Trump is expected to become the 47th US president
The Associated Press called Wisconsin for Donald Trump, bringing him to 277 electoral votes and declaring him the winner of the 2024 election. Kevin Wagner of Florida Atlantic University joined FOX’s Josh Breslow’s LiveNOW to discuss the latest news.
Former President Donald Trump will retake the White House after defeating Vice President Kamala Harris.
With his victory, Trump may be able to free himself from federal lawsuits that could have landed him behind bars. State cases in Georgia and New York, however, could remain up for a vote.
“He’s going to order the two federal cases to be dismissed,” Alan Morrison, a law professor at George Washington University, told FOX Television Stations. “He’ll probably succeed in getting them fired.”
Where Do Trump’s Lawsuits Stand?
Federal election interference case: still pending
Trump was charged by Special Counsel Jack Smith in August 2023 with conspiring to overturn the results of his election loss to President Joe Biden in the lead-up to the January 6, 2021 riot at the US Capitol.
RELATED: Why the Supreme Court’s mixed immunity ruling is still ‘a big victory’ for Trump, expert explains
Prosecutors allege that Trump and his allies knowingly pushed election fraud lies to pressure state officials to overturn Biden’s victory, worked to recruit fake voters in battleground states and pressured his deputy president, Mike Pence, to disrupt the ceremonial counting of electoral votes.
New evidence revealed in Trump’s election case
A judge on Friday unveiled even more evidence in the criminal case accusing former President Donald Trump of trying to overturn the 2020 election. Jenn Mascott, associate professor of law and director of Catholic Law’s Separation of Powers Institute, joined FOX’s Josh Breslow’s LiveNOW to talk about the future.
Prosecutors say Trump and his allies also tried to exploit the pro-Trump mob’s attack on the Capitol by trying to convince members of Congress to further delay the certification of Biden’s victory.
Prosecutors detail news evidence against Trump in lawsuits, accusing the former president of resorting to “crimes to try to stay in office” after losing the 2020 election. The dossier provides the most comprehensive overview yet of what prosecutors want to prove if the case goes to trial.
Trump has said he would fire Smith if he were elected president “within two seconds” of taking office.
Classified documents
Trump was also accused by Smith in June 2023 of illegally withholding classified documents he took from the White House to Mar-a-Lago after leaving office in January 2021, and then obstructing the administration’s demands to give them back.
RELATED: New brief details on accusations against Trump in election interference: ‘resorted to crimes’
The following month, he was charged with additional charges of conspiring to ask an employee to delete the property’s surveillance footage, and of withholding a document — described by prosecutors as a Pentagon “plan of attack” — that he allegedly showed to visitors to his golf club in New Jersey.
Federal judge dismisses Trump’s secret documents case
Trial attorney Jeremy Rosenthal joins FOX’s LiveNOW to further explain that former President Donald Trump’s undercover case has been dismissed. The judge sided with attorneys who said the special prosecutor who filed the charges was illegally appointed by the Justice Department.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon threw out the entire case in July, issuing a stunning opinion stating that Smith was improperly appointed as special counsel and that his office was improperly funded.
Smith’s team appealed that ruling to the Atlanta-based 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals, where the ruling is now pending.
Morrison said if the case had continued and gone to trial, it would have been the biggest blow to Trump as he would have had a high chance of ending up behind bars.
“The administration routinely prosecutes people for far less serious security breaches than Trump did,” he said.
Case of election interference in Georgia
Even as president, Trump has no authority to halt proceedings in the Georgia election interference case, as it is a state matter.
Trump and 18 others were accused in August by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis of participating in a scheme to illegally try to overturn his narrow loss to Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.
The Georgia Court of Appeals has paused the Trump case
An appeals court has dropped Georgia’s election interference case against former President Trump and his co-defendants, likely meaning the case will not go to trial before the election.
The alleged scheme includes an extensive list of alleged acts, including Trump’s infamous January 2021 phone call to Georgia’s secretary of state, an attempt to replace Georgia’s Democratic presidential hopefuls with those who would vote for Trump, intimidation of an election worker in Fulton County and unauthorized copying of election equipment data and software.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee has not yet set a trial date for Trump. The case against Trump is currently on hold while the former president appeals.
Civil fraud case in New York
As with the Georgia case, Trump’s role as president would not affect the civil proceedings in the case against him in New York.
He was ordered to pay a $454 million fine, ruling in a civil fraud case that he had lied about his wealth for years while building the real estate empire that took him to stardom and the White House.
Impact of the Supreme Court on lawsuits against Trump
This week’s Supreme Court decision on presidential immunity threatens to have far-reaching consequences, including for an ongoing federal case over former President Donald Trump’s actions on January 6, 2021. LiveNOW from Fox’s Jeané Franseen speaks with Washington Examiner columnist Quin Hillyer for more information on the impact of the decision.
Trump will appeal Judge Arthur Engoron’s February 16 decision. The judge ruled that Trump, his company and executives, including his sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr., schemed to inflate his net worth by billions of dollars on financial statements provided to banks, insurers and others to make deals and loans to secure.
Trump denies wrongdoing. He described the verdict as “weaponization against a political opponent” and complained that he was being punished for building “a perfect company, a lot of money, great buildings, great everything.”