The tangle of lawsuits surrounding Trump

Suspicions that a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016 could violate election finance laws made Donald Trump the first former president in US history to be impeached. But the real estate mogul and current Republican nominee for the White House in 2024 faces a tangle of other criminal and civil causes that could complicate his life and run for election. Some of them already have a date for dissolution later this year.

The issues Trump is tackling are mostly focused on his finances; in electoral matters; at the January 6, 2021 riot and handling confidential government documents after leaving the White House. Other civil lawsuits also include allegations of rape.

classified documents

Last August, FBI agents raided Trump’s home in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, with an arrest warrant. They took 32 crates of classified material from the tycoon’s presidency, including some with the “Top Secret” seal. This operation put an end to months of requests to the politician’s lawyers to clarify the fate of hundreds of official documents.

U.S. law requires presidents and other senior officials to keep all official records from their tenure and turn them over to the National Archives after leaving office. In Trump’s case, the tycoon left behind a large stash to transfer. His lawyers returned 15 boxes of materials for him early last year and another shipment in June. Corcoran then wrote to the Justice Department that there were no documents in the former president’s possession. The record at Mar-a-Lago made it clear that this was not the case.

The Justice Department has appointed a special prosecutor, Jack Smith, to investigate the case and find out whether Trump deliberately withheld all this material and misled his own lawyers when they assured him it had already been returned.

The Justice Department’s investigation appears to have progressed in recent days. A judge in Washington ruled two weeks ago that the evidence found by Smith was serious enough to overturn attorney-client privilege. It’s something that US law only allows this relationship to be used to commit a crime if there is a reasonable suspicion: in Trump’s case, that would be obstruction of justice.

Trump’s lawyers are appealing the judge’s decision. But an appeals court did not block it. Evan Corcoran, the former president’s attorney, testified before a grand jury last week.

electoral causes

The lawsuit now brought against him by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg — the payment to Daniels by his former attorney and factotum Michael Cohen — alleges misuse of campaign funds that were never included in official accounts, something the former president denies.

But Trump also has another campaign running in Georgia. There, Democratic prosecutor Fani Willis is investigating whether the then-president in that state attempted to manipulate the results of the 2020 election. The inquiry stems from a call by the then president to local Secretary of State, Republican Brad Raffesperger, to “find” enough votes in his territory to reverse Biden’s advantage in that election. But it has since expanded to include other post-election calls by Trump and his associates to officials in Georgia and baseless allegations of voter fraud against state lawmakers.

The case, for which 100 people were being investigated, was presented to a special grand jury. Willis must now decide whether to refer the case to a regular grand jury for criminal charges; In January, the prosecutor noted that a decision was “imminent” and that the release of her report could harm “future defendants.”

The attack on the Capitol

The congressional committee investigating the events surrounding the mafia attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021 concluded its hearings last December after presenting the fullest picture of those events, Trump’s role in the violence that claimed several lives, and the president’s efforts to use the results of the 2020 election to stay in power.

While that committee—disbanded since the start of the new term in which Republicans control the House of Representatives—cannot impeach the former president, it recommended that the Justice Department do so. For four reasons: conspiracy to deceive the United States; conspiracy to make false statements; Obstructing an official process and causing a riot.

The Justice Department is continuing its own investigation, also led by Jack Smith. The special counsel called Trump’s daughter Ivanka to testify; her husband Jared Kushner and Trump-era Vice President Mike Pence. He had announced that he would ignore the call; a court has just ordered you to comply with the subpoena. At this time, it is not known whether Smith will sue the former White House tenant.

The judiciary is particularly investigating Trump’s rally leading up to the riots, where he urged his supporters to “fight like hell.” Also his attitude, halfway between neglect and complacency, as his supporters forced their entry into the Capitol to prevent Congress from certifying Biden’s election victory.

In addition to the criminal charges that could be brought against Trump over these events, Democrats and two police officers have filed civil charges against the former president for “inciting” bodily harm. The former White House resident then urged his supporters to “fight like hell” on Capitol Hill and tweeted his outrage at Pence for “not having the courage to do what it takes to save our country “. protection”. The magnate claims that he enjoyed immunity as head of state at the time.

Trump’s financial network

New York Attorney General Laetitia James has led a three-year investigation into a decade of dealings in the real estate and golf empire of the tycoon-turned-politician. The lawyer claims that there was systematic fraud: at the head of the banks, the businessman inflated the value of his properties in order to obtain sufficient financing on the best terms. At the tax authorities, this amount was reduced to a credible minimum in order to avoid paying taxes.

James is demanding the return of nearly $250 million that he estimates defrauded the Trump empire. If his claims were upheld by the court, both Trump and his children would be allowed to run businesses in New York State again. The hearing will begin on October 2.

Rape

Columnist Jean Carroll accuses Trump of rape, defamation, abuse and emotional distress. According to the author, the businessman raped her in the bathroom of a luxury department store in Manhattan in the 1990s. The former president denies it, arguing that “he’s not my type.” He also denied knowing her, although a photo from that time shows the two together. That civil suit could go to court next month.

In addition, Catherine McCoy is accusing Trump, her company and her children of fraud related to the television show the mogul hosted in the early 2000s. $8 million while she and others lost thousands. That hearing could begin at the end of next year.

For his part, Michael Cohen is seeking $20 million in damages from his former boss for his time in prison for lying to Congress and committing financial crimes to protect Trump. Although a court dismissed the lawsuit, the former lawyer said he plans to appeal.