Here is the latest on those investigations and other significant court cases.
The Mar-a-Lago documents investigation
What it is: Trump has been indicted on 37 counts related to the presence of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s Florida home and private club, after he left the White House. He was arraigned on June 13 and pleaded not guilty to all the charges, which include willful retention of national defense secrets, obstruction of justice and conspiracy.
What is at stake: The charges Trump faces could mean years in prison if he is convicted. The indictment, complete with color photographs and witness accounts of moving boxes and Trump bragging about sensitive documents in his possession, heralds a legal and political battle that could reshape the 2024 presidential race, the politics of national security, and the public’s perception of the Justice Department and the 45th president of the United States.
What is next: A pre-trial conference is scheduled for mid-July. Trump’s valet, Walt Nauta, who was also charged, was arraigned July 6. Special counsel Jack Smith has promised a speedy trial, but Trump’s team is seeking a lengthy delay. Whatever Judge Aileen Cannon decides, the complex process of presenting classified documents in a public courtroom could require numerous reschedulings.
Manhattan indictment for falsification of records
What it is: Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has charged Trump with falsifying records related to hush money payments to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign. The payments were classified as a legal expense but were in fact a campaign expense, Bragg alleged.
Where it stands: Trump, who denies having a sexual encounter with Daniels decades ago, has pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors and his defense attorneys are working through pretrial discovery, and the judge overseeing the case has set a trial date in March 2024. Prosecutors have alleged that Trump engaged in an “unlawful scheme” to influence the 2016 election by “identifying and purchasing negative information about him to suppress its publication and benefit [his] electoral prospects.”
Justice Department criminal probe of Jan. 6
What it is: The Justice Department is investigating the Jan. 6 riot and has charged hundreds of people who breached the U.S. Capitol that day. Prosecutors overseen by Smith, the special counsel, are separately examining the preparations and funding for the rally that preceded the riot, ads and email messages that sought to fundraise off false claims of election fraud, and the decision by Republican electors in some states won by Biden to send signed statements purporting to affirm Trump as the victor.
What is next: Attorney General Merrick Garland has vowed to hold accountable those responsible for the riot and for “any attempt to interfere with the lawful transfer of power from one administration to another,” and to investigate people “at any level.” Expect more grand jury appearances and more subpoenas, and watch for whether anyone close to the former president cooperates with federal authorities.
Georgia election interference investigation
What it is: Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis (D), an elected prosecutor in the Atlanta area, is investigating efforts to overturn Trump’s loss in the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. Trump pressured Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) to “find” enough votes to reverse Biden’s victory. He also called the top Georgia state elections investigator and urged her to identify wrongdoing in the state’s vote, and he contacted Gov. Brian Kemp (R) and state Attorney General Chris Carr (R). Prosecutors are scrutinizing Trump’s calls and testimony that his allies gave to Georgia state lawmakers in December 2020, as well as the scheme to certify a slate of alternate electors from the state to contest the election results.
Where it stands: Willis said in an April letter to law enforcement officials that she would announce possible criminal indictments in the case between July 11 and Sept. 1. She seemed to narrow that window in a May 18 letter to the top county judge, notifying him that most of her staff will work remotely for many days in the first three weeks of August. A Georgia judge on Feb. 16 released parts of a report produced by a special-purpose grand jury convened as part of the investigation, although the panel’s recommendations on potential charges in that investigation remain secret. The five-page excerpt revealed that a majority of the grand jury concluded that some witnesses may have lied under oath during their testimony before the panel and recommended that charges be filed.
What is at stake: Willis is investigating possible violations of Georgia state law, including whether anyone illegally solicited election fraud, attempted to “interfere with, hinder, or delay” election administrators’ work, or participated in a criminal conspiracy, legal experts say. But the district attorney is in some uncharted territory, experts said, because these statutes have not been widely used to prosecute election-law cases. At least 17 people have been notified that they are targets of the criminal investigation. At least eight of the alternate electors, who were named targets, accepted immunity deals and are cooperating with prosecutors.
Lawsuit over Trump business practices in New York
What it is: Attorney General Letitia James (D) filed a lawsuit in late 2022 against Trump, three of his children and the Trump Organization, accusing them of flagrantly manipulating the valuations of their properties to get better terms on loans and insurance policies, and to get tax breaks.
The suit seeks to recover more than $250 million of what James’s office says are ill-gotten gains. It also asks the New York Supreme Court to bar Trump, as well as Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump and Eric Trump, from serving as executives of any company in New York, and to bar the Trump Organization from acquiring any commercial real estate or receiving loans from any New York-registered financial institution for five years.
Where it stands: Trump, his children and his lawyers have dismissed the inquiry and James’s lawsuit as a politically motivated attack on them and have denied wrongdoing. A trial is scheduled for October.
Related matters: In a parallel criminal probe of Trump’s business practices, longtime Trump Organization senior executive Allen Weisselberg pleaded guilty to more than a dozen felonies, including criminal tax fraud and grand larceny. In December, the company was convicted of multiple tax- and fraud-related criminal charges. Weisselberg was sentenced to five months in jail and five years on probation; the Trump Organization was fined $1.6 million.
Lawsuits filed by E. Jean Carroll
What it is: A New York jury in May found Trump civilly liable for sexual assault and defamation of author and former magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll and ordered him to pay Carroll $5 million. In 2019, Carroll accused then-President Trump of sexually assaulting her in a department store dressing room in the mid-1990s. Trump has denied her allegations, claimed they never met and said “people should pay dearly for such false accusations.”
Where it stands: Trump’s lawyers have said they will appeal the jury’s finding of liability. A separate defamation lawsuit filed by Carroll in 2019 was delayed by a dispute about whether Trump was acting as president when he made his initial comments about her allegation. The lawsuit now includes comments Trump made about Carroll at a CNN town hall in May. It has been scheduled for trial in early 2024.
Matt Zapotosky and Matthew Brown contributed to this report.