The indictment Tuesday accusing Donald Trump of making illegal hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels is just the first of several criminal and civil cases that could snag the former president and 2024 Republican candidate in the coming months.
Mr. Trump faces an accusation of rape, charges of election interference and federal investigations into his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. He also is accused of stealing classified documents and other crimes.
Georgia election interference
While Mr. Trump battles liberal Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg over hush money charges that some legal experts say are legally weak, his staunchest critics see a far more serious criminal investigation by District Attorney Fani Willis in Fulton County, Georgia.
A grand jury has recommended perjury charges in a case of interference in the 2020 presidential election. The people on the prosecution list and the grand jury’s other recommended charges, which could include racketeering and solicitation of election fraud, have not been made public.
Georgia officials started investigating post-election involvement in February 2021.
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Mr. Trump called Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on Jan. 2, 2021, about election integrity issues that he said contributed to his narrow loss in the state. Georgia’s final vote tally showed Joseph R. Biden ahead by 11,779 votes.
On the call, which was recorded and later distributed to several media outlets, Mr. Trump told Mr. Raffensperger, “I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have.” He also said, “There’s nothing wrong with saying, you know, that you’ve recalculated.”
Mr. Trump’s legal team sought last month to quash the grand jury’s final recommendations. Trump attorneys said the process was “tainted” and that the report “violates the principles of fundamental fairness.”
Capitol riot and classified documents
Three days after the Nov. 15 announcement of Mr. Trump’s third presidential campaign, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed special counsel Jack Smith to oversee a two-part criminal investigation focused on Mr. Trump’s involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol and the classified documents found at his office and residence in Palm Beach, Florida.
Mr. Trump called the investigation a “political persecution” and Mr. Smith a “fully weaponized monster.”
Congressional Democrats who conducted a public investigation said Mr. Trump provoked rioters who tried to prevent the certification of the presidential election at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. They say Mr. Trump incited an insurrection, committed a conspiracy to block Congress from certifying Mr. Biden’s victory and then lied about it.
Democrats say Mr. Trump’s possession of classified documents was illegal and put national security at risk. FBI agents conducted an unprecedented raid on the home of a former president last summer to remove the documents from his Mar-a-Lago estate.
In January, Mr. Garland appointed a second special counsel, Robert Hur, to investigate President Biden’s stash of classified documents found in various locations. The documents dated back to his time as vice president in the Obama administration and his time in the Senate.
Civil cases
• Former magazine advice columnist E. Jean Carroll is suing Mr. Trump in two separate cases for defamation and sexual assault. Ms. Carroll accused Mr. Trump of raping her more than two decades ago. Mr. Trump has denied ever meeting Ms. Carroll and said she is “not my type.” Ms. Carroll’s first defamation lawsuit has been postponed. A second lawsuit claiming sexual assault and defamation is scheduled for trial on April 25 in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.
• New York Attorney General Letitia James has filed a lawsuit accusing Mr. Trump, his family and the Trump Organization of manipulating the value of the former president’s business assets to borrow money on more favorable terms, pay lower insurance premiums and face lower taxes. The trial is slated to start in October.
• Seven U.S. Capitol Police officers are suing Mr. Trump and several Republican allies. The lawsuit claims Mr. Trump put the officers in jeopardy by inciting the January 2021 riot at a rally near the White House. A group of House Democrats is suing Mr. Trump over distress inflicted on them and for inciting a riot to block them from certifying the presidential election.
• Susan Ferrechio can be reached at sferrechio@washingtontimes.com.
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