FILE PHOTO: Former U.S. President Donald Trump and Special Counsel Jack Smith

Special Prosecutor Jack Smith addresses reporters after his grand jury has issued more indictments of former President Donald Trump on August 01 in Washington, DC.

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After another busy week tracking the demise and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/11/19/trump-hush-money-case-new-york/" target=_blank>indefinite stalling of the criminal cases</a> against incoming president <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/donald-trump/" target="_blank" class="contextual_link">Donald Trump</a>, I’m hoping for a quiet Thanksgiving holiday.

We will all need the rest — and the newsletter will take a break next weekend — because when we return, special counsel Jack Smith is expected to explain how exactly he wants to wind down Trump’s two federal cases.

Happy Thanksgiving! We are grateful for your readership and smart questions.

(Have questions on Trump’s trials? Email <a href="mailto:perry.stein@washpost.com" target=_blank>perry.stein@washpost.com</a> and check for answers in future newsletters. Like what you’re reading? Get <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/newsletters/the-trump-trials/" target=_blank>The Trump Trials in your email inbox</a> every Sunday.)

Monday, Dec. 2: That could be a big and revealing day in the Trump legal cases, from D.C. to New York to Atlanta.

By that date, the special counsel says he will file a brief to the judge overseeing the D.C. election interference case that will outline how he wants to proceed now that Trump is the president-elect.

Smith will also file a brief to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, which is in Atlanta and is hearing his challenge to a judge’s decision to dismiss Trump’s Florida classified document indictment. Again, he must explain how he wants to continue. Remember that Justice Department policy forbids prosecuting a sitting president, so Smith’s options in both cases are pretty limited.

In the New York state hush money case, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/11/22/donald-trump-sentencing-hush-money-case/?itid=lk_inline_manual_13" target=_blank>a different judge gave Trump’s lawyers until Dec. 2</a> to file a motion explaining why his 34-count felony conviction should be overturned. Trump’s legal team <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/11/12/trump-immunity-ruling-delay-hush-money-case/?itid=lk_inline_manual_13" target=_blank>has already argued </a>the guilty verdict should be tossed based on the Supreme Court’s summer ruling that broadened what acts of a president are immune from criminal prosecution. Now they want to argue that the conviction should be dismissed because Trump is about to return to the White House as commander in chief.

Here’s a recap of last week’s action in New York and Georgia (it was quiet in Trump’s D.C. and Florida cases), and a rundown of the details of all four indictments.

John Taggart

The details: 34 charges <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/03/30/trump-ny-indictment/?itid=lk_inline_manual_18&itid=lk_inline_manual_54" target=_blank>connected to a 2016 hush money payment</a>. A jury <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/05/30/trump-guilty-verdict-hush-money-trial/" target=_blank>found Trump guilty</a> on May 30.

Last week: New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan officially postponed <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/11/22/donald-trump-sentencing-hush-money-case/" target="_blank">Trump’s Nov. 26 sentencing in a brief one-page order</a>. He did not schedule a new sentencing or reference the possibility of a new date — meaning it’s unclear if Trump will be sentenced before he is sworn in as president. Prosecutors have signaled openness to postponing the sentencing four years, until Trump’s second White House term is completed.

Merchan is allowing Trump’s lawyers to make a new set of arguments for overturning his conviction by a jury of his peers. Those arguments, due Dec. 2, will focus on whether further proceedings, including a sentencing, would interfere with Trump’s <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/donald-trump/?itid=lk_inline_manual_5&itid=lk_inline_manual_21" target=_blank>ongoing presidential transition</a> and his presidency.

“The People deeply respect the Office of the President, are mindful of the demands and the obligations of the presidency, and acknowledge that Defendant’s inauguration will raise unprecedented legal questions,” the Manhattan district attorney’s office said in a letter to the court made public last week. “We also deeply respect the fundamental role of the jury in our constitutional system.”

Seth Wenig

The details: Trump faces eight state charges for allegedly trying to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/08/14/trump-indictment-georgia-election-2020/" target=_blank>undo the election results</a> in Georgia. Four of his 18 co-defendants have pleaded guilty.

Last week: The case has long been on pause while the Georgia Court of Appeals <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/06/12/fani-willis-trump-appeal/" target=_blank>hears an appeal from Trump</a> and some of his co-defendants seeking to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis, the top prosecutor. Oral arguments had been scheduled for Dec. 5, but <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/11/18/trump-georgia-appeal-fani-willis/" target=_blank>the court abruptly canceled</a> them on Monday.

The appellate court gave no reason for the cancellation, and it caught many parties involved in the case by surprise.

3. Florida: Federal classified documents case

The details: Trump used to face 40 federal charges <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/07/27/trump-carlos-deoliveira-classified-indictment/?itid=lk_inline_manual_16&itid=lk_inline_manual_38" target=_blank>over accusations that he kept top-secret government documents</a> at Mar-a-Lago — his home and private club in Palm Beach, Florida — and thwarted government demands to return them.

U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/07/15/trump-classified-trial-dismisssed-cannon/?itid=lk_inline_manual_35" target=_blank>dismissed the case</a>, saying Smith was unlawfully appointed as special counsel and has no authority to bring the indictment. Smith has appealed that decision.

Last week: Nothing happened. But we’ll learn more when Smith tells the court by Dec. 2 if and how he wants to proceed with the appeal. Prosecutors have wanted to overturn Cannon’s ruling not only to resurrect the classified-documents case, but also to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/08/26/trump-cannon-special-counsel-ruling/" target=_blank>protect Justice Department appointments </a>during the Trump administration and beyond. We’ll be watching to see if Smith drops the appeal or <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/11/13/jack-smith-resign-special-counsel-cannon-appeal/" target=_blank>attempts to continue it without</a> Trump as a co-defendant.

Jabin Botsford

The details: Four counts related to conspiring to obstruct <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/08/01/trump-indicted-jan-6-overturn-2020-election-results/" target=_blank>the 2020 election results</a>.

Last week: The stage was dark as we wait for Smith to explain how he wants to proceed.

Q. Can Trump’s Justice Department simply fire everyone on the special counsel team?

A. The Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/11/22/trump-jack-smith-prosecutors-firing-justice-department-investigation/" target="_blank">reported Friday</a> that Trump plans to fire the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/09/10/jack-smith-special-counsel-trump-investigations/?itid=lk_inline_manual_2" target="_blank">entire team that worked with the special counsel</a>. But it may not be that simple. Most of the people on the special counsel team are considered career employees, which means they have civil protections against being fired for certain reasons, including political ones.

Before Trump left office, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/11/08/federal-employees-trump-schedule-f/?itid=lk_inline_manual_21" target=_blank>he passed an executive order </a>known as the “Schedule F” rule, which would have reclassified huge swaths of career government employees and made it easier to fire them. President Joe Biden reversed that order when he entered the White House, and his administration finalized rules bolstering protections for career staffers.

<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2024/11/07/trump-dc-federal-workforce-cuts/?itid=lk_inline_manual_24" target=_blank>Trump has vowed to reinstate the Schedule F rule</a>, but even if he succeeds, legal experts said, it could take years to implement, while the untested issue of firing masses of federal workers makes its way through the courts.

Thanks for catching up with us. You can find <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/the-trump-trials/" target=_blank>past issues here</a>.

<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/11/22/trump-jack-smith-prosecutors-firing-justice-department-investigation/" target="_blank">Trump plans to fire Jack Smith’s team, use DOJ to probe 2020 election</a>

<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/11/23/pam-bondi-doj-attorney-general-trump-pick/" target=_blank>Pam Bondi said ‘prosecutors will be prosecuted.’ She’s Trump’s attorney general pick.</a>

<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/11/21/gaetz-withdraws-attorney-general-ethics-investigation/?itid=ap_lizgoodwin" target=_blank>Matt Gaetz’s confirmation as attorney general was in doubt ahead of withdrawal</a>

<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/11/23/trump-team-rivals-mar-a-lago/" target=_blank>Sharp elbows and raised voices: Inside Trump’s bumpy transition</a>

Washington University in St. Louis, BA

Perry Stein covers the Justice Department and FBI for The Washington Post. She previously covered D.C. education. Before she joined The Post in 2015, she was a staff writer for Washington City Paper and wrote for the Miami Herald. 

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