Harvard Law professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz joined "Mornings with Maria" Wednesday to discuss the legal proceedings against former President Trump and whether a conviction will come before the 2024 election.
ALAN DERSHOWITZ: We've seen polls that say that independents might very well be influenced by whether there's a conviction. The problem is a conviction would not really carry any weight with reasonable people. If the conviction occurs in New York City or if the conviction occurs in Washington, D.C., or Fulton County [Ga.]. Those are not venues that can give Donald Trump a fair trial. …They're going to try their best. It's going to be up to the discretion of judges. I suspect there will be at least one trial and probably one conviction before the election. And I think there's a substantial chance that any convictions will be very, very carefully scrutinized by the appellate courts and ultimately by the Supreme Court. … I think definitely it will be appealed after the election. And I think there's a substantial chance it could be reversed based on venue, based on immunity, based on a lack of a reasonable basis for a search of a phone. There are many, many grounds on appeal, but it will have no effect on the election if it occurs after the election rather than before.
Lawyers for former President Donald Trump filed a motion Tuesday urging U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan to pause proceedings against Trump in the Jan. 6 case while his appeal is pending.
Trump faces charges accusing him of working to overturn the results of the 2020 election he lost to Democrat Joe Biden before the violent riot by his supporters at the U.S. Capitol. He has denied any wrongdoing.
In a ruling from earlier this month, Chutkan rejected arguments by Trump's lawyers that he was immune from federal prosecution. Chutkan wrote that the office of the president "does not confer a lifelong 'get-out-of-jail-free' pass."
"Former Presidents enjoy no special conditions on their federal criminal liability," Chutkan wrote. "Defendant may be subject to federal investigation, indictment, prosecution, conviction, and punishment for any criminal acts undertaken while in office."
Tuesday's filing by Trump's legal team comes after Special Counsel Jack Smith asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review Trump's appeal in an expedited manner to prevent any delays that could push back the trial, currently set to begin March 4.
Fox News' Bradford Betz and David Spunt contributed to this report.
