Following his Victory in the 2024 presidential election, Donald Trump will become the first convicted criminal president as he still has several criminal cases linked to him.

After Trump’s reinstatement as commander-in-chief, the question of what will happen to his next term as commander-in-chief state and federal fees remains – and whether he has the power to overthrow them as president.

His election victory comes as he is expected to be sentenced in New York for his hush money case on Tuesday, November 26, after it is handed down. delayed for the second time in September.

On May 30, Trump, 78, was found guilty of all 34 counts in an attempt to bury evidence of an illegal plot to influence the 2016 election. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

THE July Supreme Court ruling granting Trump and former presidents immunity from prosecution This means that Trump is now entitled to certain protections as president.

Judge Juan Merchan will decide Tuesday, Nov. 12, whether or not to throw out Trump’s conviction based on the Supreme Court’s protective ruling, according to CNN. If his charges are dismissed, Trump will not be convicted.

According to the outlet, Trump still faces up to four years in prison if the judge continues to uphold his conviction or he can receive a lesser sentence of community service or a fine. Trump’s lawyers are expected to appeal the decision.

Trump also faces several other federal and state charges. In June 2023, it was indicted by federal grand jury in South Florida for allegedly mishandling classified documents after leaving the White House. He was charged twice more in August 2023, during the January 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol and efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.

However, when Trump becomes president, the act of self-pardon could be a possibility.

“The big unanswered question is whether the president will be able to pardon himself,” said Jeffrey Crouch, an assistant professor of American politics at American University. CBS News. “No president has ever attempted it, so we don’t know what the outcome would be if it were attempted.”

Article 2 of American Constitution states that presidential pardons extend to federal crimes, not state crimes — and so Trump could potentially grant himself clemency on his federal charges. Pardons are administered by the Office of the Pardon Attorney of the Department of Justice.

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Even if Trump could eventually apologize for his federal charges, he wouldn’t be able to clear up his Georgia racketeering case.

“If a president tried to pardon himself, that would of course be very controversial legally,” Mark Tushnet, a constitutional law expert at Harvard, told CBS News. “On the other hand, it would also be quite difficult to challenge a pardon in any court. To challenge it, someone would have to have what lawyers call “standing to act”, that is to say, they would have been harmed. by the president’s action, and it’s really hard to see who in particular would suffer. »

According to the outlet, any self-pardon effort by Trump could be challenged by Congress in impeachment proceedings, although that likely won’t happen since Republicans control the Senate.

Trump’s criminal prosecution could be entirely excused now that he has been elected president, if some form of punishment or imprisonment interfered with his governing duties, legal experts say.

“There is a feeling that they would follow the federal government’s standard and therefore delay sentencing in the New York case until after he has finished his presidency,” said Robert Weisberg, a Stanford law professor. . The United States today.

“Say goodbye to all criminal cases,” said Karen Friedman Agnifilo, former chief of the Manhattan District Attorney’s trial division. ABC News. “The criminal cases are over, whether legally or practically,” she said, adding that Trump’s presidential victory would be a “get out of jail free card.”