How Trump's blowout election win scrambles the sentencing for his felony convictions
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Donald Trump is poised to face a mere 'dressing down' from a judge as his return to the White House looks set to ensure he does not end up doing jail time, according to legal experts.
Trump's stunning election victory was a gamechanger for his legal entanglements and will probably end the various criminal cases brought against him.
In May, a jury in New York found Trump guilty of falsifying business records related to a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels, making him the first former U.S. president convicted of a felony.
He is due to be sentenced in that case on November 26 by Judge Juan Merchan. Trump, potentially, faces a sentence of up to four years in prison.
Judge Merchan has reportedly set himself a deadline of November 12 to decide whether to toss the case out.
The judge's decision will be based on his interpretation of a previous U.S. Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity.
'I think now the judge is probably going to give him some sort of dressing down,' New York lawyer Arthur Aidala told DailyMail.com.
Former President Donald Trump is in a considerably better position with respect to the legal cases against him. He faces sentencing within weeks in his New York hush money case. He is soon to take over the levers of the Justice Department
Giving Trump probation looks more complicated now that he is set to run the country, reclaiming one of the busiest jobs in the world. Another option would be community service.
However, jail isn't out of the question, in part because of how Trump repeatedly violated the judge's 'gag' order during the trial.
Aidala predicted there would be a blistering statement from the bench.
He suggested that would be something like: 'I think what you did here and how you handled this and how you lied and covered up is horrible. The position you're about to take leading this country, I hope you're more honest.'
Aidala added: 'I think he (the judge) is going to give him (Trump) a big tongue lashing, and then probably just punt it.'
In another development the Justice Department is now looking for ways to 'wind down' its efforts in other cases against Trump.
The Justice Department, through Special Counsel Jack Smith, has spent years building a case against Trump for seeking to overturn the 2020 election results and allegedly absconding with classified documents.
A source close to Trump's legal defense predicted Smith would now step down.
'I see everything pointing to dismissal and a resignation,' the source said. 'I would not be surprised if in the next two or three days the government moves to dismiss. We’re likely seeing the end of lawfare.'
DOJ guidelines weigh against prosecuting a sitting president, and the Presidential Transition Act could wrap in a president-elect as well.
A source close to Trump's legal defense predicted Special Counsel Jack Smith would resign and the government would move to dismiss charges against him
Judge Juan Merchan could give Trump a 'tongue lashing' – or jail time
In the New York hush money sentencing matters are complicated by how Merchan lectured Trump co-conspirator Allen Weisselberg, the longtime Trump Organization CFO, when handing down his five-month sentence, saying he wished he could give the cooperator more time.
'How do you sentence the guy who cooperated and was acting at the main guy's urgency or direction – how do you give Trump less time than you give Weisselberg?' a legal expert said.
But he maintained that because of the election, 'I think now that's all behind us.'
The case could wind up at the Supreme Court, where Trump installed a 6-3 conservative majority.
That is in part due to the way prosecutors found a way to link Trump's porn star payoffs to felony campaign finance violations.
But some legal experts were already predicting in advance that victory at the ballot box would be Trump's 'get out of jail free' card.
The judge now must contend with sentencing the leader of the free world.
It follows a bitter process in which Trump spent a year going after the judge, prosecutors, court staff, and even the judge's daughter.
Meanwhile, Smith, the special prosecutor in the other cases has tried to race the calendar to bring charges and keep Trump lawyers from stalling.
Trump calls Smith 'deranged' and has said should be kicked out of the country.
Now, DOJ officials see no point in continuing litigation Trump has vowed to shut down as president.
'Sensible, inevitable and unfortunate,' former federal prosecutor Chuck Rosenberg told NBC News.
It all adds up to a stunning turnaround for Trump, who a year ago was facing 91 criminal charges.
By the fall, that number was down to 12, after a complex legal strategy that involved delay, venue shopping, complex arguments about presidential power, and relentless public attacks by the defendant himself.
'It was a three-pronged attack,' said the source close to Trump's defense. 'It was to attack the legitimacy of the of the actual charges.
'It was to focus on executive immunity, and then to raise those issues in a criminal case, which you're entitled to do. And then finally, it was focused on his core First Amendment rights.'
Trump has vowed to take 'retribution' against his political enemies, including those who prosecuted him, after he returns to the White House.
