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Donald Trump is currently in a highly vulnerable state.
Without the benefits and status of being president to shield him, Mr. Trump is currently dealing with various lawsuits and criminal charges in New York, Florida, Georgia, and Washington.
Government authorities, county lawyers, and citizens are pursuing him for various offenses, ranging from his personal actions to his political tactics during the 2020 election.
If any of these attempts are effective, it is possible for the US to witness its first former president serving time in prison.
In this article, The Independent provides a breakdown of all significant cases.
is one of the biggest cases in the country.
The Georgia election conspiracy case is one of the most significant cases in the nation.
On August 14th, Donald Trump and 18 others were accused in Georgia’s Fulton County of plotting to undermine the outcome of the state’s 2020 presidential election.
In 2021, Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis launched an investigation into the former president, soon after his departure from office. This came after a well-known recording was released of Mr. Trump urging Georgia secretary of state Brad Raffensperger to manipulate the vote count in his favor.
A jury assembled by Ms Willis concluded that there was compelling proof that Mr Trump and 18 others, including prominent allies like Rudy Giuliani and former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, attempted to manipulate the election results in a key battleground state. This was done through tactics such as pressuring local officials and trying to send false electors to the final Electoral College certification in Washington.
Fani Willis, the district attorney for Fulton County, conducted an investigation into Donald Trump’s alleged interference in the 2020 election results of the state.
Donald Trump has been indicted with 13 charges, one of which is for breaking the state’s RICO law against organized crime, and could potentially receive a maximum sentence of 20 years in jail. Trump has denied any wrongdoing.
The former president turned himself in to officials in Fulton County on the night of August 24. He was then officially processed and had his mug shot taken for the first time. He has now started using this mug shot for promotional purposes, and has even started selling “MugShot Edition” digital trading cards.
On September 6, Mr. Trump and his co-defendants were scheduled for arraignment. However, on August 31, he pleaded not guilty and waived the need for it in an effort to avoid appearing in court. The judge had already allowed cameras to film the proceedings.
The officials in Georgia have suggested a trial date of August 5, 2024. However, Ms. Willis has expressed her willingness to advance the date if necessary to avoid conflicts with other ongoing legal matters.
Another case of election conspiracy in Washington DC.
Only a fortnight prior to the dismissal of charges in Georgia, Mr. Trump was accused of federal charges in Washington, DC, for purportedly attempting to subvert the 2020 election.
In November 2022, the selection of Jack Smith as special counsel by the Justice Department marked the beginning of an inquiry that ultimately resulted in this significant event.
On August 1st, a jury of citizens authorized a formal charge against Mr. Trump for conspiring to deceive the United States, obstructing a legal process, and violating civil rights through the use of a law created after the Civil War to prosecute the Klu Klux Klan.
The special counsel’s team claims that Donald Trump was aware of his defeat in the 2020 election, yet still plotted to remain in office and incited the failed riot at the US Capitol on January 6th, 2021.
The indictment of four counts claims that Mr. Trump and his supporters were aware of their defeat in the 2020 election, yet still attempted to retain control.
Federal prosecutors allege that they pressured officials to disregard the popular vote, formed illegitimate groups of electors, falsely investigated state election counts, forced former US vice president Mike Pence to reject certifying the valid election results during a joint session of Congress, and ultimately instigated a group of supporters to storm the US Capitol on January 6th, a day that will be remembered in infamy.
Donald Trump entered a plea of not guilty and asserted that he was being unfairly targeted for political reasons, repeatedly using the phrase “witch hunt” during the Mueller investigation in 2018 regarding his purported connections to Russia.
“The events unfolding in America were never expected. The individual who is currently in the lead for the Republican primary and has a significant advantage over [Joe] Biden is being targeted and persecuted. It seems that if one cannot defeat them, they will try to bring them down through prosecution,” he angrily stated on August 3rd.
Judge Tanya Chutkan of the US district court has scheduled a trial start date of March 4, 2024 in Washington, DC. This decision was made despite objections from Mr. Trump’s legal team, who requested a delay until 2026.
In December, Judge Chutkan put the case on hold, suspending all deadlines to wait for the US Supreme Court to make a decision on the validity of the Trump team’s claim of “presidential immunity.” This argument was used to protect Trump from any legal action due to the importance of his role as President in the White House.
Special Counsel Smith urged the court to expedite their decision on the issue, leading Mr Trump’s legal team to compare him to the fictional character The Grinch in their legal documents, reminiscent of Dr. Seuss’s classic holiday tale.
A case involving classified documents in the state of Florida.
Mr. Smith brought charges against Mr. Trump in Florida prior to the charges filed in Washington by another special counsel.
On 8 June, a federal grand jury indicted Mr Trump on 37 charges for allegedly retaining classified national security information after leaving the White House in January 2021 and then conspiring to obstruct justice and making false statements to federal officials when they sought to reclaim the documents.
Piles of containers in a restroom and bathing area at the Mar-a-Lago estate owned by Donald Trump in Palm Beach, Florida.
The US Department of Justice (AFP/Getty)
About two months afterwards, on July 28th, the government charged Mr. Trump and two workers from his Mar-a-Lago property, Walt Nauta and Carlos de Oliveira, with three more offenses in the matter. They are accused of trying to erase surveillance footage related to the documents to prevent it from being used as evidence in a potential future investigation.
The charges claim that Mr. Trump carelessly managed confidential materials that he had exclusive access to while serving as president. This included storing classified documents in the bathroom and shower of his Florida club.
In 2021, a recording surfaced of Mr. Trump at his New Jersey property where he seemed to be boasting about having a top-secret Pentagon document outlining potential strategies for a conflict with Iran.
The ex-president entered a plea of not guilty at the beginning of August.
The trial for Mr. Trump, as set by US district judge Aileen Cannon, is scheduled for May 20, 2024. There is speculation that his personal plumber, maid, and chauffeur may be called to testify against him.
A plan in New York to cover up information by paying off individuals, including adult film actors, and using tabloid publications.
Local officials in New York are also investigating Mr. Trump.
On March 30, a grand jury in Manhattan decided to charge the ex-president for supposedly fabricating business documents regarding payments made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in order to keep their alleged affair secret, which occurred ten years prior during the 2016 election.
According to reports, Mr. Trump is facing 34 serious charges for supposedly collaborating with his previous lawyer, Michael Cohen, and ex-publisher of the National Enquirer, David Pecker, to suppress unfavorable stories. The alleged actions involved paying large sums of money to cover up accusations of extramarital affairs and an illegitimate child, and later attempting to hide these payments by falsifying records.
On April 4, 2023, Donald Trump appears in the Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City alongside his lawyers Joe Tacopina and Boris Epshteyn for his arraignment hearing.
According to a statement from Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney in charge of the prosecution, we will not tolerate New York businesses altering their records to conceal illegal behavior.
Mr. Trump has entered a plea of not guilty in response to the indictment.
The start date of the trial is set for March 25, 2024.
It has been discovered that Donald Trump sexually assaulted E Jean Carroll.
Mr. Trump encountered other legal conflicts in New York this year, not just the hush money payments case.
On May 9th, a jury in New York held him responsible for the sexual assault of E Jean Carroll.
In 2019, the columnist for Elle magazine came forward with an accusation that Mr. Trump had raped her in the dressing room of the Bergdorf Goodman store in New York in 1996. The former president denied the allegation.
The reporter filed a lawsuit against Mr. Trump in regards to defamation in that particular year. The Justice Department initially defended him, arguing that his statements were within the scope of his duties as president. However, in 2023, after he left office and became a private citizen, the Department stopped defending him.
Writer E Jean Carroll accused Donald Trump of raping her in a New York department store in the 1990s but the ex-president has continued to deny any wrongdoing, even after a court decision affirmed the ‘substantial truth’ of the incident
Ms. Carroll subsequently filed a sexual battery accusation against Mr. Trump using a recent New York law that permits victims of past sexual abuse to take legal action against their perpetrators, even if the time limit for doing so has passed.
The decision made in May, where Ms Carroll was granted $5 million, did not mark the conclusion of the issue.
The jury determined that Mr. Trump was responsible for sexually assaulting Ms. Carroll, but did not specifically find him guilty of rape. In June, Mr. Trump filed a lawsuit against Ms. Carroll for publicly stating that he had raped her. However, on August 7th, federal judge Lewis Kaplan dismissed the former president’s counterclaim, stating that the initial decision “proves the validity of Ms. Carroll’s allegations of ‘rape’ against him.”
The ex-president is challenging the $5 million ruling. At the same time, Ms. Carroll is filing a defamation lawsuit against him, following his criticism of the initial verdict. He also denied ever meeting her and once again accused her of making up the rape accusation.
A $250m ‘art of the steal’ in New York
In September 2022, Letitia James, the attorney general of New York, filed a lawsuit against Mr. Trump, his three oldest children, and their family business, the Trump Organization. The lawsuit claims that they manipulated property and personal financial valuations to receive loans and insurance benefits through fraudulent means.
The lawsuit, according to Ms James, aims to hold Mr Trump responsible for his expertise in manipulating and deceiving, and is requesting a $250 million fine and penalties that would prevent the Trump Organization from conducting any business in New York in the future.
The company, along with Donald Trump and his sons Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump, deny any wrongdoing.
In June of 2023, accusations against Ivanka Trump, daughter of Mr. Trump, were dismissed by a New York appeals court.
Officials in New York are attempting to prevent the Trump Organization from conducting business within the state, accusing them of engaging in a widespread scheme of deceit.
In August, the court filing from Ms James’s office stated that the case was prepared for trial. The trial officially began on October 2nd, resulting in outbursts from Mr. Trump during the proceedings. The trial also featured testimony from notable witnesses and multiple gag orders were issued due to death threats received at the lower Manhattan courthouse.
After 44 days spread over two months, the last evidence was presented on December 13th. The attorneys for both sides will submit their final written arguments to the court by January 5th, 2024, and closing statements will be heard on January 11th.
The judge of the Supreme Court in New York County, Arthur Engoron, has announced his intention to make a final decision before the month comes to a close.
Encouragement, secrecy, and a hierarchical scam.
These are just the initial cases, Mr. Trump is also involved in numerous other legal disputes.
In January, a lawsuit was brought to trial alleging that Mr. Trump and his adult children were involved in promoting a pyramid scheme known as “The Celebrity Apprentice”.
In March, the Department of Justice presented their case in a federal appeals court stating that Mr. Trump is not protected from a lawsuit filed by members of Congress and US Capitol Police officers who allege he incited the January 6th riot at the Capitol.
Donald Trump is being sued by members of Congress and the US Capitol Police for supposedly provoking the January 6 riot.
Mr. Cohen is currently appealing against Mr. Trump, claiming that he was unfairly returned to prison from home confinement for speaking to the media and preparing to write a revealing book. However, the case was dismissed in November.
There is another lawsuit currently in progress that involves Mr. Trump and his niece, Mary Trump.
The ex-president claims that Ms. Trump violated the terms of a family estate agreement by working with The New York Times to reveal information about the former president’s taxes.
The newspaper was removed from the lawsuit by a judge in May.
Ariana Baio was a contributor to this report.
Source: independent.co.uk
