All eyes are on former President Donald Trump, who is expected to launch a new bid for the White House in short order.
Prosecutors, investigators and lawmakers in Washington, New York, Georgia, Florida and across the United States are among those who will be interested in what Trump has to say about the myriad legal issues facing the former president, the business him and his allies.
Multiple federal and state investigations are ongoing into the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol, his efforts to sway the 2020 presidential election, his handling of sensitive government documents and his family business.
Trump and his company deny any wrongdoing or criminality in all matters, state and federal, and have aggressively maintained his innocence. Trump also won dismissals of two lawsuits this week in cases brought by his niece and former lawyer.
Here is an updated list of notable investigations, lawsuits and controversies:
The Justice Department’s investigation continues into whether documents from the Trump White House were mishandled when they were moved to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida after he left the service. A federal grand jury in Washington has been subpoenaed and interviewed potential witnesses about how Trump handled the documents.
RELATED: The big numbers from the Mar-a-Lago search
The National Archives, which is charged with collecting and sorting through presidential material, has previously said that at least 15 boxes of White House records were recovered from Mar-a-Lago – including some classified files.
Any unauthorized retention or destruction of White House documents could violate a criminal law that prohibits the removal or destruction of official government records, legal experts told CNN.
The House Select Committee investigating the attack on the US Capitol has revealed dramatic evidence of Trump’s actions before and on January 6, especially efforts to use the levers of government to overturn the election.
The committee is expected to issue a report before the end of the year, possibly marking the end of its investigation — especially if Republicans take over the House of Representatives.
During the panel’s hearings this summer, fingers were pointed at GOP lawmakers and Trump allies who tried to help swing the election and at Trump White House officials who failed to stop the former president’s actions.
The House panel and Trump have also been embroiled in a legal battle over whether the former president must comply with subpoenas for documents and testimony.
The Justice Department has its own investigation into the post-2020 election period.
While the Justice Department did not act publicly during the so-called quiet period leading up to the hearings, a grand jury in Washington heard from witnesses.
Recently, the Justice Department moved to require additional testimony from former White House Counsel Pat Cipollone and Deputy White House Counsel Patrick Philbin.
Trump is fighting to prevent former advisers from testifying about some conversations, citing executive and attorney-client privilege to keep information confidential or slow down criminal investigators.
Georgia’s Fulton County District Attorney Fannie Willis is overseeing a special judicial commission investigating what Trump or his allies may have done in their efforts to overturn President Joe Biden’s victory in Georgia.
The investigation began last year after Trump called Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in which he urged the Republican to “find” votes to overturn the election results.
Willis, a Democrat, also informed all 16 people who signed an “unofficial voter certificate,” which was eventually sent to the National Archives in late 2020, that they could face charges in the investigation.
The investigation may also be closing in on Trump. Former New York mayor and Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani appeared before the grand jury, as did Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp. Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham lost a court bid to avoid testifying.
Willis had pledged to wait until after the midterms to make any announcements about possible charges.
The Justice Department, meanwhile, is investigating one aspect of a conspiracy to promote fake GOP voters from seven states.
The fake certificates were created by Trump allies in Georgia, Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Nevada and New Mexico, who sought to replace valid presidential electors from their states with a pro-Trump plan.
An ongoing lawsuit in New York involves Trump’s eponymous business, the Trump Organization.
Manhattan prosecutors told jurors the case is about “greed and deception,” plotting an alleged 15-year scheme within the Trump Organization to pay high-level executives perks like luxury cars and apartments without paying taxes on them.
Two Trump Organization entities have been indicted on nine counts of tax fraud, grand theft and falsifying business records, in what prosecutors allege is a 15-year scheme to defraud tax authorities by failing to report and pay taxes on compensation provided to employees.
Former Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weiselberg pleaded guilty to his role in the tax scheme this summer. He recently testified at the trial, although he is not cooperating with prosecutors. The company pleaded not guilty.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, after a lengthy investigation, sued Trump, three of his grown children and the Trump Organization in September, alleging that they were involved in an extensive fraud spanning more than a decade that the former president used to get rich
James alleged that the fraud touched all aspects of the Trump business, including real estate and golf courses. According to the lawsuit, the Trump Organization defrauded lenders, insurers and tax authorities by inflating the value of its properties using misleading valuations.
James is seeking $250 million in alleged illicit funds.
This week, retired judge Barbara Jones was appointed as the company’s monitor. James said one is needed to prevent the real estate company from continuing in what the state claims is a decade-long scam.
Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and has called the investigation politically motivated based on James’ electoral ambitions.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Alvin Bragg inherited that office’s investigation into Trump’s businesses, but it has slowed significantly.
Prosecutors focused on the accuracy of the Trump Organization’s financial statements when seeking funding, people familiar with the matter told CNN.
Earlier this year, Carey Dunne and Mark Pomerantz, two senior prosecutors on the team, resigned after Bragg informed them he was not ready to pursue criminal charges, CNN’s Kara Scannell reported.
A special grand jury evidentiary hearing in the case ended in April, but new ones could be presented in the future.
Bragg said the investigation is ongoing and prosecutors are reviewing new evidence. He said he would issue a public statement or indictment when it was completed.
Democratic lawmakers are still trying to obtain Trump’s tax records from the Internal Revenue Service.
A federal appeals court sided with a request by the House Ways and Means Committee — originally filed in 2019 — to take the returns, upholding the decision of a district court judge appointed by Trump.
Trump appealed to the Supreme Court, which is ready to rule at any time.
Several members of the US Capitol Police and Washington DC Metropolitan Police have sued Trump, saying his words and actions incited the riot.
The various cases accuse Trump of directing the attack and the attack. aiding and abetting assault and battery; and violates Washington, DC local laws prohibiting incitement to riot and disorderly conduct.
A federal judge in February said Trump’s statements to supporters before the riot were “the essence of political conspiracy” and the lawsuits by the officers have been allowed to go forward.
Trump and his top advisers have not been charged with any crime. Trump and others who have been sued have argued that they are not responsible for the actions of the people who stormed the Capitol.
Magazine writer E. Jean Carroll alleged that Trump raped her in the dressing room of a New York department store in the mid-1990s and defamed her when she denied the rape, said she was not his “type” and alleged that he claimed to raise its sales. Book.
Trump and the Justice Department said Trump was a federal employee and his statements denying Carroll’s allegations were made in response to questions from reporters while he was in the White House. They argue that the Justice Department should be substituted as a defendant, which, because the government cannot be sued for defamation, will end the suit.
In September, a federal appeals court in New York ruled that Trump was a federal employee when he denied Carroll’s claim of rape and sexual assault.
Early next year, the Washington, D.C., appeals court will determine whether Trump was acting within the scope of his employment when he made the allegedly defamatory statements. Meanwhile, the judge overseeing the lawsuit has set a trial for early February.
…
