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By Ewan Palmer
News Reporter
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President-elect Donald Trump is still facing several legal issues related to his falsifying business records conviction and the dropped federal criminal cases before he returns to the White House on January 20.
Newsweek has contacted Trump's legal team and the Department of Justice for comment via email outside of regular working hours.
Why It Matters
Trump is on course to be first ever convicted felon to be sworn in as U.S. president. Special counsel Jack Smith could be allowed to get the final word on his federal investigations into Trump if his draft report gets released, despite both investigations being dismissed.
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What to Know
Trump is scheduled to be sentenced on January 10 for falsifying business records related to hush money payments.
On Monday, New York Judge Juan Merchan denied Trump's request to delay the sentencing, ruling that the hearing would proceed as scheduled. Trump's legal team argued that sentencing so close to the January 20 inauguration would disrupt the transition process.
Trump was supposed to be sentenced in July, but his hearing was delayed until after the 2024 presidential election. His victory put the case in limbo, with Merchan postponing his sentencing indefinitely.
Trump was found guilty last May of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. The charges stemmed from allegations that he directed his then-lawyer, Michael Cohen, to pay $130,000 to adult film star Stormy Daniels to keep an alleged affair she had with Trump a secret ahead of the 2016 election. Trump denied all the charges.
Trump's lawyers are also seeking to block the release of a report from special counsel Smith regarding federal investigations into his alleged hoarding of classified documents and criminal attempt to overturn the 2020 election results.
Smith is required by DOJ policy to submit a report detailing his findings to Attorney General Merrick Garland.
In a letter to Garland on Monday, Trump's attorneys urged the attorney general to block the report's release, arguing it is contrary to the public interest. The lawyers said they were permitted to review the two-volume draft report in a conference room at Smith's office between January 3 and January 6.
Trump's former codefendants in the classified documents case, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, who are still facing charges relating to alleged obstruction, also requested Monday that Judge Aileen Cannon block the report's release.
They argued the report should not be made public after Cannon dismissed the classified documents case in July. Cannon ruled Smith was unlawfully appointed as special counsel by Garland in November 2022 because it was not first approved by the Senate.
Trump, Nauta, and De Oliveira pleaded not guilty to all classified documents charges against them. Trump also pleaded not guilty to four federal charges related to the events leading up to the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack.
Smith moved to drop both cases after Trump's 2024 election victory, due to a long-standing DOJ policy not to prosecute sitting presidents.
What People Are Saying
Judge Juan Merchan in Monday's hush money sentencing ruling: "This Court has considered Defendant's arguments in support of his motion and finds that they are for the most part, a repetition of the arguments he has raised numerous times in the past.Therefor Defendant's motion for a stay of these proceedings, including the sentencing hearing scheduled for January 10, 2025, is hereby DENIED."
Trump lawyers writing to Attorney General Merrick Garland: "Smith's proposed plan for releasing a report is unlawful, undertaken in bad faith, and contrary to the public interest. The time has come to put an end to this weaponization of the justice system and move forward constructively. No report should be prepared or released, and Smith should be removed, including for even suggesting that course of action given his obvious political motivations and desire to flawlessly undermine the transition."
Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira's legal team writing to Judge Aileen Cannon: "These Defendants will irreparably suffer harm as civilian casualties of the Government's impermissible and contumacious utilization of political lawfare to include release of the unauthorized Report. The Final Report relies on materials to which Smith, as disqualified special counsel, is no longer entitled access—making his attempt to share such materials with the public highly improper."
**President-elect Donald Trump posting on Truth Social on January 4: "**There has never been a President who was so evilly and illegally treated as I. Corrupt Democrat judges and prosecutors have gone against a political opponent of a President, ME, at levels of injustice never seen before. Deranged Jack Smith, the evil and sinister prosecutor appointed by Crooked Joe Biden to 'take me down,' was found to be illegally appointed by a CORRUPT DOJ and FBI, and all of his many charges against me were dropped or dismissed. His illegal raid of my home, Mar-a-Lago, will go down as one of the 'dirtiest tricks' ever perpetrated by one candidate, [as] dumb as a rock, Sleepy Joe Biden on another..."
What Happens Next
Trump may still attempt to delay or dismiss his sentencing via the appeals court. He could also appeal his conviction for falsifying business records following the sentencing.
Judge Merchan has indicated he would not impose a custodial sentence at the January 10 hearing.
Smith is reportedly planning to resign as special counsel before Trump's inauguration and hopes to release his report beforehand. The decision to make the report public will be made by Garland.
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