The end to President-elect Donald Trump’s legal troubles may be on the horizon as the start of his second term nears.
Department of Justice Special Counsel Jack Smith is already aiming to close both the 2020 election interference case and the classified documents case before Trump takes office. Smith is also expected to resign before Trump is inaugurated in January, according to the New York Times.
Trump’s state cases, however, are on more questionable ground.
Days after Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg sent Judge Juan Merchan a letter requesting a stay on the criminal charges involving alleged hush money payments until 2029, Merchan granted Trump’s request to file a motion to dismiss charges and removed his sentencing date from the schedule.
“I think Judge Merchan will make a decision about whether or not he’s going to accept this as his opportunity to be done with the case,” former criminal defense attorney Philip Holloway told Fox News Digital shortly after the news broke.
“This is a political system in New York that is masquerading as a legal system. So I think politics has certainly factored into it,” Holloway said. “But sometimes judges also rule with an eye towards being tactical, and so he’s basically said, ‘Look, I’m going to give you an opportunity to give me an opportunity to get out of this case.’”
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Syracuse University College of Law professor Gregory Germain countered Holloway’s argument, telling Fox News Digital that the ruling does not signal how Merchan will ultimately rule on the motion.
“You can’t read anything into a court allowing someone to file a motion,” Germain said. “Allowing Trump to file a motion to dismiss does not signal how the court will rule on the motion.”
Palm Beach County state attorney Dave Aronberg echoed Germain’s sentiments, saying the Friday ruling was Merchan “giving the defense every opportunity to make their case.”
He told Fox News Digital he predicts the sentencing will ultimately get delayed until January, with Merchan agreeing to put off the sentencing but not going as far as to dismiss the case altogether.
“I think the case will continue because the case has already concluded. There’s just a matter of sentencing,” Aronberg said.
Despite conflicting takes on where Trump’s hush money case stands, both Germain and Holloway were in agreement that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ case against Trump on alleged election interference would likely be dismissed.
Trump’s team and other defendants had previously asked the Georgia Court of Appeals to hold oral arguments to determine whether Willis could continue to prosecute the case. The Court of Appeals canceled arguments on Monday, which were initially scheduled for early December.
“The Court of Appeals did not give any explanation for canceling the oral argument. So those of us who are trying to read the tea leaves think that that might mean that Willis is about to lose,” Holloway said. “I think it’s unlikely that the Court of Appeals would cancel the oral argument if they were going to rule against the appellants.”
Aronberg, on the other hand, said he expects Willis to stay on the case and see it through.
“I think there’s a better-than-even chance that she’s allowed to stay on,” Aronberg said. “I think that she probably is allowed to stay on because the issue is there was a conflict, and the conflict has now been resolved.”
Germain noted that the case itself has yet to go to trial and that prosecution of the case cannot continue through Trump’s presidency, “so the best they could do is to stay it.” Germain said, however, that of the two state cases, the Georgia case is “the most likely case to be dismissed by the courts.”
“Even without Trump’s election, I think the Fulton County case would have been years away from any resolution,” Aronberg said.
