No previous US president has had as many legal problems as Donald Trump. An overview.
The most important things at a glance
Donald Trump wants to be the leader of the United States again. But before, during and after his presidency from 2017 to 2021, the Republican hit the headlines with many scandals. There are several trials underway against the ex-president. On Friday he was able to claim a success: a court date in the election fraud trial against him planned for the beginning of March is unlikely to take place for the time being. Here you can read more about it.
This plays into the ex-president’s hands: Trump is betting on delaying the trials against him until after the 2024 US election. If he wins, he could ask his attorney general to end the federal investigation against him. But there are some of them. A look at the most important investigations surrounding the Republican:
Fraud lawsuit in New York
The fraud allegations surrounding Trump’s real estate company have existed for a long time. In the first trial in New York last December, however, they were not directed against Trump himself, but against companies in the Trump Organization, which were found guilty in the trial of, among other things, tax fraud. The former chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, was sentenced to prison and a fine. Here you can read more about it.
At the end of September 2022, after years of investigations, New York’s Attorney General Letitia James also presented allegations against, among others, Trump personally and three of his children. The core of the civil lawsuit: The Trumps would have made assets larger or smaller as needed, for example to make it easier to get loans or pay fewer taxes.
A year later, on September 26, 2023, Judge Arthur Engoron provisionally confirmed this. Trump, his sons and senior employees are said to have manipulated the value of the Trump Organization for years. They are said to have tried to get more favorable conditions for loans and insurance contracts, which violates New York law. Here you can read more about it.
The process started at the beginning of October. Attorney General James wants to ensure that Trump has to pay 250 million US dollars (around 236 million euros) and is no longer allowed to do business in New York. It is a civil case and Trump is not threatened with prison.
Trump was scheduled to testify under oath in early December, but he declined to appear in person again. Trump wrote in his online network Truth Social that he had “nothing more to say” about the proceedings. He had already testified “very successfully and conclusively” in this case, he wrote. He stayed away from the court date.
What is at stake in the trial is the ex-president’s business situation: Trump is not threatened with a prison sentence or a direct impact on his bid for the presidency, but a conviction could cause him great financial damage. At stake for him is, among other things, control of several properties in New York state. It is still unclear whether Trump could even be forced to sell some landmarks, including Trump Tower in Manhattan.
Trump himself, but also his sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, denied any allegations in court. They said they had nothing to do with the Trump Organization’s accounting and billing.
The Republican used the attention before the start of the trial for a message that was reminiscent of a campaign appearance: “This is the continuation of the greatest witch hunt of all time,” he said, alluding to a series of accusations against him. The allegations are untenable, the judge is a villain and the black prosecutor James is a “racist” who “wanted to get Trump before she knew anything about me.” Because of Trump’s numerous verbal gaffes, Judge Arthur Engoron had already threatened him with serious consequences.
