Here’s a List of All the Legal Cases Against Former President Donald Trump
From Election Interference to Defamation, These Are Trump’s Legal Battles
There are a growing number of lawsuits and prosecutions against Donald Trump. The former president, the presumptive Republican nominee in 2024, is the first former president to be under a criminal trial. He is facing 88 criminal indictments in four different prosecutions as well as some civil charges, Business Insider reported. Charges ranging from financial wrongdoing to slander have been the subject of political headlines. Trump is using his PACs to pay for his legal defense as he campaigns for president, which has raised concerns about using donor funds for his legal battles. Here's a list of all the legal tribulations the former president is currently facing.
1. The Georgia RICO Case
This case represents Trump's most serious legal danger, with potential 20-year RICO charges and no preemptive pardons. In August, Fulton County District Attorney, Fani Willis, filed a massive RICO lawsuit against Trump and 18 co-defendants, including lawyers Sidney Powell and Jenna Ellis, and other former Trump allies who have flipped against him. As per BBC, the indictment accuses them of conspiring to illegally maintain power after losing the 2020 election. Charges point to efforts made by Rudy Giuliani, Mark Meadows, and other associates to persuade officials to alter election results.
2. The Justice Department’s Investigation Into 2020 Election Interference
Special Counsel Jack Smith of the Justice Department indicted Trump in a federal court in Washington, DC, presided over by US District Judge, Tanya Chutkan. Trump and his accomplices are accused of planning to use a fraudulent elector scheme in many states to prevent Congress from recognizing President Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 election. Proceedings are being delayed as the Supreme Court deliberates on Trump's immunity from prosecution. If the court moves quickly, a trial might unfold by late summer based on the planned hearings. Similar to previous cases involving attempts to reverse election results, such as Fulton County DA Willis's, the issue has been complicated by Trump's deep personal antipathy toward Smith, who he claims without proof is acting on Biden's orders.
3. The Justice Department’s Investigation Into Classified Documents
Early in 2023, there were rumors that Trump had kept important secret documents, which prompted questions about how he handled them. Bundles of documents from Trump's Mar-a-Lago were raided by the FBI, which led to the beginning of the confidential documents investigation, which also involved Smith. In a Florida federal court, Smith arraigned Trump; and Carlos De Oliveira, the property manager of Mar-a-Lago, was later added. The prosecution claims that by hiding important papers, Trump broke the Espionage Act. The trial is scheduled for May, but it may be postponed until after the 2024 election owing to complications of presidential immunity and conflicts with the judge presiding over the case (a Trump appointee.)
4. The Manhattan DA’s Indictment Over the Hush-Money Settlement to Stormy Daniels
District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg looked into potential campaign finance law violations by Trump concerning alleged hush money payments made to adult film actress, Stormy Daniels, before the 2016 election. A grand jury decided to indict Trump criminally. The former fixer for Trump, Michael Cohen, admitted to making payments on Trump's orders and entered a guilty plea to charges related to campaign finance crimes. Opening arguments for the trial were held on April 22 of this year despite attempts to postpone them.
5. E. Jean Carroll’s Rape and Defamation Cases Against Trump
E. Jean Carroll, a journalist, sued Trump for defamation, violence, and mental anguish in federal court in Manhattan. Carroll filed two lawsuits against Trump, claiming he defamed her after she accused him of raping her in a Bergdorf-Goodman dressing room in the mid-1990s. Trump disputed the charges, stating Carroll was not his 'type', and denied ever meeting her. Carroll filed a second defamation complaint, this time alleging rape. The first trial, held in April 2023, found Trump responsible for sexual assault and slander, and Carroll was awarded $5 million. The second trial in January 2024 focused on defamation damages and resulted in a $83.3 million decision. Trump has challenged both decisions, placing the awarded funds in escrow until the result of the appeals.
6. Cohen’s ‘Imprisonment’ Case
In 2021, Cohen filed a lawsuit in Manhattan federal court, claiming $20 million in damages against Trump, former Attorney General Bill Barr, and federal prison authorities. Cohen claims he was mistreated while incarcerated. He wrote a tell-all book, refused to stop talking to the press, and claimed he was being held in solitary confinement out of revenge. The district court rejected the lawsuit, which was confirmed by an appeals court, despite the judge's order for release after 16 days. With this move, Cohen hopes to bring the case to the US Supreme Court.
7. The NY AG’s Civil Case Against the Trump Family and the Trump Organization
Letitia James, the attorney general of New York, filed lawsuits against Trump, his family, and the Trump Organization, claiming financial misconduct spanning ten years. She charged them with overstating property valuations to qualify for tax advantages and understating them for bank loans. Trump has brushed the issue off, calling it politically driven. Following testimony from Trump, his sons, and other executives throughout a three-month trial, the court issued a final judgment in February that included $355 million in fines. Including interest, the amount has surpassed $460 million. Trump filed an appeal of the decision, but the mounting fines emphasize the risks and the case's possible financial consequences.
