As his multiple attacks on a series of investigators made clear Tuesday night, the Stormy Daniels charges facing President Donald Trump in New York are just the beginning of his legal concerns.
Trump faces legal exposure on a number of fronts, with prosecutors in different regions and at the state, local and national levels. It is conceivable that by the time the 2024 campaign is in full swing, he will face multiple charges while still dealing with civil cases.
Trump spoke on Tuesday about his refusal to try to settle one case against him, and amid his combative approach, he has tried to raise money by pointing to the potential 136 years in prison he could face for alleged false business statements alone. to get.
Here is a summary of the investigations Trump is currently facing through various parts of the justice system.
Former President Donald Trump is facing legal jeopardy in multiple jurisdictions amid several investigations. He attacked many of his detectives at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday
January 6 examination
Special Counsel Jack Smith oversees the sprawling Jan. 6 investigation and efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 election results.
Smith has said almost nothing about the avenues he follows, but remarkable clues have been found in the people his team of prosecutors have brought before a federal grand jury.
Among them are former White House advisers to Trump, including former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, who was on the phone when Trump called the Georgia Secretary of State and said he had to “find 11,780 votes.”
Prosecutors are also investigating the “fake voter” scheme that played out in multiple states that Joe Biden won, where Trump allies alleged fraud. This was an area also examined by the House Committee on Jan. 6, which submitted its report and materials to the Justice Department.
With his subpoenas holding up in court, the array of key witnesses who spoke to a grand jury have armed Smith with new information. CNN reported Wednesday that top national security officials testified that they repeatedly warned Trump that the FBI did not have the authority to seize voting machines.
The testimony suggests that Smith is looking into Trump’s demands to overturn the election, even as he is advised against the validity of many of his claims.
If only the legal jeopardy could be reflected in the speed of Trump’s attacks on Smith. On Tuesday, he called him a “crazy.”
Trump attacked Special Counsel Jack Smith as ‘crazy’
Documents at Mar-a-Lago
AG Merrick Garland gave Smith control of an investigation into Trump’s possession of material marked “classified” at Mar-a-Lago — an investigation that could implicate both the Presidential Records Act and laws regarding potential obstruction.
Trump himself addressed some of the areas prosecutors may be investigating during his blistering 25-minute speech from Mar-a-Lago, when he asserted that as president he had the authority to release government materials, saying that he would “clothe” and other items to his Florida home in broad daylight.
The matter is not as clear-cut as Trump described it. Records laws make presidential records the property of the government when the chief executive leaves office, and if Trump classified the material, no evidence has emerged of a formal process to do so.
Other prominent individuals have been found to be in possession of classified material and some have been convicted of illegal possession. And as Trump pointed out, President Joe Biden also appeared to have material marked as classified in his possession — some from his time as vice president.
It was not immediately known whether Trump’s latest statement on the matter, in his speech on Tuesday night, would have any value as evidence, as he referred to negotiations and said he brought materials to his home “with me.”
“We negotiated in good faith, in the proper manner, to return some or all of the documents I brought to Mar-a-Lago openly and in plain sight from our beautiful White House,” he said.
Trump talked about taking equipment “to Mar-a-Lago with me” when he left the White House
Elections in Georgia
The Georgia case is progressing and Fulton County DA Fani Willis has already obtained a sealed indictment from a special grand jury.
The decision now rests with her whether or not she will attempt to file an indictment with a grand jury to try to charge Trump with illegally witnessing interference in the state’s presidential election.
Some of the key evidence has already been revealed here, including Trump’s appeal to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in early 2021.
Willis began her investigation in February 2021 after the infamous phone call.
Trump’s lawyers are trying to keep Willis off the case.
The separate forewoman of the special grand jury gave a series of TV interviews in which she seemed to indicate that a whole range of people could be indicted.
With the ball in Willis’ field, the next step is expected this spring.
FILE – Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, right, must decide whether to convene a grand jury after a special grand jury completes its work
Civil case in New York that could hinder Trump’s business
New York State AG Letitia James sued the Trump Organization after she released a wealth of information about the company’s business practices.
She has accused the company of massively inflating property valuations when seeking financing, then keeping numbers low on tax returns.
Trump defended his company on Tuesday night.
“They have a problem with the case,” he said.
He said his company had “very little debt” and accused James of “looking into me to bail out banks.” But Trump said the lenders, including Deutsche Bank and others, “made almost $200 million off Donald Trump and they really liked me.” We never missed a payment,” he said.
In this case, Trump is fighting for more than money.
James wants Trump executives, including Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and Ivanka Trump, banned from doing business in the state.
Trump spoke about his youngest son, Barron, as a future role on Tuesday.
“And Barron will be great one day. He’s tall and he’s smart,” Trump said.
Sometimes such matters are waived through negotiations, a fine and a negotiated debt. But Trump has shown no interest in this path.
“They want to settle the case, but I want nothing to do with that,” he said Tuesday.
New York AG Letitia James has sued the Trump Organization over its accounting practices
Stormy Daniel’s case
The case that brought Trump’s legal woes to a head is Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg’s case over the $130,000 “shut up” payments he paid back to porn star Stormy Daniels.
While the indictment and statement of facts unsealed Tuesday were just an outline of the case, it provided clues about how prosecutors might weave a case.
Bragg, who has repeatedly attacked Trump, calling him “soft on crime” and going after his wife for partisan ties, described the payout to Daniels as a way to influence the 2016 presidential election in his press conference. The statement of facts for the case also mentions an intent to mask payments to Trump fixer Michael Cohn as “legal fees” as part of a plan to hide the true purpose from state tax authorities.
Trump allies have attacked the case as less than meets the eye, but unless Trump’s lawyers can prevail by dismissing it quickly, it will hang around for months. The next hearing of Judge Juan Merchan, who was also attacked by Trump, is scheduled for December.
A Manhattan grand jury has voted to indict former President Donald Trump over hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels