Washington DC, United States

United States former president and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has a list of criminal cases, and many people are curious about the future of these legal battles as he returns to the White House.

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Trump is the first presidential candidate in history who is contesting the elections with the looming threat of getting imprisoned or being involved in years of legal battles.

Trump took the vow that if he becomes president again, he will fire special counsel Jack Smith "within two seconds". Smith has brought two federal cases against Trump.

The presidential nominee has also claimed that he will punish the judges and prosecutors who were overseeing his cases and will most probably be able to avoid the consequences of any criminal charges that he is facing.

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"If he wins, say goodbye to all the criminal cases," claimed Karen Friedman Agnifilo, who earlier worked as the chief of the Manhattan district attorney's trial division, while speaking to ABC News.

"The criminal cases are over, whether it's legally or practically," said Agnifilo, and added that the victory of Trump would be a "get out of jail free card" for the former president.

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However, if Trump loses the elections, he will have to face years of court proceedings and will have to spend hundreds of millions in clearing the civil penalties and may also serve in jail. 

Future of Trump's legal battles 

The most pressing legal issue involving Trump is the pending sentence in the Stormy Daniels hush money case, which involves 34 felony counts. Trump has been accused of falsifying business records for covering a hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in 2016.

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If Trump wins, the sentencing can still proceed, however, Judge Merchan's decision can be influenced by the new circumstances, said Boston College law professor Jeffrey Cohen while speaking to ABC News.

The judge can pronounce a lighter sentence, like a day of probation or delay the sentence till Trump leaves office.

"A sitting president wouldn't be forced to be incarcerated while they're serving their presidency, and so he could theoretically serve it once he's out of office," Cohen said.

Meanwhile, Trump will be able to grant himself a presidential pardon in all federal cases if he wins the election, however, that won't be the same with state cases.

(With inputs from agencies)