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It is going to be a very busy Christmas and New Year for Donald Trump, with a slew of court cases pending. The number of court appearances will likely increase during 2024, with trial dates for Trump's four criminal cases. Newsweek sought email comment on Tuesday from Donald Trump's attorney.
Here are the main cases the former president will have to deal with in the coming weeks:
Election Interference Case, Washington D.C
1. Supreme Court
Trump's most-pressing concern is the Supreme Court's request that he file a brief by 4 p.m. on Wednesday in prosecutor Jack Smith's unexpected petition on Trump's presidential immunity.
While the Republican had envisioned months of appeals before reaching the Supreme Court, Smith preempted him by going to the highest court directly. He had sought Trump's response to his petition by Monday, but the Supreme Court said Trump had until Wednesday.
The court seems receptive to hearing a full case. Smith filed his petition on December 10 and the Supreme Court said the next day that it would expedite the process of deciding whether to take the case. Trump was indicted on four counts of allegedly working to overturn the results of the 2020 election in the run-up to the January 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
It is one of four criminal cases that Trump is facing while he campaigns as frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination. He has also pleaded not guilty to charges in the other cases, denying any wrongdoing, and has repeatedly said that they form part of a political witch hunt.
2. Court of Appeal
Trump's own presidential immunity case to the Washington D.C. Court of Appeal is also producing a large amount of dates over the Christmas period.
Trump's brief to the D.C. Court of Appeals is due on December 23, with further briefs due from Jack Smith on December 29 and from the former president again on January 2.
The court said on Monday that it will hear oral arguments on January 9, but only if the Supreme Court hasn't taken over the case by then.
New York Fraud Trial
Trump has already lost a portion of New York Attorney General Letitia James's case against him for fraudulent evaluation of his properties; some of the Trump companies have had their legal right to trade taken away.
Both Trump and the New York attorney general must file closing brief in the case by January 5, with closing arguments on January 11. Judge Arthur Engoron will then decide on the rest of the case, as well as the hefty fines he is expected to impose on Trump for the part of the trial that Trump has already lost.
E. Jean Carroll Defamation Case
A jury has already awarded retired journalist E. Jean Carroll $5 million after finding that Trump had sexually assaulted her in the mid-1990s and then defamed her character after she took a case against him.
After he lost the case, Trump made further comments about her, and she is suing him for defamation again. Carroll's second defamation trial opens on January 16.
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About the writer
Sean O'Driscoll is a Newsweek Senior Crime and Courts Reporter based in Ireland. His focus is reporting on U.S. law. ... Read more