The most important legal problems Donald Trump is currently facing
Although Donald Trump is no longer president, many of his actions during his administration still carry consequences today. Here are the most pressing legal troubles that the mogul turned politician is currently facing that might hamper his chances to run in 2024.
First, there are the White House records that Donald Trump took to his Florida residence of Mar-a-Lago without permission. Under the Presidential Records Act, removing official records can constitute an official offense.
However, the Presidential Records Act requires the goodwill of former presidents. A group of FBI agents went to Mar-a-Lago to retrieve the boxes of records in what Trump and his allies have described as a “raid”.
Probably the biggest issue Trump has to deal with at the moment is his involvement in the January 6th Capitol Assault. Trump followers attempted to stop the joint session of Congress in which Joe Biden would formalize his victory in the 2020 Presidential Election.
A political trial in the Republican-controlled senate acquitted Trump of the charges of insurrection. Nonetheless, this isn’t the end of the story.
The bipartisan January 6th Committee of the US Congress continues to investigate the incident and, as the BBC highlights, it could present charges to the US Attorney General depending on its findings.
The Washington DC Attorney General is also conducting a separate investigation on the Capitol Attack, plus the former US president is facing a lawsuit made by the same office for misusing funds for the 2017 Presidential Inauguration.
The Guardian also reports that at least 11 US lawmakers are also taking Donald Trump to court, his lawyer Rudy Giuliani (pictured), and two militia groups for inciting violence within the premises of the US Congress.
Trump is also facing four different lawsuits made by several police officers from the US Capitol and DC Metro for injuries sustained during the Capitol Riot.
Speaking of the 2020 Presidential Election, The Guardian reports that the former US president is currently facing two lawsuits related to election interference. One is a civil suit in Michigan against Trump and the National Republican Committee trying to disenfranchise black voters.
The other lawsuit, a criminal investigation, is in Fulton County, Georgia. On a recorded phone call, Trump demanded the Georgia Secretary of State overturn the election, saying that he “wanted to find 11,780 votes”. The exact number he needed to win there.
The former US president is also dealing with several ongoing lawsuits and criminal investigations related to business. For over two years, the Manhattan District Attorney's office has been investigating the taxes and finances of the Trump Organization, as well allegations of insurance fraud.
Nonetheless, the BBC informs that since late 2021 the investigation has been paused since the current New York District Attorney, Alvin Bragg, does not believe that the prosecution had enough evidence to pursue criminal charges.
The Trump Organization is also facing a different investigation from the New York state district attorney for underreporting real estate property value to avoid taxes. The company is also being investigated in Winchester County, New York, for doing the same with a country club built in the area.
That’s not the end of Trump’s financial woes. He and his siblings are being sued by their niece, Mary Trump, for allegedly defrauding her from her inheritance money of the estate of Frederick Trump, Donald Trump’s dad.
Trump has been accused several times of sexual misconduct during his life. Business Insider pinpoints that at least 25 women have accused Donald Trump of sexual assault, or sexual harassment since the 1970s.
At the moment, he only has one civil suit pending: columnist E. Jean Carroll accused Trump of sexually assaulting her in the 1990s, Trump claims he couldn’t do it because “she was not his type” and Carroll sued him for defamation.
The BBC reports that, after being long mired in legal quicksand, a date for the trial has been set for February 2023. That is unless a settlement can be reached out of court.
The former US president is also facing a couple of lawsuits from some of his former employees. Michael Cohen, Trump’s former personal attorney, claims he was sent to prison as retaliation for writing a tell-all memoir about Trump.
However, Donald Trump is no stranger to legal problems. The New York mogul and his company, according to USA Today, had been involved in 3,500 suits by the time he became the 45th President of the United States.
In the 1970s and 1980s, the Trump Organization was accused of unfair practices, such as not renting apartments to black people or using tactics to force tenants to move out. In both cases, the matter was negotiated and settled out of court.
Probably the most well-known legal case before being president was Trump University, an unlicensed real estate training program that functioned from 2005 to 2010.
Reuters reported at the time that the New York General Attorney accused Trump and his company of defrauding over 5,000 people. Trump was forced to pay 25 million US dollars as restitution for the 40 million US dollars he profited from the students.
As US President, Donald Trump was accused of colluding with the Russian government to help him during the 2016 Presidential Election.
Although the US intelligence confirmed that Russia had tampered with the election, the report by special counsel Robert Mueller concluded that were no links to the Russian government.
Trump also went through two impeachments, something never seen for a US president. First, he was accused of blocking resources to Ukraine to extort the country’s government to investigate the business dealings of Hunter Biden.
Then, in 2021, there was the second impeachment for inciting insurrection that led to the January 6 Capitol Attack. In both cases, Donald Trump was acquitted by the US Senate. Now he's free to run in 2024.
One can't deny the former US President has been extremely lucky when it comes to standing in court. Nonetheless, one can't help wondering how long will the luck last for Donald Trump.