Donald Trump's Criminal Cases: What Happens Now?

Following his 2024 presidential election win, Donald Trump will become the first convicted felon president as he still has several criminal cases tied to him. 

Following Trump’s reinstatement as commander in chief, the question of what happens to his impending state and federal charges remains — and whether he has the power to overturn them as president. 

His win in the election comes as he is scheduled to face sentencing in New York over his hush-money case on Tuesday, Nov. 26, after it was delayed for the second time in September. 

On May 30, Trump, 78, was found guilty of all 34 felony counts in an attempt to bury evidence of an illegal conspiracy to influence the 2016 election. Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The Supreme Court’s July decision for Trump and former presidents to have immunity from prosecution means that Trump is entitled to some protective measures now as president.

Judge Juan Merchan will decide on Tuesday, Nov. 12, whether or not to dismiss Trump’s conviction based on the Supreme Court’s protective ruling, according to CNN. If his charges are dismissed, Trump would not be sentenced as a result. 

Per the outlet, Trump still faces up to four years in jail should the judge continue to keep his conviction or he may receive a lesser sentence of community service or a fine. It is expected that Trump’s lawyers would appeal this decision. 

Trump also faces multiple other federal and state charges. In June 2023, he was indicted by a federal grand jury in South Florida over allegedly mishandling classified documents after leaving the White House. He was indicted two more times in August 2023, over the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot and efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia. 

However, when Trump becomes president, the act of self-pardoning could be a possibility. 

"The big unanswered question is whether the president might be able to pardon himself," Jeffrey Crouch, an assistant professor of American politics at American University, told CBS News. "No president has ever tried it, so we don't know what the result would be if it was attempted."

Article 2 of the U.S. Constitution states that presidential pardons extend to federal crimes, not state crimes — and so Trump could potentially grant himself clemency on his federal charges. Pardons are administered by the Department of Justice’s Office of the Pardon Attorney.

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While Trump could possibly excuse himself of his federal charges, he could not eliminate his state case over racketeering in Georgia.

"If a president tried to pardon himself, of course it would be legally quite controversial," Harvard constitutional scholar Mark Tushnet told CBS News. "On the other hand, it would also be quite difficult to challenge a pardon in any court of law. In order to challenge it, somebody would have to have what lawyers call 'standing,' that is, they'd have to be harmed by the president's action, and it's really hard to see who in particular would be harmed by it."

According to the outlet, any self-pardoning efforts made by Trump could be challenged by Congress in an impeachment, though this probably won’t happen as Republicans have control of the Senate.

Trump's criminal cases might be excused altogether now that he has been elected president, should any form of punishment or imprisonment interfere with his governing duties, legal experts say.

"There's a sense out there that they would follow the norm of the feds and therefore delay the sentencing in the New York case until after he finished his presidency," Stanford law professor Robert Weisberg told USA Today.

"Say goodbye to all the criminal cases," Karen Friedman Agnifilo, the former chief of the Manhattan district attorney's trial division, told ABC News. "The criminal cases are over, whether it's legally or practically," she said, adding that Trump's presidential win would be a "get out of jail free card."