Donald Trump May ‘Never’ be Put on Trial in Georgia, Legal Analysts Say

President-elect Donald Trump may “never” be put on trial in Georgia after winning this year’s presidential election, according to legal analysts.

Trump, who was convicted on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in New York in May, is facing 13 felony charges in Georgia related to his alleged role in an attempt to illegally overturn his loss in the Peach State’s 2020 presidential election.

The president-elect is also still facing special counsel Jack Smith‘s federal election subversion case, with another federal case involving classified documents having already been dismissed by Trump-appointed Judge Aileen Cannon.

While the federal case against Trump is all but certain to be dropped before Trump returns to the White House on January 20, the future of the remaining state case is less clear as Trump will not have the power to personally intervene.

Anthony Michael Kreis, a constitutional law professor and political scientist at the Georgia State College of Law, told the BBC on Wednesday that Trump cannot tried in Georgia until at least after his expected departure from office in January 2029.

“The bottom line is that Donald Trump will not be tried in the state of Georgia,” Kreis said. “Will there be any political appetite by the end of the second Trump administration to try him in Georgia? That’s a long time from the initial crime.”

Dave Aronberg, state attorney for Palm Beach County, Florida and a former Democratic state lawmaker, told Newsweek via a direct message on X, formerly Twitter, that an appellate court may kill any chance of Trump ever being tried on the Georgia charges.

“I agree with Professor Kreis,” Aronberg said. “Trump will not be put on trial in Georgia until his term ends, and maybe never depending on what the appellate courts say.”

Regardless of whether the Georgia case is thrown out or revived after the president-elect leaves office, Trump does not and will not have any power to undo his convictions in New York, as presidential pardon power does not extend to state cases.

Judge Juan Merchan is currently scheduled to sentence Trump in New York on November 26. If the hearing proceeds as planned and a sentence is imposed, Trump could still receive a fine or a jail sentence that is suspended or deferred until after he leaves office.

During a Fox News appearance on Wednesday, former Attorney General Bill Barr called on Attorney General Merrick Garland and state prosecutors—the New York case was prosecuted by the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg—to drop all of Trump’s criminal cases due to his election victory.

“I think Attorney General Garland and the state prosecutors should respect the people’s decision and dismiss the cases against President Trump now,” Barr said.