Former US President Donald Trump's victory in the 2024 US presidential election not only brought him back to the White House but also helped him escape legal battles, according to AFP.
US media have declared Mr Trump the winner in more than half of the 50 US states, including the key battleground states of Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, all of which voted Democratic in the 2020 election.
That gives Mr. Trump at least 294 electoral votes, exceeding the 270 needed to win, according to AFP. So far, Democratic presidential candidate, US Vice President Kamala Harris has won 223 electoral votes.
Mr Trump's election victory not only returned him to the White House but also saved him from looming legal battles and soaring legal bills, according to AFP.
Former US President Donald Trump (left, in October 2024) and Special Prosecutor Jack Smith (in August 2023)
NBC News and CNN reported on November 6 that Special Counsel Jack Smith spoke with Justice Department officials about gradually ending two federal lawsuits against former President Trump, just hours after Trump's victory was announced by the US press. They said the move was made in accordance with the US Justice Department's long-standing policy that a sitting US president cannot be criminally prosecuted.
During the campaign, Mr Trump pledged to his opponent, Vice President Harris, that he would fire Mr Smith “within two seconds” of taking office.
While the US president does not have the authority to remove the special prosecutor, Mr. Trump can appoint an attorney general to do so. Mr. Trump can also simply order the US Justice Department to drop the charges against him, according to AFP.
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Mr Smith, appointed by US Attorney General Merrick Garland, has filed two lawsuits against Mr Trump, alleging conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election results and mishandling classified documents after leaving the White House.
The election interference case is ongoing in Washington DC but has no trial date and the case was complicated by the US Supreme Court ruling in July that a former president is immune from criminal prosecution.
Mr Trump is accused of conspiring to defraud the United States and conspiring to obstruct an official session. That is, the session of the US Congress convened to certify Mr Biden's victory, which was violently attacked by a mob of Mr Trump's supporters on January 6, 2021.
Mr Trump's classified documents case was dismissed by a federal judge in Florida, a Trump appointee, on the grounds that Mr Smith was appointed illegally.
Trump also faces two state cases in New York and Georgia. Trump was convicted in New York in May of 34 counts of falsifying business records to conceal hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election.
Mr Trump is scheduled to be sentenced in July, but his lawyers have asked that his sentence be vacated under the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling. Judge Juan Merchan will rule on that request on November 12 and has set sentencing, if necessary, for November 26.
In Georgia, Mr Trump faces charges of attempting to undermine the 2020 election results in the state, but the case is likely to be frozen while he is in office under a policy of not prosecuting a sitting president, according to AFP.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/cong-to-vien-dac-biet-co-dong-thai-moi-ve-hai-vu-kien-chong-ong-trump-185241107072305171.htm
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