VICE
When will former President Donald Trump receive a verdict in his Washington D.C. criminal case?
Possibly just days before the presidential election on November 5th, according to a new legal analysis.
That timeline results from the D.C. Court of Appeals’ decision Tuesday to deny Trump’s claim of presidential immunity in a case over his alleged attempts to subvert the 2020 election. The move effectively tosses the ball to the Supreme Court, which must now decide how to respond to Trump’s inevitable next appeal, and whether to fast-track or slow-walk the process.
The possibility that the trial may wrap up within days of the election creates a dramatic, uncertain, nail-biter of a legal showdown unlike anything ever seen before in American presidential politics. And it raises the surreal possibility that Trump could be convicted of serious felonies that carry lengthy prison sentences right before he wins the presidency. There is no historical precedent for what might happen next.
A Trump guilty verdict before the election could matter enormously to the outcome of the vote itself. Polls say that many voters who have shrugged off Trump’s four indictments also say they wouldn’t support him if he’s convicted of serious crimes. While these early polls should be taken with a grain of salt, they point towards the possibility that a late-breaking verdict could make the difference in a tight race.
Depending on what the high court does, Trump’s D.C. trial could start in June or July, and might not wrap up until Oct. 30, the legal experts wrote on the web site Just Security. The analysis suggests that Trump may well receive a verdict in this case before the election—but just barely. And that throws a massive wildcard into the 2024 race.
Now with this handy graphic.👇
Three scenarios for timing of Trump #January6th Trial, now that the DC Circuit has ruled.
Thanks to @NormEisen @Matt_Seligman @JoshuaGKolb https://t.co/LEzEiGBrsG pic.twitter.com/GwV80jmaml
— Ryan Goodman (@rgoodlaw) February 6, 2024
