Former President Donald Trump will be facing serious legal problems if he loses the presidential election, a legal analyst told Newsweek.

Greg Germain, a law professor at Syracuse University in New York, told Newsweek that Trump has to win the presidential election to beat the federal charges. Trump is facing charges in the federal courts of election fraud in Washington, D.C.

He was facing charges of hoarding classified documents at his home in Florida, but Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the charges after ruling that the chief prosecutor, Jack Smith, was illegal under the appointments clause of the U.S Constitution.

Smith is appealing Cannon's decision. If he loses, the Justice Department may appoint an in-house prosecutor to lead the case, thereby complying with Cannon's ruling.

"If Trump loses the election, he is in serious jeopardy in the federal criminal cases, especially the documents case if Judge Cannon's dismissal under the appointments clause is reversed, or corrected by the Justice Department, following the appeal," Germain said.

If elected, Trump has a number of options to kill the federal cases, including appointing a favorable attorney general to drop the charges or simply pardoning himself.

Trump was facing 40 federal charges in Cannon's court over his alleged handling of sensitive materials seized from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach after leaving the White House in January 2021. He was also accused of obstructing efforts by federal authorities to retrieve them.

The Republican presidential nominee had pleaded not guilty and has said the case is part of a political witch hunt.

Newsweek sought email comment from Trump's attorney and the Trump campaign on Thursday.

In the Washington, D.C., case, Trump is accused of conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction and attempting to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights in connection with an alleged pressure campaign on state officials to reverse the 2020 election results.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges and has repeatedly said he is the victim of a political witch hunt.

Trump also faces two cases in the state courts.

In New York, he was convicted of filing fraudulent records to hide hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels. The trial evidence showed that Daniels was paid off so that she wouldn't reveal an alleged liaison with Trump in a Nevada hotel room.

He is also facing election fraud charges in Georgia.

"The state non-criminal cases probably take the same course whether he is elected or not," Germain said.

However, the Justice Department has issued a written rule that presidents should not be prosecuted while in office. That means that both state cases would likely be postponed until after Trump left office.

Trump is scheduled to be sentenced in the hush money case on November 26.

If Trump is elected on November 5, that sentencing will likely be postponed until he leaves the White House.