Trump's victory means the end of his trials: NPR

Special Counsel Jack Smith comments on an unsealed indictment against former President Donald Trump on August 1, 2023 in Washington, DC

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Donald Trump fought two federal lawsuits this year that threatened to send him to prison. But he will finish it free and clear of his biggest criminal justice problems.

Given his overwhelming election victory and the Justice Department's long-standing policy against prosecuting a sitting president, the key question is not if but when prosecutors will dismiss or delay his federal election interference case in Washington, DC

Trump recently said he would fire special counsel Jack Smith “within two seconds” of his return to the White House. Well, that won't be necessary to end his federal criminal problems.

Smith is taking steps to end both federal cases against Trump before the president-elect takes office, according to a source familiar with Justice Department deliberations.

A grand jury in Washington this year indicted Trump on four felony charges related to his efforts to stay in power in 2020, culminating in the violent siege of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Judge Tanya Chutkan had set a trial date for March 2024, but that date came and went after the Supreme Court accepted the case and ultimately granted Trump significant immunity from prosecution for his official actions in the White House.

The judge is just beginning to consider which parts of the prosecution's case constitute official acts and which constitute private conduct of a person who is and is not seeking office. That process will likely be halted soon or after the inauguration in January.

The Justice Department has appealed a separate criminal case against Trump. It accuses the former president of hoarding secret documents at his Mar a Lago resort and refusing to return them to the FBI.

Judge Aileen Cannon, appointed to the bench by Trump, dismissed the case on the first day of the Republican National Convention this year, saying the way the special counsel was appointed violated the Constitution. The Justice Department has requested review by a higher court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.