Trump might have gotten over with help from the Supreme’s ….
But his minions are still on the hook in state criminal cases he has no control over….
Donald Trump derailed his 2020 election subversion indictments by winning backthe White House, but dozens of his allies still face state criminal prosecutions that he, even as president, can’t shut down through his Justice Department or short-circuit with pardons.
Since the election, Democratic prosecutors in Georgia, Michigan, Arizona and Wisconsinhave pledged to move ahead with cases against Trump allies who were involved with the “fake electors” plot, which tried to overturn his 2020 defeat in those states.
Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, another Democrat, also told CNN he is planning to soon bring a new indictment re-charging the 2020 fake electors from his state. (His original case was thrown out by a judge due to jurisdictional issues.)
“I don’t make decisions based on who is the president,” Ford said. “I make decisions based on the rule of law. And these state electors, in our estimation, violated laws of the state of Nevada that are worthy of prosecution,” Ford said, adding, “This case is not going away.”
A total of 45 Trump allies and aides are currently facing charges across these four states, with another six expected to be re-indicted soon in Nevada. While many defendants are state party officials or little-known GOP activists, some are prominent figures from Trump’s orbit including former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, his former personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, and adviser Boris Epshteyn….
…
“It all speaks to the uniqueness of the legal issues surrounding President Trump,” said Elliot Williams, a CNN legal analyst and former Justice Department prosecutor. “What happens where a defendant is the only person in the country immune from prosecution, but has co-defendants charged with the same conduct? Every other defendant is stuck.”…
…
Four years after the alleged crimes, none of the other cases are expected to go to trial anytime soon, either. A Michigan judge will decide in the coming months whether that case can proceed to trial. There’s a 2026 trial date for the Arizona indictment. And the Wisconsin defendants have their initial court appearances later this week.
The courts have never definitively settled the question of whether a state-level prosecutor, like Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, can prosecute a sitting president.
It also remains unclear what Trump’s victory could mean for Willis’ ability to move forward with the case against the other co-defendants. Some sources familiar with the case have suggested that prosecutors could try to sever Trump’s case from the other defendants….
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.