STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Vice President Harris asked voters to turn the page on Donald Trump. Instead, he will turn the page on his legal problems.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Yes, although he's already been convicted in state court, he started the year facing federal indictments that threaten to send him to prison. But having delayed the cases, then won reelection, he will end the year free and clear in large part because the Justice Department is evaluating how to wind down two federal cases brought by special counsel Jack Smith.
INSKEEP: NPR's Carrie Johnson has been following Trump's legal troubles. Carrie, good morning.
CARRIE JOHNSON, BYLINE: Good morning, Steve.
INSKEEP: This is interesting. Trump, on the campaign trail, talked of firing Jack Smith. He doesn't even have to do that.
JOHNSON: No, that's because there's a long-standing view inside the Justice Department. Both Republican and Democratic administrations have followed this view. It says a sitting president cannot be indicted or face criminal trial. The reasoning there is it would be too much of a burden, that it would be unconstitutional and would undermine the work of the executive branch. Trump's Attorney General, Bill Barr, and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise are calling on this Justice Department to drop the D.C. case against Trump. The writing is on the wall, Bill Barr says, and people have considered these allegations against Trump about election interference, but the voters rejected them resoundingly.
INSKEEP: OK, so how quickly is the Biden Justice Department moving here?
JOHNSON: Well, we can report Jack Smith is working with others inside the DOJ to wind down both of these federal cases likely before the inauguration. First, there's that January 6 case in D.C., the election interference case. And then there's a separate case against Trump in Florida over his alleged hoarding of documents at his resort and his refusal to return them to the FBI. That case involves not just Donald Trump but two other defendants - his valet and the property manager at Mar-a-Lago. Judge Aileen Cannon, remember, threw out that case, but prosecutors have been appealing her decision. And to drop the case against Trump could mean it goes away as to all three of those defendants.
INSKEEP: Well, this gets to another question, Carrie, that's on my mind because I heard different opinions from Trump supporters. Trump talked of prosecuting his critics, including Jack Smith specifically, or even throwing him out of the country. I heard from Trump supporters who were like, yes, do that, and others who said, oh, he would never abuse his power in that way. So what seems likely actually to happen once he gets the power?
JOHNSON: Well, Trump's rhetoric on this has been really harsh. You're right. And we know the Justice Department has already spent millions of dollars on security for the special counsel Jack Smith and his prosecutors in the face of some of these rhetorical attacks and threats. The regulations at the Justice Department say special counsels write a report about their findings when their work is done. It's not clear yet how much progress Jack Smith has made on that report and whether the current administration might release some of it before Inauguration Day.
INSKEEP: I want to ask about one other thing. We should note that Trump was less successful in delaying a state case until his election, and so he was convicted by a New York jury, which is why we refer to him as a convicted felon - 34 charges relating to business fraud. What happens in that case?
JOHNSON: It's really uncertain. The Supreme Court gave Trump sweeping immunity from prosecution for his official acts in the White House. But the bulk of this case in New York involved Trump's behavior before he won the first time in 2016. Prosecutors there, during the trial in New York, introduced some evidence from people who worked for Trump in the White House. And now this judge has to decide whether that has fatally impaired the whole case and whether to go ahead and sentence Donald Trump on those charges next month, just weeks, Steve, before he's inaugurated the 47th president of the United States.
INSKEEP: NPR's Carrie Johnson, I'm really glad you're here to talk us through this. Thanks so much.
JOHNSON: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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