Donald Trump: Could the new President-Elect still go to prison? Legal cases explained after election victory

The 78-year-old faces a total of 88 criminal charges across four separate cases, with a New York court already convicting him of 34 charged relating to a hush money case involving Stormy Daniels. The President-Elect had is still scheduled to appear before a judge for his sentencing on November 2.

Each individual charge carrying a maximum punishment of four years behind bars. But how likely is the 47th president of the United States to go to prison following his election triumph?

Could Donald Trump still go to prison?

Despite being elected as the next US President, Trump could technically still go to prison for his conviction in relation to the New York hush money case. However, in reality, this is extremely unlikely to happen.

An election win had been touted as a “get out of jail free” card for Trump by some, and it may prove to be just that. Retired New York state Judge Jill Konviser told CNN that the situation Trump now finds himself in as the country’s first convicted felon to be elected and still facing sentencing is “beyond anything any founding father could have ever contemplated.” She added: “There’s no playbook here. You can’t look this up in a law book and find an answer to the query because it doesn’t exist.”

Trump had already submitted a motion to dismiss his conviction after a Supreme Court ruling over presidential immunity. This decision ruled that former presidents are entitles to some immunity from criminal prosecutions for “official acts”.

Judge Juan Merchan, who oversaw the hush money trial, is due to make a decision on this on November 12, one week after the election. If he chooses to dismiss the conviction in light of his election win, Trump’s charges will disappear and he will not face prison time. His lawyers may also argue that one state alone cannot interfere with the function of the United States president.

What other charges is Donald Trump facing?

Trump has been charged with four criminal counts in relation to the January 6 riots at the US Capitol and conspiring to overturn the 2020 election result. Some of these charges include conspiracy to defraud the US and conspiracy against the rights of citizens.

This federal case may well be scrapped overall by Trump when he comes to power on January 20. As leader, he would be able to order the dismissal of charges or pardon himself.

He has been charged further in the state of Georgia in relation to his attempt to overturn his defeat. Prosecutors in the state accused the now President-Elect and 18 others of criminally conspiring to overturn the result. Trump may avoid jail time in this case if his lawyers chose to use the defence of a lone state interfering with the function of the president.

He has also been charged with wilful retention of national defence information, with eight counts including making false statements and withholding documents. This could be scrapped due to the Supreme Court immunity ruling.