Explained: What are the many legal cases against Trump? A break-up

Donald Trump, the former US president, moved a step closer to secure a third consecutive nomination by winning the Republican party primaries atIowa. He beat former US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley and Florida governor Ron DeSantis further strengthening his frontrunner status in the 2024 US Presidential race.

But, Trump's path to the US President' chair is fraught with legal tussles, as the former president is facing a barrage of lawsuits against him, two civil suits, 4 criminal cases and 91 felony charges registered in four different states. Even as he won the Iowa primary Republican party nominee elections and moves on to New Hampshire next, he will, alongside his bid for the US Presidency, contend with a bunch of ongoing legal cases against him. 

The Federal unpacks some of the legal cases against Trump:  

Civil suits

This is an important civil suit since it deals with Trump's massive business empire. In the fall of 2022, New York attorney general Letitia James filed a civil suit against Trump, his adult sons, and his former aide Allen Weisselberg, alleging that Trump fraudulently inflated his networth by billions of dollars.

Justice Arthur Engoron, who is deciding the case without a jury, has already observed that Trump has persistently committed fraud. The judge, who is expected to issue a ruling by January 31 has to now decide what ‘penalties’ to impose. James is seeking a $370 million penalty and can potentially run Trump out of his real estate business in New York.

The Manhattan trial

Trump is also involved in an ongoing defamation case with writer E Jean Carroll. She has accused Trump of sexually assaulting her in a department-store dressing room in the 1990s. She sued him after he denied the claim and she also added a battery claim. After a jury in May 2023 concluded Trump had sexually assaulted and defamed Carroll, and gave her $5 million, she filed a second defamation suit, which is due to be tried from January 16.

Criminal cases

In March 2023, a district attorney from Manhattan, Alvin Bragg became the first prosecutor to bring felony charges against Trump. He alleged that Trump had “falsified business records as part of a scheme to pay hush money to women who said they had had sexual relationships with Trump”. The case is set to go to trial on March 25, 2024.

Election fraud in Georgia

The criminal cases carry far more serious repercussions for Trump, who could face years behind bars, said news reports.

In the Georgia case, the former president has been charged with orchestrating a 'criminal enterprise' to reverse Georgia’s results in 2020 election and subvert the will of voters. He was charged alongside 18 of his lawyers, advisers and supporters.

The case was brought by the Fulton County district attorney, Fani T Willis, and Trump was charged on 13 criminal counts including an alleged violation of Georgia's Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (Rico) and conspiracy to commit forgery. His other charges include solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer, conspiring to commit impersonating a public officer, conspiring to commit forgery, conspiring to commit false statements, and writing and conspiring to file false documents.

The racketeering charge, which is mostly used in organised crime cases, itself carries a maximum 20-year jail sentence. 

Donald Trump has asked a Georgia judge to throw out the election fraud case against him, arguing that he is protected by presidential immunity.

Felony charges

Jack Smith, a special counsel in the US Justice Department, has charged Trump with 37 felonies in connection with his removal of documents from the White House when he left office. He filed charges in June 2023. The charges include willful retention of national-security information, obstruction of justice, withholding of documents, and false statements.

At the centre of this indictment is Trump's refusal to give back boxes of documents to the government despite repeated requests.

Judge Aileen Cannon has set a trial date of May 20, 2024. In November, she rejected Trump’s request to push that back but said she would consider sometime in March.

Federal election interference case

The fight over Trump's eligibility is not the only case involving the former president to land before the Supreme Court. In December, the justices agreed to hear a case involving the reach of a federal obstruction law that has been used to prosecute hundreds of defendants for their alleged actions during the January 6 attack in Washington, including Trump. 

In all, the former president faces four federal charges related to an alleged attempt to reverse the outcome of the 2020 election and has pleaded not guilty.

Broad immunity

Arising out of his legal cases, is another fight over whether the former President is entitled to broad immunity from criminal charges. A federal appeals court is currently considering whether to uphold a district court's finding that Trump is not shielded from federal prosecution for alleged acts committed while in office, and its ruling will likely be appealed to the Supreme Court.

Trump faces compelling Constitutional question over an old law

Besides the legal cases against him, Trump’s opponents in the US are using an old law to bar him from contesting the primary ballot in states.

This has led to the Supreme Court having to address the most compelling question before them: whether the former president should be barred from holding future office because of his role in the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the US Capitol.

It all started when in December 19, 2023, Colorado’s top court ruled that former President Donald J Trump is disqualified from holding office again because he was involved in insurrection with his actions leading up to the January 6, 2021 storming of the Capitol. They based their ruling on Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which essentially disqualifies people who engage in insurrection against the Constitution after taking an oath to support it.

It was the first court to do so. Critically, it directed the Colorado secretary of state to exclude Trump’s name from the state’s upcoming Republican primary ballot, scheduled to be held on March 5. It does not talk about the general election in November 2024.

This case has now moved to the Supreme Court, which has given the nod to review this explosive decision from Colorado’s top court. In an appeal brought by Trump, the court said that arguments will be held on February 8.

Ball in Supreme Court

At the heart of this dispute is the Constitution's so-called insurrection clause, which is a civil war-era provision that bars a person, who has sworn an oath to defend the Constitution and then engages in insurrection, from holding public office.

This pushes the US Supreme Court into new territory, as it has never before ruled directly on the 155-year-old provision. Also, the court with a 6-3 conservative majority is now in a position to potentially play a pivotal role in the 2024 elections. The outcome of the case can decide whether Trump is eligible for ballot, not only in Colorado, but in the 49 other states.

The justices also are likely to weigh whether the former president and presidency are covered by Section 3.

Maine too weighs in

Meanwhile, shortly after the Colorado Supreme Court's decision, Maine's secretary of state ruled that former President Trump is disqualified from holding office and appearing on the state's primary ballot. The secretary of state also quoted section 3 of the 14th amendment.

More than a dozen other states are also considering to challenge Trump on this ground to keep him away from the ballot.

However, in some states like Minnesota, the state's highest court threw out challenge plea by voters on the primary ballot, concluding that the primary is an "internal party election to serve internal party purposes."

In all, Trump is expected to be skating on thin ice the entire year, as he skirts around these court cases till the November 2024 elections.