Why the election may determine what happens with Trump's criminal sentencing

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

49% : "It's so easy - I would fire him within two seconds," Trump told radio host Hugh Hewitt on Oct. 24 about Smith.
44% : Trump is also charged with soliciting a public official to violate his oath of office for asking Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to "find" him enough votes to win.
39% : Being elected president would give Trump an out because legal experts say serious action in the New York and Georgia cases would likely be postponed until after he serves his four-year term.
39% : Besides firing Smith, Trump could direct the Justice Department to abandon the appeal of the dismissal of his other federal case, which charged him with hoarding classified documents at Mar-a-Lago after leaving the White House.
38% : Judge Juan Merchan will decide Nov. 12 whether Trump is immune from the charges under the Supreme Court presidential immunity ruling.
37% : But if Trump loses, all of his cases can move forward - assuming that he doesn't succeed in his various legal gambits to delay and derail them, including his argument that he is protected by the Supreme Court's July ruling creating expansive presidential immunity from criminal charges.
35% : Trump, who has pleaded not guilty, has argued repeatedly that he could take records with him after leaving the White House and that he declassified them despite the lack of documentation for his assertion.
34% : Trump has said he would fire Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith in the two federal cases, and he could also try to pardon himself.
34% : If Trump isn't shielded from the conviction, Merchan set sentencing for Nov. 26.
34% : Trump has pleaded not guilty.
30% : If Trump were not a candidate for president, his legal trouble would be unavoidable.
30% : Trump has said he could pardon himself, but that remains a subject for legal debate, with experts on both sides.
30% : Trump has argued Willis should be removed and the charges dropped because her romantic relationship with another prosecutor, Nathan Wade, spurred her to pursue the case.
24% : Here's where the cases stand:Trump was convicted of falsifying business records to hide a $130,000 payment to porn actress Stormy Daniels, to silence her about an alleged sexual encounter before the 2016 election.
23% : In Florida, a Trump-appointed federal judge dismissed charges that Trump mishandled classified documents after leaving the White House.
23% : Trump has argued some evidence in the case should be thrown out, along with the conviction, because of the high court's decision.
23% : But Smith has argued that Trump was acting for his private gain rather than the public duty of serving in office when he tried to reverse his 2020 election defeat.
23% : If Trump loses the election, the Georgia Court of Appeals is scheduled to hear arguments Dec. 5 about whether to remove Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from the case.
22% : Trump has said he would fire the federal prosecutor, Smith, and possibly even jail him.
22% : "As has been stated by numerous legal scholars, I have the absolute right to PARDON myself," Trump said in a 2018 post on X, formerly known as Twitter.U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan is weighing whether to dismiss any of the charges against Trump accusing him of conspiring to steal the 2020 election.
20% : The charges accuse Trump of unlawful retention of more than 100 national security documents for a year and a half after leaving the White House.
19% : An October USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll found a majority of 58% of likely voters think it would be "wrong" for Trump to direct the Justice Department to dismiss the federal charges against him.
16% : The charges accuse Trump of conspiracy for urging state lawmakers to replace the state's presidential electors with Republicans despite Democratic President Joe Biden winning the state.
15% : "Trump has said Smith treated him unfairly.
14% : Trump and his lawyers contend the entire case should be thrown out based on presidential immunity.
4% : "They ought to throw Deranged Jack Smith and his Thug Prosecutors in jail, with Meritless Garland and Trump Hating Lisa Monaco," Trump said in a post on Truth Social in July 2023, referring to Attorney General Merrick Garland and Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco.

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