--- title: How Trump's Criminal Trials Could Define 2024 description: The cases will shape 2024 campaigns and test the justice and political systems unlike anything the country has ever seen. canonical: https://time.com/6359181/trump-criminal-trials-colorado-supreme-court/ author: Brian Bennett article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2023-12-22T12:00:00.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:48:48.634Z article:section: Politics og:title: How Trump's Criminal Trials Could Define 2024 og:description: The cases will shape 2024 campaigns and test the justice and political systems unlike anything the country has ever seen. og:url: https://time.com/6359181/trump-criminal-trials-colorado-supreme-court/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta6313bc46cf08581/698a430e86f68e1de26f30ce/trump-court-poy.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2400 og:image:height: 1350 og:image:alt: Donald Trump Testifies in Court - November 6, 2023 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How Trump's Criminal Trials Could Define 2024 twitter:description: The cases will shape 2024 campaigns and test the justice and political systems unlike anything the country has ever seen. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta6313bc46cf08581/698a430e86f68e1de26f30ce/trump-court-poy.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Trump's Indictments Made History in 2023\. His Trials May Do the Same in 2024. > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. Senior correspondent Philip Elliott brings sharp context to the issues driving the capital, connecting the decisions made in Washington to the institutions, industries and people they affect. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: The Biggest Moments In U.S. Politics From 2023 [Watch (HLS stream): The Biggest Moments In U.S. Politics From 2023](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/i9YDvYnh.m3u8) (10:27)  _Published 2023-12-18. Take a look at some of the biggest moments in U.S. politics from 2023 with TIME Senior Politics reporter Brian Bennett._  by [Brian Bennett](https://time.com/author/brian-bennett/)  ## Brian Bennett Bennett is the senior White House correspondent at TIME. Dec 22, 2023 12:00 PM UTC  Former President Donald Trump at NY Supreme Court in NYC on Nov. 6, 2023, on the day he testified in a civil fraud trial against his business and family. Former President Donald Trump at NY Supreme Court in NYC on Nov. 6, 2023, on the day he testified in a civil fraud trial against his business and family. Mark Peterson—Redux  by [Brian Bennett](https://time.com/author/brian-bennett/)  ## Brian Bennett Bennett is the senior White House correspondent at TIME. Dec 22, 2023 12:00 PM UTC _This article is part of The D.C. Brief, TIME’s politics newsletter. Sign up_ [_here_](https://cloud.newsletters.time.com/signup?nln=dc-brief&source=dc%5Fonsite) _to get stories like this sent to your inbox._ Some former presidents retreat to privacy after the pressures of the job. (Exhibit A: George Washington.) Others find a way to stay in the spotlight. (Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter.) Then there’s Donald Trump, who remained the front runner for the Republican presidential nomination throughout 2023 as his pileup of legal woes led pundits and reporters to wear out the word unprecedented. Before Trump’s 91 charges over four indictments, no former U.S. President had ever been indicted even once. The first indictment came in March from New York, tied to his trying to cover up an affair with an adult-film actress. Then came federal charges in June over classified documents, and charges in August in federal court and in Georgia over his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss. The cases will shape 2024 campaigns and test the justice and political systems unlike anything the country has ever seen. In the meantime, they are testing the limits of the justice system to hold a former President accountable for his actions, while playing into Trump’s framing of himself as a perpetual victim of political retaliation. The first charges made headlines, but may be hard to prove: the Manhattan district attorney’s case hinges on an untested legal theory that the former President could be charged in New York for falsifying business records to cover up state election-law violations and exceeding federal tax contribution limits. Special counsel Jack Smith’s cases, by contrast, look serious. He filed the first federal charges against Trump over classified documents he took to his Mar-a-Lago home after the end of his presidency. Smith followed that with charges that Trump conspired to subvert American democracy, and that the rioters who assaulted police officers and broke into the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, were acting at Trump’s direction. The attacks were “the culmination” of Trump’s “criminal conspiracies to overturn the legitimate results of the presidential election,” Smith wrote in recent court filings. (That second case is at the center of an extraordinary request Smith made this month to the Supreme Court to quickly decide whether Trump had any immunity from criminal prosecution for alleged crimes he committed while in office, as his lawyers have claimed. As the issue is expected to eventually reach the Supreme Court, Smith's request is intended to get it settled faster in hopes of ensuring a trial can be held early next year.) Yet the most persistent legal threat Trump faces may be in Georgia, where Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis says Trump was at the center of a broad conspiracy to reverse election results in that state. The case is outside the purview of the federal government, so it will continue even if he’s elected President and is able to shut down federal cases against him. The evidence in Georgia seems intuitive—Trump’s on tape asking the secretary of state to find him votes to win—and several people who were directly in touch with Trump have flipped and are cooperating with prosecutors. ### More From TIME Trump’s trials are filling up his 2024 calendar, competing with key moments for his presidential campaign. In January, as the Iowa caucuses kick off, he faces a civil trial over defaming writer E. Jean Carroll a second time when he denied raping her in the 1990s, and a class-action lawsuit accusing Trump and his company of a pyramid scheme. In March, Trump’s federal trial over Jan. 6 may start a day before the Super Tuesday primaries. The New York State hush-money case is set to begin later that month, and Trump’s classified-­documents case has court dates scheduled for May. Georgia prosecutors may launch Trump’s trial there in early August. And then there's the recent move by the [Colorado Supreme Court](https://time.com/6549628/colorado-trump-ruling-questions/) to strip Trump from the Republican primary ballot and asserting he is ineligible for the White House under the U.S. Constitution’s insurrection clause. That case is likely headed for the U.S. Supreme Court, one of what could be multiple moments in which the nine justices find themselves weighing in on Trump's fate in the coming months. Trump previewed the belligerent tone he is likely to take with his criminal trials when he took the stand in November in a civil fraud trial that threatens to dismantle the Manhattan real estate empire he built his name on. In that case, Trump admitted under oath that he had adjusted the valuations of some of his properties and that he was involved in reviewing the Trump Organization’s annual reports. But he also had to be repeatedly scolded and reined in by the judge, as he ignored questions, made exaggerated claims, and hurled insults at his adversaries, including New York Attorney General Letitia James, whom he called a “political hack.” Trump’s strong standing in the Republican Party never wavered as he surrendered in arraignment after arraignment this year. Yet the outcome of those cases could have an outsize impact on the outcome in November. While some recent polls show Trump leading Joe Biden in a general-­election matchup, some also find a significant number of Trump-­leaning voters open to backing Biden if Trump is convicted. All of that adds up to a major test for American democracy, one that the justice and political systems were not designed to handle. Trump is already telling the country that he will use the Justice Department to punish his political enemies if he returns to the White House. “If I happen to be President and I see somebody who’s doing well and beating me very badly, I say, ‘Go down and indict them,’” Trump recently told Univision. By charging him in court, Trump said, “they’ve released the genie out of the box.” _Make sense of what matters in Washington._ [_Sign up for the D.C. Brief newsletter_](https://cloud.newsletters.time.com/signup?nln=dc-brief&source=dc%5Fonsite)_._ ## Transcript It's been quite a year in Washington. So let's remind the tape and look at the year the beginning of the year President Biden ended Federal government's covid-19 emergency measures then in February a Chinese spy balloon Traverse the entire United States President Biden have to decide what to do about it. Today, I was briefed on the Ballon d'Or in the Pentagon to shoot it down on Wednesday as soon as possible whole incident led to a major Rift between the US and China to nuclear Powers. They had to find a way back to diplomacy fighting that was she doing thing the Chinese president outside of San Francisco in November to try to re-establish the communication. Biden said that he and Ukraine and push for Congress to send more money for key to defend itself from Russian aggression. Now on Israel fighting came out very strong support of the Israeli government to hackers attacked by Hamas on October 7th in this moment of tragedy. I want to say to them into the world and the terrorists everywhere at the United States stands with Israel will make sure that they have the help their Citizens need and they can continue to defend themselves facing pressure within his own party to call for a ceasefire and Gaza. We need a permanent ceasefire now we need to end the mass murder of Palestinians have Palestinian children So to push forward on its support for Israel and Ukraine Biden, they too dangerous trips one. He took Night Train in the key key to still within rocket distance of Russian Artillery and met with Ukrainian President Vladimir zelensky inside Keith. And then also shortly after the October 7th attacks he flew into Israel to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. This was also the year that President Biden announced that he was going to run for a second term. He announced his candidacy for Emily and April and he doesn't have any major challenges not Democratic primaries begin early next year that will create a major moment where Biden campaign will try to set up a contrast. Assuming the from President Trump is Republican nominee. Biden will try to describe the voters that he's been a steady hand and government for 4 years and that Donald Trump bring back a pattern of Destruction or let's talk about Congress this year Republicans took over the house at the beginning of the year and there's been a lot of infighting all year. He got off to a rocky start it took 15 rounds of voting for Kevin McCarthy. Do we elect the speaker in the first place? Not been elected speaker has not been elected not been elected not been elected not been elected. Not been elected. Not been elected not been elected. Well Republicans in the house finally elected as Speaker post-midnight early on Saturday after Kevin McCarthy acquiesce to the demands of the most extreme members of his caucus, but he was ousted nine months later. They were contentious speaker votes in October and Mike Johnson is now the Speaker of the House the car if he didn't even want to finish out his term and after 17 years in Congress said he would resign at the end of the year will be departing the house at the end of this year. I will never ever give up fighting for this country that I love so much and this is also a year when the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on Ticketmaster and weather was acting like Monopoly who is Taylor Swift concert and the trouble that are fantastic getting tickets that forced to send it to take up this issue the Senators took that moment to use a lot of Taylor Swift song title funds as a load to Taylor Swift. I will say we know all too. Well, she's cheer captain and I'm on the bleachers. Taylor Swift to have written a song about this very situation a few million Taylor Swift. This is why we can't have nice things people seem to think that somehow a solution. I think it's it. It's a nightmare dressed like a Daydream Ticketmaster Auto look in the mirror and say I'm the problem, it's me and may House Republicans threatened to let the US default on its debt and a lot of brinkmanship Republicans and the White House came to a deal that prevented the US from defaulting. They punted the ceiling fight two after the presidential election in the beginning of 2025 in September House Republicans decide to launch a formal impeachment inquiry against Joe Biden today. I am directing our house committee to open a formal impeachment inquiry into President. Joe Biden House. Republicans are trying to make the case that Joe Biden somehow profited from his son Hunter Biden's overseas business deal, but so far there hasn't been evidence of that. Also in September. Democratic senator Bob Menendez who represents New Jersey was indicted on federal corruption charges prosecutor filed the charges. They also showed photographs of gold bars and stacks of cash. The prosecutors say were bribed the Menendez and then there's George Santa's the first-term Republican from New York was expelled from Congress in December. It took three votes to get there in the end 105 Republicans joined Democrats in the house to expel Santa's. There were concerns over him fabricating his resume lying about his past and also he faces federal charges for money laundering Dept of public funds and making false statements Santos denies wrongdoing and hundreds of requests record personalized videos on the website Cameo. My favorite song is definitely going to be trouble trouble when there are big changes in the Senate this year Senator Dianne Feinstein died after a groundbreaking Thirty years in the Senate California governor Gavin Newsom appointed laphonza Butler to fill her senate seat Butler's been a powerful Union organizer in the state and was ahead of Emily's List a group that works to elect women candidates who favor of abortion rights, Joe manchin said he wouldn't run for re-election. This is a big deal because the West Virginia senator is a Democrat winning in a largely Red State and his bowing out of the race in 2024 could lead to another Republican seat being out in the Senate the Senate is nearly to buy the right now and that could affect the balance of power. Also this year to campus debates over Free Speech came to Washington University have been criticized for failing to protect you as students from an increase in anti-semitic attacks during Israel's war and Gaza three University presidents were called to testify before the house education committee University of Pennsylvania president resigned under pressure after her response to questioning. Why does that Professor still have a job at your University? Very troubled by what you're describing Congressman that kind of spending it you allow these professors to teach at your college. You create a safe haven for this type of anti-Semitic Behavior. Here's a few cases to highlight from the Supreme Court this year bring for ruled that map of hearthstone abortion drug can remain on us markets. The decision is seen as a victory for the national abortion rights movement the court overturned Alabama election day in the state of diluted the power black voters by drawing a map with only one black District Court also ruled that race-conscious admissions processes at Harvard and North Carolina or unlawful. This could have sweeping impact on admissions at universities across the United States as universities try to find out how to have student bodies that reflect the makeup of the country without running afoul of Supreme Courts to do the court also ruled that a web designer has the right to refuse service to same-sex couples, which was a setback for lgbtq plus price. Supreme Court also dealt a blow to President Joe Biden's effort to forgive large amount of student loan debt. The Court ruled that the heroes act allow that President Biden was using to allow people to delay payments on student loans and forgive large portions of them did not Grant the president the right to do that. And so the president has had to go back to the drawing board and find new mechanisms within the role of the executive. We will probably just do approaching a different walk with my original plan for so-called higher education in a major story this year. The Supreme Court wasn't even about the ruling. It was about the Justice news reports show that Justice Clarence Thomas hadn't disclosed luxury trips with Republican donor Harlan Crow and other transactions going back twenty years. So that Justice is under pressure came up with the Netflix code that they released but there's no mechanism to enforce it. It's really on the justices themselves in an honor System to abide by then. And also this year former President Donald Trump walk into this court house and became the first former president to ever be formally indicted and arraigned on federal charges. He's facing charges here for trying to overturn the 2020 election and setting in motion a series of events that led to the January 6th violent assault on the US Capitol President Trump is also facing charges in three other courtrooms. Not one charge but 91 charges and the outcome of those cases that will play out over the next couple of years could very well determine Donald Trump's political future and how the justice system can deal with former president was also running for office and facing charges at the same time. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6359181/trump-criminal-trials-colorado-supreme-court/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6359181/trump-criminal-trials-colorado-supreme-court/"},"headline":"Trump's Indictments Made History in 2023. 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