Trump’s Legal Cases: What’s Happening Through Election Day After Bombshell Jack Smith Report

Topline

Special Counsel Jack Smith’s damning report detailing former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election was made public on Wednesday, teeing up a major decision on how much of the federal criminal case against Trump’s post-election efforts can move forward—and while it’s unclear how much will be decided by Election Day, the ex-president’s lawyers will have a busy month regardless in Trump’s civil and criminal cases.

Timeline

October 10Even more new evidence in Trump’s federal election case could be released on Oct. 10 or soon thereafter, as Trump has until that day to respond to Smith’s proposed redactions to the appendix of prosecutors’ new filing—which would contain more complete transcripts and other evidence against Trump that’s only excerpted in the main document—and U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan could make the appendix public anytime after that.

October 17Trump will respond to Smith’s bombshell allegations in the new filing and make a renewed push to dismiss his federal election case, as Chutkan directed the ex-president to file a new motion to dismiss the charges against him and respond to Smith’s brief by this date—though the ex-president has requested a five-week extension until Nov. 21.

October 25Trump’s lawyers will argue why the criminal case over Trump allegedly mishandling White House documents shouldn’t be revived, as they face a deadline to file a response to Smith’s appeal asking the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals to throw out a ruling by Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon dismissing the charges.

October 29If she doesn’t grant Trump an extension, the clock will start ticking for Chutkan to rule on whether Trump is immune from the charges against him in the federal election case, as the government’s reply to Trump’s motion to dismiss is due October 29—and a ruling on “whether further proceedings are necessary” will follow soon thereafter, though it’s probably unlikely the judge will issue a decision before Election Day.

October 31A judge will consider how civil cases trying to hold Trump liable for the Jan. 6 attack will move forward, as U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta holds a hearing in cases brought against the ex-president by Democratic lawmakers and Capitol police officers as the cases proceed toward trial.

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News Peg

Chutkan released Smith’s wide-ranging filing laying out prosecutors’ case against Trump on Wednesday, after ruling on what should be redacted in the public filing. The document uses new evidence to help argue why the government’s charges against Trump comply with the Supreme Court’s ruling giving the ex-president immunity from charges based on his “official acts” in office, with prosecutors alleging all the conduct at issue was Trump acting as a political candidate and private citizen, rather than as president. Chutkan will now have to decide based on the filing which charges, if any, comply with the Supreme Court’s decision and can move forward. The filing includes a number of new allegations regarding the ex-president’s post-election efforts, detailing how Trump pushed fraud claims despite being repeatedly told and seemingly knowing they were false—allegedly saying he has to “fight” regardless of “if [he] won or lost the election”—and that those around him similarly didn’t believe his fraud claims but pushed them anyway. The filing also details Trump’s efforts to pressure then-Vice President Mike Pence to refuse to certify the election and his anger at Pence when the vice president refused, with prosecutors alleging that when an aide told Trump that Pence had to be moved to a secure location during the Jan. 6 attack, Trump’s response was, “So what?”

What’s Coming After Election Day?

Trump’s legal schedule won’t slow down after Election Day through the end of the year. In addition to Chutkan’s pending decision on how the federal election charges comply with the immunity ruling and the ongoing appeal in the documents case, Trump will also be sentenced after he was convicted in Manhattan on 34 felony counts. That’s scheduled to take place Nov. 26, after New York Judge Juan Merchan moved the date back until after the election to avoid any appearance of partisan bias. Trump is also waiting on a ruling from a New York appeals court on whether the ruling finding Trump and his associates liable for fraudulently misstating the value of assets will hold, after appeals judges expressed skepticism of the ruling and the more than $450 million fine Trump’s been ordered to pay. It’s unclear when that ruling will come out, but it’s likely to be a few months after the court heard arguments last week.

What We Don’t Know

How the election will affect Trump’s cases—since if Trump wins in November, these next few months will likely be the end for at least some of his criminal proceedings. A future President Trump would likely have the federal charges against him dismissed in the election case and the separate criminal case for allegedly withholding White House documents, if the appeals court revives it, which he could do by appointing DOJ officials willing to drop the charges. He would not have any power over state prosecutions against him, though they could be paused until Trump leaves office.

Tangent

Trump’s criminal case in Georgia for trying to overturn the 2020 election isn’t expected to have any activity between now and November, as the case remains on hold while an appeals court considers whether Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis should be disqualified over her romantic relationship with former prosecutor Nathan Wade. The appeals court won’t hear arguments on that until December, meaning the case will remain paused until at least early next year.

Key Background

Trump has faced a slew of legal issues in recent years after his presidency, including four criminal cases and numerous civil lawsuits. The ex-president has broadly opposed the cases against him, pleading not guilty in his criminal cases and generally denouncing allegations as “witch hunts” designed to hurt his political campaign. While the criminal charges against Trump were all brought last year, only the ex-president’s Manhattan hush money case has gone to trial so far, as Trump and his attorneys have succeeded in delaying criminal proceedings in other cases. Trump’s federal election case started moving forward again in August after the Supreme Court ruled in July that Trump and ex-president’s can’t be criminally charged for “official acts” in office, disagreeing with district and appeals court judges who said he’s not entitled to immunity. That ruling has further upended the cases against Trump and resulted in his sentencing in the hush money case getting delayed, in addition to its impact on the election case.

Further Reading