Former President Donald Trump leaves his apartment building in New York, on Monday, Jan. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File).
Donald Trump, former president of the United States, faces 91 criminal felony charges and his packed legal docket also features civil complaints that portend crippling financial damages. This takes place amid a brewing battle over his eligibility for office as constitutional challenges against his qualification under the insurrection clause march toward the U.S. Supreme Court.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges. They range from claims that include but are not limited to allegations he conspired to subvert the 2020 election, attempted to overturn his 2020 electoral loss in Georgia through criminal racketeering efforts and forgery; that he inflated the valuations of his assets in New York to garner better terms from banks and insurers; that he falsified records while making hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election; and that he hoarded classified national security documents at his Mar-a-Lago property after leaving the White House and more.
Law&Crime offers a look at the latest key developments on all fronts.
NEW YORK
CIVIL
Trump storms out, jury deliberates in hours, awards writer E. Jean Carroll $83.3M in damages
On Friday, Jan. 26, the civil trial before U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan determining how much Trump must pay veteran writer E. Jean Carroll for defamatory statements he made following the verdict in the first Carroll case, where a jury awarded her $5 million for being sexually abused and defamation.
In the latest defamation claim, Carroll sought at least $10 million in compensatory damages. The jury gave her $83.3 million in total, including punitive damages of $65 million.
In dramatic fashion, Trump walked out of the courtroom when Carroll’s attorney Roberta Kaplan delivered closing arguments on Friday morning. In that interim, he took to social media to attack proceedings and claim Carroll was suing him for fame and fortune.
Meanwhile, his attorney Alina Habba argued the assault claims were untrue, prompting a stern reminder that the assault of Carroll had already been settled law. The judge’s patience was worn thin; earlier he warned Habba: “You are on the verge of spending some time in the lockup. Now, sit down.”
OF NOTE: When determining damages, Carroll’s attorney urged the court to consider Trump’s repeated public claims in other legal venues that he is worth $10 billion.
***
Possible lifetime ban looms in $370M civil fraud trial
In a bid to persuade New York State Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron that Trump should be banned from the state’s real estate industry for life, New York Attorney General Letitia James pointed to the recent lifetime ban on ‘Pharma Bro’ Martin Shkreli from the pharma industry.
A ruling is imminent. He was already found liable for fraud last year. This case will determine how much Trump must pay in damages to the state of New York; James seeks $370 million, claiming not just Trump but his sons, Donald Trump. Jr. and Eric Trump, as well as Trump Organization executives defrauded banks and insurers.
At closing arguments on Jan. 11, Trump lashed out in court defying orders that he could not speak unless his comments were relevant.
OF NOTE: Trump’s attorney Christopher Kise has already filed an appeal on Engoron’s judgment that he and his co-defendants are liable for fraud. He is expected to appeal whatever ruling Engoron issues on damages.
Alvin Bragg and Donald Trump
CRIMINAL
‘Not just money for sex’: First criminal trial Trump finally faces may be for hidden hush money payments to porn star made before 2016 election
As of Friday, Trump’s criminal trial alleging he falsified business records involving hush-money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election is on track for March 25. He is being prosecuted by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Bragg has emphasized the trial is not about money for sex alone or other tawdry-details, but it will examine Trump’s corruption as he sought out the presidency in 2016.
Onetime Trump-darling and fixer Michael Cohen is expected to be a witness against Trump. Cohen made payments of $130,000 to Daniels allegedly on Trump’s behalf so he could cover up the then-presidential candidate’s trysts with Daniels. Trump is represented in this case by Todd Blanche, who also represents him in his Jan. 6 federal indictment in Washington, D.C.
OF NOTE: If it all goes Trump’s way and he clinches the White House in 2024, state criminal charges are not eligible for pardon meaning he could not clear away any conviction in this venue. Another hearing in the case is scheduled for mid-February.
WASHINGTON, D.C.
CRIMINAL
Lucky in limbo? High stakes Jan. 6 trial may be waylaid
In the federal case alleging a criminal conspiracy to subvert the 2020 election and other charges, the March 5 trial date is still on the books but trial proceedings are on hold as Trump has sought to dismiss the case altogether, claiming he is totally immune from prosecution and if he wanted too, he could even murder his political rivals without fear of criminal prosecution so long as he was impeached and convicted first.
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments on Jan. 9. Three weeks later, it is no clearer when they will issue a decision.
Whatever the decision — and it seems unlikely to favor Trump given the deep skepticism of the appeals court judges — his appeal to the Supreme Court is expected.
The question of Trump’s disqualification from the ballot due under the Constitution’s insurrection clause has thrown a wrench into the SCOTUS schedule overall but depending on where the immunity question lands on appeal and how long justices take to resolve it, the date of the federal Jan. 6 trial seems likely to be pushed into April or May.
OF NOTE: Trump’s lawyers wanted special counsel Jack Smith held in contempt of court after prosecutors continued to file briefs to keep things on schedule but U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan denied the request though ordered parties to notify the court ahead of making significant filings.
GEORGIA
CRIMINAL
Discredit and dismiss: Trump’s legal team works on ousting Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis
In Georgia, Trump’s lawyers joined a motion this week seeking to oust and possibly disbar Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. They accused the Black prosecutor of “wrongfully inserting racial animus” into the RICO case after her remarks on Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday at a historic Black church. Roughly a week before, Trump’s co-defendant Mike Roman claimed she was having an affair with the special prosecutor she hired to work the case, Nathan Wade. Willis said such accusations were her opponents “playing the race card.” Willis has a deadline to respond to Roman’s accusations by Feb. 5 and an evidentiary hearing on the matter on Feb. 15. More on Willis and Wade here.
Trump’s team argues this is cause for presiding Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee to dismiss the indictment altogether.
OF NOTE: Of the 19 people charged alongside Trump in Georgia, four defendants have pleaded guilty already including Sidney Powell Ken Chesebro, Jenna Ellis and Scott Hall.
FLORIDA
CRIMINAL
Trump teases defense strategy for classified documents case
Trump’s trial where he will face charges he mishandled and illegally retained classified and sensitive records after leaving office, including storing them in his bathroom and shower at Mar-a-Lago and allegedly showing them off at his golf club, is slated for May 20.
In the last two weeks, presiding U.S. District Judge Judge Aileen Cannon handed Trump a victory when she rejected special counsel Jack Smith’s November attempt to uncover whether Trump would invoke an “advice-of-counsel” defense. It was too soon to ask, the judge ruled. But not long after, Trump’s lawyers seemed to show their hand.
When asking Cannon to force Smith to provide Trump’s team with discovery, defense attorney Christopher Kise laid a series of politically-charged accusations down, claiming political bias and invoking the “witch hunt” rhetoric typical to Trump, making the brief read more like a political speech and a legal motion.
OF NOTE: Trump’s lawyers also signaled they may argue at trial that he had Q-security status from the Department of Energy as recently as June 2023, the Washington Post reported.
SECTION III
CONSTITUTIONAL
Insurrectionist-in-chief? Disqualification questions loom huge over 2024
On Feb. 8, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear unprecedented arguments on whether Trump is eligible to run for office or if he is disqualified under the Constitution’s 14th Amendment, specifically, Section III of that amendment which bars those who “engage” in insurrection from holding office.
Voters in Colorado asked the high court on Friday to strike him from the state’s primary ballot since the Colorado Supreme Court disqualified him themselves on Dec. 19. That decision has been stayed for now, as well as a ruling in Maine that disqualified him.
What happens at SCOTUS in February will shape what happens in several other cases. As of Friday, there are cases considered pending in California, Alaska, Texas, New Mexico, Louisiana, Wisconsin, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, New York and Vermont.
OF NOTE: While some challenges have been dismissed, it does not mean they are dead altogether. In Minnesota and Michigan, courts found Trump was allowed to appear on the respective primary ballots but left open opportunity to challenge his qualification under Section III for the general election ballot.
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