Stormy Daniels May Have the Last Word on Donald Trump
The New York case, often downplayed as the weakest of four potential indictments against the ex-president, could be his biggest legal threat.
by James Risen
Former President Donald Trump speaks during a rally on July 7, 2023, in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
Photo: Charlie Riedel/AP
ONLY A CAREER criminal finds himself facing four indictments in four different jurisdictions at the same time. That level of legal exposure is generally reserved for those who engage in crime sprees of historic proportions.
Enter Donald Trump, a serial criminal who has been the subject of so many federal and state investigations and indictments that he could put most Mafia bosses to shame.
It seems likely that Trump, who has already been charged with felonies in two separate cases, will soon be indicted at least twice more, perhaps before the summer is over. If that happens, Trump will have to spend much of the next year traveling up and down the Eastern Seaboard defending himself in courtrooms in New York, Washington, Georgia, and Florida, even as he campaigns for the presidency.
But rather than conflicting with his court appearances, Trump’s presidential run is inextricably linked to his legal strategy: He is clearly running for president again to try to shield himself from a prison sentence. Trump doesn’t see the difference between politics and the law. He appears convinced that his one chance to make his legal troubles disappear is to once again win the country’s top political office.
There is nothing in the law or the Constitution that would stop Trump from running for president, even if he were convicted of one or more crimes by November 2024. But if he is elected and takes office, all kinds of weird and interesting questions will arise. His legal troubles could very quickly lead to an unprecedented constitutional crisis. .
Enter Donald Trump, a serial criminal who has been the subject of so many federal and state investigations and indictments that he could put most Mafia bosses to shame.
It seems likely that Trump, who has already been charged with felonies in two separate cases, will soon be indicted at least twice more, perhaps before the summer is over. If that happens, Trump will have to spend much of the next year traveling up and down the Eastern Seaboard defending himself in courtrooms in New York, Washington, Georgia, and Florida, even as he campaigns for the presidency.
But rather than conflicting with his court appearances, Trump’s presidential run is inextricably linked to his legal strategy: He is clearly running for president again to try to shield himself from a prison sentence. Trump doesn’t see the difference between politics and the law. He appears convinced that his one chance to make his legal troubles disappear is to once again win the country’s top political office.
There is nothing in the law or the Constitution that would stop Trump from running for president, even if he were convicted of one or more crimes by November 2024. But if he is elected and takes office, all kinds of weird and interesting questions will arise. His legal troubles could very quickly lead to an unprecedented constitutional crisis. .
To be sure, Trump’s legal cases have a long way to go before pardons would be considered.
- He and his attorneys are certain to file motions seeking to delay all the cases, hoping that none go to trial before the 2024 election.
- It’s possible that he won’t be convicted in any of them, and even if he is, he could file endless appeals and might never be sentenced to prison.
- Michael Bachner, a New York lawyer and a former assistant district attorney in the Manhattan DA’s office that brought the hush-money case against Trump, noted that the ex-president has been charged with the lowest-grade felony in New York state.
“It is extremely unlikely that a judge would send him [to prison] in this case,” said Bachner. “Most first-time offenders [on this type of charge] would not go” to prison.
That raises yet another possible way Trump could avoid incarceration: He might claim that he’s a first-time offender — in four different jurisdictions.."
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