In the coming months, Donald Trump’s mounting legal troubles could get even worse. At least three investigations could bring more criminal charges against him.
Federal officials are investigating both Trump’s handling of classified documents and his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, which culminated in the attack on the Capitol on January 6. Separately, a grand jury in Georgia could impeach Trump before September for his efforts to alter the state’s election results. Any of these crimes is punishable by imprisonment.
Fees are not guaranteed. Alan Feuer, my colleague in charge of federal investigations, told me: “There will certainly be more indictments. “But certainly not.”
Nor does a trial or a conviction necessarily prevent Trump from running for president. He may not be tried or convicted before the 2024 election. He could campaign from prison, as socialist candidate Eugene Debs did in 1920. Some experts legal experts believe he might even try to rule from prison, if he gets elected president.
Trump has been the first president, current or former, to be impeached. The Manhattan district attorney accused him of an illegal scheme to cover up potential sex scandals in 2016. And last month, a grand jury found Trump liable in a civil suit for $5 million for sexual abuse and defamation.
Today’s newsletter will focus on three additional investigations to help prepare you for possible news in the coming months.
Documents in Mar-a-Lago
The case of classified documents may be nearing its end. In August, an FBI search of Trump’s Florida home uncovered more than 100 classified documents believed to remain in the government’s possession. The Justice Department is trying to determine whether Trump hid the documents after receiving a subpoena asking him to return them.
A potential piece of evidence in the case, revealed this week: Prosecutor there is a recording of Trump discussed a sensitive military document he kept after leaving the White House and which he admitted had not previously been declassified.
It is not uncommon for officials to misplace classified documents or keep them in their homes, often by accident. Such documents were found in the homes of President Biden and former Vice President Mike Pence. What was unusual in Trump’s case was his attempt to keep the documents after federal officials demanded their return. Those efforts could lead him to be charged with obstruction of justice.
There are a few reasons why prosecutors might not charge Trump. The basic offense — mishandling of classified documents — is often resolved without charge; officials returned the records and prosecutors continued. And given that any charges against Trump could lead to a political backlash, the Justice Department may argue that the costs of prosecution are too high.
(Graphics of this era takes you behind the scenes at Mar-a-Lago.)
January 6 attack
The other federal investigation focuses on Trump’s efforts to stay in power after he lost the 2020 election.
Part of the investigation could focus on whether Trump incited the violence on January 6. On social media and at his rallies, he falsely claimed he won the 2020 election and demanded state officials change the outcome in his favor. In late December 2020, Trump called for a “fanatical” rally for January 6, 2021. At a rally that morning, he directed the crowd to “fight like the dead” and march march to the Capitol. After they became violent, he waited for hours before asking them to go home.
Prosecutors have also charged hundreds of other suspects in the attack and may feel compelled to charge someone they see as the mastermind.
The potential case against Trump, however, has a weakness: He has never explicitly ordered the attack or told his supporters to storm the Capitol. He eventually encouraged them to disband.
After January 6, federal prosecutors can bring other charges related to Trump’s plot to stay in the White House. “Not only was this a huge case to prove in terms of the number of witnesses and the complexity of gathering evidence — it was also very complex legally,” Alan said.
(These videos cover the January 6 attack.)
Georgia
The Georgia investigation has a clearer timeline. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has said that if the grand jury brings charges, it will do so before September. A separate special grand jury, which can recommend charges but not prosecuted, was Proposal to prosecute many times.
The Georgia case could involve multiple defendants and could focus on allegations of fraud in conspiracy to sabotage the election. Prosecutors could argue that Trump and his team worked together to try to overturn the 2020 outcome, while committing multiple crimes.
Willis has an important piece of evidence: an audio recording in which Trump asks the Georgia secretary of state to “find” nearly 12,000 votes to overturn the state vote tally in his favor.
The biggest challenge for prosecutors may be proving Trump’s intentions. For example, in the phone call did Trump ask Georgia officials to reverse the results, or did he ask them to check that they counted the votes legally? A test can turn out these kinds of problems.
Murder Mystery: A nest is attacked. Suspect: a sparrow.
Modern love: An episode of “Friends” helped a writer heal.
Same author: Mary Trump and E. Jean Carroll are write a romance novel together.
Bumpy? Try these hiking socks.
Advice from Wirecutter: Select best olive oil in the grocery store.
Life lived: Amitai Etzioni is a sociologist who has advised US presidents and is the father of communitarianism, a political center between the left and the right. He passed away at the age of 94.
SPORTS NEWS
Game 1: Denver won easily over Miami in the NBA Finals. Nikola Jokić looks unstoppableThe Athletic wrote.
Churchill Downs: The home of the Kentucky Derby is changing its rules to keep vulnerable horses off the track after 12 recently diedThe Times reported.
Dev Shah, 8th grader won the Scripps National Spelling Bee with the word “psammophile” (a plant or animal that thrives in sandy areas). He won after 14 rounds that included words like “probouleutic” and “zwitterion” and “schistorrrhachis.”
Schwa – a sound like “uh” that can be represented by any vowel in the English alphabet – is a stone-cold killer. It knocked out several finalists, as usual.
