Justice Department to Continue Trump Prosecutions Until Inauguration Day if He Wins

In the event that Donald Trump wins the election and becomes president, his Justice Department won’t halt the ongoing prosecutions. According to The Washington Post, senior law enforcement officials confirmed anonymously that the criminal cases against Trump will proceed at least until Inauguration Day in January 2025.

The Washington Post spoke with senior law enforcement officials about their strategy. They have long prepared for the two federal indictments against the presumptive Republican nominee, understanding the constraints posed by deadlines.

A key reason for this approach is the Justice Department’s institutional policy to refrain from criminally charging a sitting president. However, sources and lawyers at the department believe this policy does not apply to a president-elect. This means that legal motions will continue, court hearings will be scheduled, and a trial could potentially occur up until Trump’s inauguration.

A spokesman for special counsel Jack Smith declined to comment when contacted by The Post. Trump spokesman Steven Cheung maintained the former president’s stance, calling the cases “hoaxes” and noting that they “are imploding as their collective efforts to interfere in the election have massively backfired.”

The Justice Department’s plan may face legal challenges following the recent Supreme Court ruling that immunized the president’s official acts from criminal culpability. This ruling has already led New York’s state court to postpone the sentencing of Trump’s conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records in his hush money trial from July 11 to September 18. “The July 11, 2024, sentencing date is therefore vacated,” Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan wrote.

Additionally, if Trump appoints a new attorney general, they might attempt to remove his cases from the docket by dropping the charges. Trump is currently facing federal indictments for his election subversion trial in Washington, D.C., and his classified documents obstruction case in Fort Pierce, Florida.

“The Justice Department isn’t governed by the election calendar,” former Justice Department spokesman Anthony Coley said. “Its prosecution of Trump is based on the law, the facts, and the Justice Manual — the department’s bible that lays out the post-Watergate norms that have prevented it from being weaponized.” “Until those norms change, or they’re ordered otherwise, I’d expect this Justice Department to be full speed ahead. And they should be.”