Donald Trump may have evaded a conviction for the second time, but the former president is still facing several lawsuits and civil and criminal investigations that call into question his behavior before and during his tenure.
Here are the pending cases against Trump.
The American Capitol riot
The most recent case filed against him on February 18 stems from his alleged role in the deadly riot at the US Capitol on January 6.
Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss, chair of the House Homeland Security Committee, has filed a federal civil case alleging that Trump and his former personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, along with the Proud Boys and Eath Keepers, two far-right groups , conspired, according to court documents, to incite the mob that stormed the Capitol building while lawmakers counted the votes of the Electoral College.
According to the case on February 16, the defendants tried to disrupt Thompson in fulfilling his duty to approve the count of votes cast by the Electoral College after the presidential election.
The protest was part of an ongoing effort by Trump and his co-defendants to undermine the election results and prevent President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris from being certified by Congress.
Thompson wants to create the record that Trump violated the law, the legislature told MSNBC and also set a standard for future political disputes.
“If you in America do not agree on the outcome of an election, you are not making a fuss. “You do nothing but see that individual at the next election,” Thompson said. “If the Trump administration’s philosophy of involvement [like] what happened on January 6 then becomes the default [in] every election you disagree with, just go into the Capitol and tear it up. ”
Trump spokesman Jason Miller said in a statement at the trial that Trump had been acquitted in the Senate on charges of inciting the riot, the Hill reported.
“President Trump did not plan, produce or arrange the January 6 rally at the Ellipse,” the statement said.
It remains to be seen whether Trump will receive criminal charges in connection with the riot. Although he was acquitted on Feb. 13 during his Senate indictment, House Democrats tied to Trump’s comments for days during a rally before the riot in the Capitol and his false election theft alleges violence on Jan. 6.
In a January 11 interview with MSNBC Andrea Mitchell, DC Attorney General Karl Racine disapproved of Giuliani and made Trump’s comments during a “Stop the Steal” march before the riot. Giuliani called for a ‘fight by a fight’ during the protest, and Trump urged his supporters to ‘fight like hell’ to save the country.
“They really encouraged and captured these people,” Racine said.
Asked if Trump, Giuliani and others could be prosecuted in connection with the riot, Racine said his office was investigating the charge of inciting violence, which according to DC Code falls under the crime of disorderly conduct and could lead to up to 90 days in jail. Racine added that he does not specifically target Trump.
Voting rights lawsuit
Thompson’s civil case against Trump cites a law from the Reconstruction era passed by Congress in 1871 to combat terrorist organizations, specifically the Ku Klux Klan, a group that killed and harassed black Americans in the South. .
The law, known as the Ku Klux Klan Act, “was intended to protect against conspiracies through violence and intimidation, which sought to prevent members of Congress from fulfilling their official duties,” the lawsuit reads. “The accused conspired to prevent violence, intimidation and threats. [Thompson], as a member of Congress, from the performance of his official duties to approve the counting of the votes cast by members of the Electoral College after the presidential election held in November 2020. ”
The KKK law was also cited in a charge against Trump, his campaign and the Republican National Committee after the presidential election. The case was filed by the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund on behalf of the Michigan Welfare Rights Organization and three Detroit residents over Trump’s apparent efforts to force local officials in Wayne County, Mich., And state lawmakers to enforce the certification of votes. hold or interfere. in the election process.
“The Ku Klux Klan Act prohibits persons from denying a conspiracy ‘directly or indirectly’ of any person or group of persons of equal protection of the laws’, the complaint states, ‘or’ to use force, intimidation or threat prevent, any citizen who is legally entitled to vote, to give his support or advocate in a lawful manner, against or in favor of the election of a legally qualified person as voter for president or vice-president. ”
Georgia
Trump is being prosecuted in Atlanta for a call he made on Jan. 2 in which he pressured Georgia Secretary Brad Raffensperger to “find” enough votes to block Biden’s victory in the state, according to a leaked recording of the call that was first reported by the Washington Post.
Trump insisted during the call that he would win the state and told Raffensperger he only wanted to “find 11,780 votes”, according to the Post’s transcript of the conversation. Biden won Georgia by 11,779 votes.
The call came amid several attempts by Trump and his allies to question the election results in key states won by Biden and try to declare him the winner, despite not getting enough votes for Electoral College. Georgia’s top Republican officials, including Raffensperger, quickly fell out of Trump’s good graces when they indicated they would not go along with his efforts to undermine the results.
Prosecutors are now investigating whether the phone call violated state law, according to the New York Times.
In a Feb. 10 letter to Republican Georgia Brian Kemp, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said her office was conducting an investigation “into attempts to influence the administration of the 2020 general election in Georgia.” “
The letter adds: “This investigation includes, but is not limited to, possible violations of Georgian law prohibiting the request for electoral fraud, making false statements to state and local government bodies, conspiracy, racketeering, violation of the oath of office and any involvement in violence or threats related to the administration of the election. ”
The letter did not mention Trump, but the Democratic prosecutor admitted in an interview with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow that the investigation includes, but is not limited to, Trump’s call with Raffensperger.
Sexual misconduct allegations
Former Elle columnist E. Jean Carroll has sued Trump in New York State for libel in 2019, after she accused him of sexually assaulting her in the 1990s. Trump responded by calling Carroll a liar in an interview with Hill.
The last major development in the case took place in September when the Justice Department wanted to replace Trump’s lawyers to defend him in the case, according to federal court documents. The agency argued that Trump was acting president when he allegedly considered the remarks by Carroll defamatory, and therefore he should be allowed to use government attorneys for his defense.
A judge rejected the department’s request in October, court records show. According to a notice filed on November 25, the agency subsequently appealed to the Second Circuit. It is unclear how the Justice Department under Biden will deal with this pending request.
Carroll is among more than a dozen women who have accused Trump of sexual misconduct. Another woman, Summer Zervos, claimed that Trump touched her in 2007 and tried to kiss her, reports the Associated Press. She sued Trump for defamation in state court after he denied the allegations, according to AP.
Trump’s finances
There are two separate investigations by New York Attorney General Letitia James and Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance into alleged financial irregularities related to Trump’s corporate dealings, Yahoo Finance reported.
According to the lawyer’s office, James is investigating the Trump organization’s financial activities and whether Trump has inflated the value of his assets in his financial statements to get better terms for loans and insurance coverage. This investigation could lead to civil charges.
Vance’s investigation, which is criminal, looks at whether Trump committed financial crimes by the Trump Organization, reports the New York Times. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Manhattan prosecutors are investigating loans worth hundreds of millions of dollars that Trump has taken out on various properties in the city.
Vance’s team recently added Mark Pomerantz, a former federal prosecutor and leading defense attorney, the Times reported Thursday. A Vance spokesman told CNN Pomerantz was sworn in this month.
Family drama
Trump’s niece Mary, who recorded a revealing book about the former president in July, sued Trump and his siblings in September, claiming they cheated her out of money she said she should have inherited, CNN reports.
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