Donald Trump was found guilty of fraud by a New York judge in a civil case related to overstating the value of his properties and assets and was handed down what is referred to as a “corporate death penalty” for not being able to do business in the state.
What Happened: Against the mounting legal challenges, Donald Trump may not be able to run for office, guests at the former president’s niece Mary Trump’s podcast said on Thursday.
There are about five or six states where all of this is going to matter, where everyone hasn’t made up their minds, said political analyst and journalist Brian Karem, who appeared as a guest at the Nerd Avengers podcast.
“It’s going to be in those swing states, but that’s for the election,” he said.
Accountability is coming swiftly and here’s nothing more frightening than that for Donald Trump, Karem said. “I still do not believe that Donald Trump will be on the ballot in 2024,” the political analyst said.
“I do know that the sheer weight of what’s going on, particularly with the 91 felony charges in four different jurisdictions, the continuing pressure that he’s facing civilly, being called a fraud and a rapist in a civil court,” he said.
“He won’t be on the ballot, and there’s going to be a horrible, nasty, stinking hole to fill and there are horrible, nasty, stinking people in the GOP who will fill it,” he added.
Why It’s Important: Donald Trump still leads in the Republican primary race, going by opinion polls. The former president has the support of 54% of the Republican voter base, nationwide data compiled by FiveThirtyEight from multiple polls show.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is placed a distant second, mustering 13.8% of the votes.
A lawsuit filed in a Colorado state court by Washington-based Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, or CREW, on behalf of four Republican and two unaffiliated voters, has sought disqualification of him on the grounds he violated the 14th Amendment.
A section of the amendment states that no person can hold public office, either in the federal or state government, if they have “engaged in insurrection or rebellion against” the U.S., or “given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.”
Donald Trump also faces hurdles as trial dates overlap with his campaign.
The state civil case is scheduled to start on Oct. 2, 2023, in which New York Attorney General Letitia James is seeking at least $250 million from Donald Trump, his business, and his adult sons. He also faces a federal civil trial, starting on Jan. 15 in Manhattan in which jurors will decide on the amount the former president has to pay in the defamation lawsuit brought by writer E. Jean Carroll.
In late January, the federal civil class-action trial accusing Trump and his company of participating in an illegal pyramid scheme is scheduled to start.
A day ahead of the March 5 “Super Tuesday,” in which 14 state presidential primaries take place, a federal criminal case in Washington that charges Donald Trump with attempts to overturn the 2020 election is set to begin. The federal criminal case against him in Miami over the classified documents case has been scheduled for April 20.
Produced in association with Benzinga
