Donald Trump will make history in more ways than one if he beats Democratic incumbent Joe Biden in November’s presidential elections.
Now facing a staggering 91 criminal charges, if found guilty of a single one he could become the first convicted criminal to be appointed President of the United States.
He would also be the first person to be re-elected to a non-consecutive term in more than 130 years; the last person to do this was Democrat Grover Cleveland in 1892.
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Civil suits cost Trump
Outside of the criminal cases, Trump is facing multiple civil suits, having been ordered to pay journalist E. Jean Carroll a total of $83.3 million in damages after he was found liable for defaming her when he called her a liar after she accused him of sexual assault.
Carroll was initially awarded $5 million, but Trump continued to defame her publicly during a CNN Townhall and on his social media platform. The total amount was subsequently raised to $83.3 million in a second ruling.
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Then there was the New York fraud case, in which Attorney General Letitia James accused Trump of inflating his net worth to obtain more favorable loan rates. Justice Arthur F. Engoron found Trump liable for $450 million.
Trump's vast wealth more than covers the costs of the civil cases for which he was found liable. However, the payouts have no doubt made a sizeable dent in the cash needed to run a presidential campaign – and he has been turning to supporters for small donations to help cover his legal fees.
Federal Cases
Special Prosecutor Jack Smith is overseeing two separate cases featuring Trump. The first examines his handling of classified documents at his home in Mar-a-Lago, a property he owns in Palm Beach, Florida.
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The former president allegedly took classified documents packed in boxes from the White House and stored them in various parts of his home, including the ballroom, bathrooms, and his shower. Smith points out that Mar-a-Lago is also an 'active social club' with thousands of people passing through its doors each year.
Trump allegedly had an aide delete security camera footage showing the documents in question being moved.
According to the indictment, the documents contain top secret details of America's nuclear programs, vulnerabilities of the United States to a foreign attack, and how they may respond to such an attack.
The court case will eventually take place in Florida, but the Trump-appointed judge in charge, Aileen Cannon, has indicated that Jack Smith's preference for a July hearing pre-election is ‘unrealistic’.
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January 6
In what many legal minds view as his most serious charges, Trump is accused of conspiring to defraud the United States government, conspiring to obstruct an official proceeding, conspiring against rights, and obstruction and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding.
Special Prosecutor Jack Smith's case claims that Trump knowingly spread falsehoods of a stolen election after Joe Biden was declared the winner, then tried to pressure his Vice President Mike Pence not to certify the election and exploited the violence that took place afterward.
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Over 1,200 people have been arrested for their involvement in the attack at the Capitol building on January 6 2021, with 450 or so facing jail time.
Trump claims that, as he was president at the time, he should be immune from prosecution.
The Supreme Court, which contains three Trump appointees and a third of all Justices, has agreed to hear Trump's case and opposing arguments on April 22 before ruling.
The delay from the Supreme Court decision to hear arguments is a big win for the 45th President, who doesn’t want to stand trial before the November election.
No pardon
The New York criminal case against Donald Trump will likely be the first to take place. It involves accusations he used business expenses to cover up infidelity; he is alleged to have paid former adult film star Stormy Daniels $130,000 in hush money via his then-lawyer, Michael Cohen, who was repaid by Trump. The payment was allegedly written off as a legal expense.
Cohen has already served over a year in federal prison for campaign finance wrongdoing and lying to Congress; jury selection will begin on March 25.
The case in New York has overlapped with the criminal racketeering case in Georgia.
Trump is accused of violating The Georgia RICO act which carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison. There are 18 co-defendants, including Rudy Giuliani and former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.
Trump was recorded speaking with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, making a slew of disproven allegations of voter fraud and asking him to 'find 11,780 votes'.
Both Georgia and New York are state cases, which means that even if Trump wins in November, he could not pardon himself if found guilty.
Topics: Donald Trump, Politics, Joe Biden, US News
Mike Sheridan