Donald Trump awaits sentencing in New York on July 11 on 34 felony charges, but more risky legal challenges lie ahead, including up to three criminal trials on more serious charges.
In addition to the New York trial, Trump also faces criminal charges in Georgia, Florida and Washington, D.C. It remains an open question whether the remaining criminal cases will go to trial before Election Day, but that currently seems unlikely.
The former president also has a number of significant appeals outstanding, including two that could cost him more than $500 million if he loses, and another case before the U.S. Supreme Court that could block at least one criminal case if he wins.
Now let’s take a look at some of President Trump’s remaining lawsuits and their status.
Confidential Documents Incident
The New York case carries a maximum sentence of four years in prison for each count, which is unlikely to be imposed on Trump, while the Florida federal classified documents case carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for some of the charges.
Trump was indicted on 37 counts by federal authorities last year for illegally possessing and improperly handling large amounts of highly classified national security information at a Florida social club, and was later indicted on additional charges of attempting to cover up the wrongdoing. He has denied any wrongdoing and has pleaded not guilty.
The case was originally scheduled to go to trial on May 20, but U.S. District Judge Eileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, indefinitely postponed the trial date earlier this month, citing “myriad” legal issues that still needed to be sorted out.
Federal election interference cases
Special Counsel Jack Smith charged Trump with conspiring to defraud the United States by illegally overturning the results of the 2020 presidential election and ensuring a peaceful transition of power. It is the first time a former US president has been charged with a crime. The Washington DC case was originally scheduled to be tried in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s hush money lawsuit against Trump, but it has been stayed indefinitely.
That’s because the Supreme Court accepted President Trump’s appeal, arguing that his actions in the riots at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, were protected by presidential immunity, putting the case on hold in the meantime. The Supreme Court heard the case in April but has yet to rule on it.
If the conservative Supreme Court, which includes three justices appointed by Trump, rules entirely in the former president’s favor, the lawsuit could be dismissed. If the court sends the case back to U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan in Washington for further review of whether some of Trump’s actions qualify as immune from prosecution, the trial would almost certainly be delayed until after the election while those issues are further argued.
If the Supreme Court rules broadly against Trump by the end of June, a trial before the election could theoretically still be possible, but it would be difficult, legal experts told NBC News.
The charges in the case carry a maximum prison sentence of five to 20 years. Trump has pleaded not guilty.
Georgia Election Interference Case
Trump faces 10 criminal charges in Georgia, including one brought by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who accused him of participating in a widespread organized crime conspiracy to illegally overturn the results of the 2020 election in the state. The organized crime charges carry a prison sentence of five to 20 years, and Trump has pleaded not guilty.
The lawsuit, filed in August 2023, is the only one of the pending criminal cases without a trial date. Prosecutors had asked Judge Scott McAfee to set a trial date for August 2024, but Trump lawyer Steve Sadow argued that this “would be the most effective election interference in American history” because Trump would likely still be on trial on Election Day.
McAfee has not yet set a trial date, and it may not be set until the state Court of Appeals rules on an appeal of whether Willis and her firm should be removed from the case.
Civil Judgment Appeals
Trump is currently facing three appeals against judgments totaling more than $560 million — huge sums that could cause financial havoc for him and his companies if he loses.
The largest of these awards was the more than $350 million awarded to Trump and the Trump Organization in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ fraud case earlier this year. Judge Arthur Engoron’s award skyrocketed to $464 million in February with prejudgment interest and has grown at more than $100,000 a day since then. The amount will continue to grow until the appeals are decided.
Trump is also appealing two rulings in a lawsuit brought by author E. Jean Carroll: a $5 million verdict last year in which a jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming the author, and an $83 million defamation judgment awarded earlier this year. Trump has had to post $91 million bail to keep the rulings in place while the appeals are ongoing.
He also Facing lawsuits Lawsuits have been filed in the case by about a dozen officers injured in the Jan. 6 riot, and a federal judge in Washington, D.C., last month denied his motion to further delay those cases.