A new analysis suggests that Democrats and other political adversaries of Donald Trump, who were anticipating his conviction and imprisonment prior to the November election, are likely to face significant disillusionment.
“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.
The report highlighted that in the Florida case, the federal judge, Aileen Cannon, seems to lack any sense of urgency in regards to the trial of Trump, who appointed her. Regarding the D.C. case, it is currently pending a verdict on Trump’s claim 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.
At present, the New York hush money case stands as the sole trial that remains on track. Its scheduled commencement is set for March 25. Nevertheless, on February 15, a judge will assess the validity and legality of the felony charges brought against Trump in this particular case.
It is plausible that Trump’s only trial this year will ultimately be the one taking place in New York, which is arguably the least significant among the four. These charges primarily revolve around the question of whether Trump improperly classified payments made by the Trump Organization to his former attorney, Michael Cohen, as legal expenses, when in reality, they were reimbursements for hush money paid to Stormy Daniels. While this conduct may be viewed as questionable, it does not rise to the level of interfering in an election or compromising national security secrets.
However, it is important to note that expediting the proceedings at this stage is unlikely. The prosecutors initiated their cases last year, and the judges currently hold jurisdiction over them, without being 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.”
In the midst of these developments, the situation has taken a turn for the worse for Nikki Haley, the former United Nations Ambassador, as her 2024 presidential campaign is barely holding on.
Based on the Morning Consult poll, which surveyed 1,297 potential Republican primary voters, an astonishing 81% of respondents expressed their support for the former president, while a mere eighteen percent backed Haley. This creates an astounding deficit of 63 points.
Prior to the New Hampshire primary, 79 percent of likely GOP voters favored former President Donald Trump, compared to 20 percent for Haley. This indicates a four-point increase in support for Trump. Morning Consult had previously conducted this poll.
Despite her underwhelming performance in the first two primaries in Iowa and New Hampshire, respectively, Haley, a former governor of South Carolina, remains determined to continue her campaign.
“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.”
