowa last week were a win for Donald Trump," Khardori explains, "but they also underscored that the former president's ongoing legal troubles are among his biggest liabilities in a rematch with Joe Biden. Nearly a third of Republican caucus-goers told pollsters that Trump would not be 'fit' for the presidency if he is convicted of a crime — a sizable defection that, if it held, would likely doom Trump's general election chances."
Khardori stresses, however, that it remains to be seen exactly when these trials will take place.
Special counsel Jack Smith's election interference case against Trump is scheduled to go to trial on March 4, but that is assuming the trial isn't delayed or postponed.
"What is clear is that some lingering courtroom questions are now essential electoral questions as well," the former federal prosecutor notes. "When will Trump's myriad trials take place? And can any jury deliver a verdict before this November? The answers are crucial to understanding how the 2024 campaign could ultimately unfold. Over the coming year, federal and state prosecutors, defense attorneys and judges — including the Supreme Court — will have to maneuver amid an inflexible political calendar."
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Smith's election interference case, according to Khardori, could affect the timing of the other three criminal trials Trump is facing.
"For both political and legal reasons," Khardori observes, "the most important case is the Justice Department's prosecution over Trump's effort to overturn the 2020 election…. From a legal perspective, the three other pending criminal cases against Trump — in Manhattan, Florida and Georgia — do not pose as potent a threat at the moment. That's partly because state prosecutors are willing to defer to the Department of Justice and special counsel Jack Smith."
The attorney continues, "Indeed, in Manhattan, District Attorney Alvin Bragg has indicated he would be amenable to moving his trial date, which is currently for March 25, so as not to conflict with the federal prosecution. But even if Trump is ultimately tried and convicted this year, the state law charges — which concern alleged hush money payments made to the adult film star Stormy Daniels in the run-up to the 2016 election — are not likely to result in serious prison time, if any."
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Ankush Khardori's full analysis for Politico is available at this link.
