Analysis by Summer Lane | Photo: Alamy
President Donald Trump is facing many battles as he fights his way back toward reclaiming the White House in 2024, and many of them are playing out in America’s halls of justice.
The president has been hit with a slew of indictments and lawsuits since announcing his 2024 reelection bid, which he has pointedly stated is simply a way “TO INTERFERE WITH THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 2024.”
He explained on Truth Social, “THIS HAS NEVER HAPPENED SO BLATANTLY IN THE USA BEFORE, ONLY IN THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES. WATCH FOR IT, THE RADICAL LEFT DEMOCRATS NEW WAY OF CHEATING. THEY ARE DESTROYING OUR COUNTRY — BUT WE WILL WIN & MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”
Although it’s only February, a slate of courtroom developments has taken place since the new year kicked off with a bang amid the GOP primary election season. Here is a rundown of President Trump’s most pressing legal battles and how they are poised to intersect with integral 2024 election dates and times.
U.S. Supreme Court 14th Amendment case and the Nevada caucus
On Thursday, February 8, the United States Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Trump v. Anderson. This stems from a Colorado State Supreme Court ruling that decided Trump was unqualified to be on their 2024 ballot.
Per RSBN, a decision on the matter could be handed down in days or weeks. Either way, it will settle the 14th Amendment challenges nationwide when the decision is issued.
These oral arguments take place on the same day as the anticipated Nevada GOP caucus.
Jan. 6 election case and Super Tuesday
Last year, President Trump was indicted on four felony charges in Washington, D.C., in a case revolving around the events of Jan. 6, 2021. In early February of this year, the court case was removed from the docket, pending an appeal on the issue of presidential immunity.
The trial was originally slated to have begun on March 4, 2024 – the day before Super Tuesday. However, the date for the trial appears to be up in the air due to a new Tuesday decision from the D.C. Court of Appeals, which ruled that the president did not have presidential immunity in this case and, as such, could be tried and potentially prosecuted.
The president has stated that he will appeal this ruling, and it is expected to go to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Super Tuesday is the busiest day in the presidential primary election season. 15 states will hold their primary elections on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. According to The New York Times, candidates have the opportunity to win up to 874 Republican delegates in this year’s Super Tuesday primary sprint.
New York civil fraud trial and the South Carolina primary
Many Americans are waiting for New York Judge Arthur Engoron to issue a decision on the civil fraud lawsuit that New York State Attorney General Letitia James spearheaded. The upcoming South Carolina GOP primary is scheduled for February 23. According to Just Security’s master list of the president’s trial dates, Engoron is expected to issue his decision no later than Friday, Feb. 16, just one week away from the Palmetto State’s election.
Mar-a-Lago classified documents trial before RNC
President Trump is poised to be the next Republican presidential nominee. The Republican National Convention will take place in July. Another trial date has been scheduled for the infamous “classified” documents case, in which the president was indicted along with Walt Nauta over documents that were allegedly seized at his home, Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, Florida, during a 2022 FBI raid.
As it stands, the documents trial is slated to begin on May 20, 2024.
New York ‘hush money’ case
The first big case that the president was indicted for last year was based in New York in a Manhattan criminal court, where Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg charged Trump with 34 counts of allegedly “falsifying business records,” per The Hill.
The trial is tentatively set to begin on Monday, March 25, 2024. A large portion of the GOP primary election races will be over at that point, but there will still be primaries scheduled in states like Kentucky, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, and Pennsylvania.
Georgia election case and the general election
The proposed date for the president’s election-related trial in Georgia is Monday, August 5, 2024. Last summer, the president was arraigned at the Fulton County Jail, resulting in a now-famous mugshot.
Trump was charged along with 18 defendants in the case, led by the seemingly embattled Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. If the trial does indeed kick off as planned in August, it will be right in the middle of the general election season, where Trump will be squaring off against Joe Biden for three more critical campaign months.