OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Democrats and other political opponents of Donald Trump who were hoping to see him convicted of a crime and jailed before the November election are likely in for a big disappointment, according to a new analysis.
“Delays have piled up in federal court proceedings in the District of Columbia case about Trump’s attempt to steal the 2020 election and the Florida classified documents case against Trump, making it unclear whether either case will go to trial before November,” Vox reported on Wednesday.
The report noted that in the Florida case, the federal judge, Aileen Cannon, does not appear to be in any hurry to see Trump, who appointed her, put on trial. As for the D.C. case, that is awaiting a decision on Trump’s question of presidential immunity from an appeals court.
“Meanwhile, the Georgia election case has recently been consumed by scandalous allegations about Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, which throw the future of that prosecution into question. A judge will soon consider whether Willis and her office should be disqualified. He could decide not to do that, but even then, a trial date has not yet been set in the complex case,” Vox said.
As of now, the New York hush money case appears to be the only trial that remains on course. It is currently slated to begin on March 25. However, on February 15, a judge will consider where the felony charges filed against Trump in the case are proper and legal.
Trump’s sole trial this year might ultimately be the one in New York, which is arguably the least substantial of the four. These charges revolve around the question of whether Trump inappropriately categorized Trump Organization payments to his former attorney, Michael Cohen, as legal expenses when they were, in fact, reimbursements for hush money paid to Stormy Daniels. While this behavior may be considered dubious, it does not reach the level of election interference or jeopardizing national security secrets.
However, at this juncture, there is limited potential for expediting the proceedings. Prosecutors initiated their cases last year, and they are currently under the jurisdiction of the judges, who are not bound by the constraints of an election calendar.
“It’s not certain that even multiple Trump convictions would be the game-changer in the polls Democrats hoped for. But getting a verdict before November 5 is the only way we’d ever come close to finding out,” Vox noted. “So Election Day could come and go with most of Trump’s legal jeopardy unresolved — and, if he wins, some of those delays could become permanent, since he’d almost surely shut down the federal investigations targeting him.”
Meanwhile, things just went from bad to worse for former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, whose 2024 presidential campaign is barely hanging on.
According to the Morning Consult poll, which was carried out among 1,297 prospective Republican primary voters, a whopping 81% of respondents support the former president, while only eighteen percent support Haley. That is a staggering 63-point deficit.
Before the New Hampshire primary, 79 percent of likely GOP voters supported former President Donald Trump, compared to 20 percent for Haley. This represents a four-point increase for Trump. Morning Consult had previously conducted the poll.
Haley is a former governor of South Carolina, and she has pledged to stay in the race despite her lackluster performance in the first two primaries in Iowa and New Hampshire, respectively.
“New Hampshire is first in the nation. It is not the last in the nation. This race is far from over,” she said after Trump defeated her in the state. “The road is never going to stop here in New Hampshire. That’s always been the plan.”
“Most Americans do not want a rematch between Biden and Trump,” Haley added. “The first party to retire its 80-year-old candidate is going to be the party that wins this election. I think it should be the Republicans that win this election.”
