Georgia Election Case Against Trump Could Survive, but With a Long Delay

Even as the federal criminal cases against Donald J. Trump seem to be dissolving in the face of his election victory, the racketeering prosecution against him in Georgia is moving forward for now. But it could be years before the president-elect faces trial there — if he ever does at all.

Mr. Trump’s lawyers in Georgia are likely to argue that the leader of the free world cannot be expected to stand trial for months on end in a courtroom in Atlanta. Indeed, most observers predict that his 14 co-defendants are far more likely to face trial than Mr. Trump himself, even though he stood to benefit the most from their efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.

In another case, in Manhattan, a jury already found Mr. Trump guilty of falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments to a porn star. But his victory in last week’s election greatly improved his legal position, very likely scuttling the federal prosecutions against him and giving him a stronger legal basis for arguing that the Georgia case should be delayed, if not dismissed.

Mr. Trump has yet to be sentenced in the Manhattan case, but his lawyers are expected to ask the judge overseeing it to delay the sentencing indefinitely.

In the federal case charging him with election interference, Jack Smith, the special counsel, asked for a pause in the proceedings days after the election. The case is almost certain to be dropped, since the Justice Department has a policy against prosecuting sitting presidents. Mr. Smith is also likely to abandon efforts to revive another federal case against Mr. Trump, over the mishandling of classified documents.

The Georgia case accuses Mr. Trump and his co-defendants of trying to subvert the 2020 election results by deploying fake electors in the state, trying to access voting machines and data in one of its rural counties, and taking a number of other illegal actions.