Updated November 6, 2024 at 5:12 PM ET

Donald Trump began this year to fight the two federal indictments that threatened to send him to prison. But he will end his most important criminal legal problems free and clear.

With his resounding victory at the polls and a longstanding Justice Department policy against prosecuting a sitting president, the key question is not if, but when, prosecutors will move to dismiss or delay his case of meddling in federal elections from Washington, DC.

Trump recently said he would fire special counsel Jack Smith “within two seconds” of returning to the White House. Now, that won’t be necessary to end his federal criminal problems.

Smith is moving to end both federal cases against Trump before the president-elect takes office, according to a source familiar with the Justice Department’s deliberations.

1. What are the outstanding cases the federal government has filed against Trump?

A grand jury in Washington indicted Trump this year on four felony charges related to his bid to cling to power in 2020, culminating in the violent siege of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Judge Tanya Chutkan had set a trial date for March 2024, but that date came and went as the Supreme Court accepted the case and ultimately gave Trump significant immunity from prosecution for official actions he took at the White House.

The judge is only now beginning to consider what parts of the prosecution’s file are official acts and what are the private conduct of a person seeking rather than holding office.

The Justice Department appealed a separate criminal case against Trump that accuses the former president of hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort and refusing to return them to the FBI.

Judge Aileen Cannon, who was appointed to the bench by Trump, rejected the document file on July 15, the first day of this year’s Republican National Convention, arguing that the way the special counsel had been appointed violated the Constitution. The Justice Department sought review from a higher court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

2. What does Trump’s electoral victory mean for these cases?

They are on life support and will probably end just before the inauguration in January.

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During the campaign process, now President-elect Trump promised to fire special counsel Jack Smith on his first day in office. But Trump would not have to fire Smith or order any new DOJ officials to fire Smith to end the prosecutions.

In 2000, a lawyer with the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, which advises the federal government on its powers and limits, concluded that a sitting president could not be indicted or prosecuted because it would “unconstitutionally undermine the ability of the executive branch to carry out its constitutionally assigned functions.”

Administrations led by Republicans and Democrats have adopted the DOJ’s policy against stalking presidents.

The Florida case involving classified documents is a bit more complicated. The DOJ could file a notice with the appeals court that it is waiving the appeal. But that case involves two other defendants, Walt Nauta and Carlos de Oliveira.

Dismissing the appeal would also mean dropping the cases prosecutors have built against the two defendants, Trump’s personal adviser and the manager of the Mar-a-Lago estate.

Moreover, the federal government may have a broader interest because Cannon’s reasoning could change the way special prosecutors have been appointed for decades.

But a DOJ veteran who was not authorized to speak publicly told NPR that Cannon’s decision will not be considered binding precedent, so the stakes may be lower.

Former Attorney General William Barr says voters weighed the allegations against Trump and decisively made their own verdict.

“Further maneuvering on these cases in the coming weeks would serve no legitimate purpose and would not distract the country and the incoming administration from the task at hand,” Barr said in a written statement first reported by The Guardian.

3. What happens to the special counsel, Jack Smith?

Special counsels are required to submit a report of their actions to the attorney general when they complete their work. The current Attorney General, Merrick Garland, has pledged to make most of these reports public.

If Smith’s written report isn’t complete by inauguration day, it will be up to the new DOJ leaders to decide its fate.

Mike Davis, a Trump ally, told a conservative interviewer this week that the attorney general “is probably President Trump’s most important appointment.”

Davis told the interviewer that Smith’s entire office should be fired and said, “After today, Jack Smith, you will be hunted: legally, politically and financially. So, lawyer, mate.”

4. Trump also faced criminal charges in two states, New York and Georgia. How will the election reshape these cases?

This year, a New York jury convicted Trump of 34 criminal accounting charges for an alleged hush money payment to an adult film actress shortly before the 2016 election.

Judge Juan Merchan scheduled a hearing for Nov. 12 to assess how the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling could affect that case. It is unclear whether Trump’s criminal sentencing set for Thanksgiving week will take place. Trump’s lawyers may try to stop it given the election results.

The case against Trump in Fulton County, Georgia, for alleged election interference, has been on hold for months while a higher court says it is possible conflicts of interest involving District Attorney Fani Willis. There is a hearing scheduled in that appeal on December 5.

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