The latest on Donald Trump’s legal issues
9:07 am ET, March 23, 2023
The 2020 election and national security: A look at some of the investigations surrounding Trump
By Dan Berman of CNN
It’s been nearly eight years since he descended the escalator in Trump Tower and more than two years since the Jan. 6, 2021 riot, but Donald Trump is now facing multiple cases of legal trouble.
Here are some of the most notable studies:
Hush payments: Manhattan District Attorney
New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg appears to be in a late-stage investigation into hush money paid to adult film star Stormy Daniels at the end of the 2016 presidential campaign.
The $130,000 payment was made to Daniels by former Trump attorney and fixer Michael Cohen to keep quiet about an alleged affair between Daniels and Trump years earlier. Trump has denied having an affair with Daniels and says the investigation by Bragg, a Democrat, was politically motivated.
Mar-a-Lago Documents: Did Trump Mishandle Secret Material?
Special Counsel Jack Smith is overseeing the Justice Department’s criminal investigation into the holding of national defense information at Trump’s resort and parts of the January 6, 2021 riot.
The Justice Department investigation continues into whether documents from the White House were illegally mishandled by Trump when they were taken to Mar-a-Lago in Florida after he left office. A federal grand jury has questioned potential witnesses about how Trump handled the documents.
Election 2020 and January 6: US Department of Justice
Smith’s responsibilities also include the period after Trump’s 2020 election loss to Joe Biden and up until the US Capitol riot.
As part of its investigation, the Office of the Special Counsel has solicited testimony from a number of key White House insiders, including former Vice President Mike Pence, Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Aspects of the Justice Department’s investigation include the use of so-called fake voters from states Trump falsely claimed won, such as Georgia and Arizona.
Election 2020 and January 6: House Election Committee
The House Special Committee investigating the US Capitol attack released an 845-page report — based on more than 1,000 interviews and collected documents, including emails, texts and phone transcripts — alleging Trump had the “Oversaw” legally dubious efforts to produce fake lists He lost voters in seven states. Evidence shows, according to the report, that Trump was actively working to “transmit false electoral college ballots to Congress and the national archives.”
In a symbolic move, the committee referred Trump to the Justice Department for at least four criminal charges before completing it in late 2022, before Republicans took control of the House of Representatives.
Election 2020: Efforts to overturn Georgia results
Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis oversaw a special grand jury investigating what Trump or his allies may have done to topple Biden’s victory in Georgia.
The grand jury released a report — most of which remains classified — that found that there was no widespread voter fraud in the state and also proposed that perjury charges be brought against some of those who testified. In all, the grand jury recommended indictment of more than a dozen people, the foreman said in interviews last month.