“Once he is out of office, the atmosphere will change. He will no longer have the reality or the threat of presidential power to thwart investigations.”
(Daniel R. Alonso, former US Federal and New York State prosecutor)
The Constitution of the United States protects the president from any kind of legal investigation during his tenure. The same perquisites were enjoyed by Donald Trump, too, and that’s why cases against Trump were buried under the heap.
However, to keep a check and balance on the president, this is only limited as far as while the president is in office. Once he completes his term, he can be prosecuted like any other American. This fact is alarming, as Donald Trump has many legal cases pending against him, which can force him to have sleepless nights as he spends his last days in the Oval Office.
The sun of January 20 will rise with a lot of worries for Trump. Initially, he said that he would leave America in case of his loss in the election, yet his signal to run in the 2024 elections suggests that he will stay in the United States.
However, this stay will not be as simple, as it seems he can face judicial wrath due to his misdoings. Amid all of the legal cases against Trump, the Supreme Court can make some tough decisions against the former president as he loses the constitutional immunity given to him.
This thing is worrying Donald Trump too, and this is one of the main reasons he is still reluctant to concede the presidential elections.
As he hands over the presidency to the President-elect Joe Biden, the Biden administration can pursue these legal cases against Trump to make him accountable for his misdeeds.
From the Manhattan case to the rape allegations, from New York lawsuits to the violations of the emoluments clause, he is in danger everywhere.
What are the stakes for Trump once he gets out of office, and what could the charges be the faces after his tenure? Let’s have a look.
Financial corruption of Trump: The Manhattan case
“The most significant criminal investigations are those exploring his tax and bank filings.”
(Jonathan Turley, a professor of law at George Washington University)
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. is overseeing the investigation into the financial irregularities in the Trump Administration.
The case involves several investigations regarding hush-money payments made during the 2016 presidential election campaign by Trump’s fixer, Michael Cohen.
Cohen, under oath, has admitted in front of Congress that the president knew about the hush-money payments. However, he was found guilty of lying in front of Congress regarding the president’s business dealings with Russia.
Federal prosecutors from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office are also looking for eight years of tax returns and other related documents from the president’s accountant.
Prosecutors have also hinted that they will look into financial irregularities in the Trump organization regarding insurance and bank fraud.
The New York Times has reported that the president was involved in helping his parents dodge taxes during the 1990s. He did it by disguising millions of dollars in the form of sham organizations and gifts.
The Supreme Court has made it clear that the president has no right to avoid tax returns and other financial records subpoenaed by state or federal prosecutors. The president, however, managed to escape the subpoena. But he is not likely to evade these allegations after leaving office.
The latest events, in this regard, also evince that Manhattan’s investigation against Trump is going to put him in unavoidable trouble.
The state prosecutors have recently investigated several employees and now have an in-depth knowledge of the matter of Trump’s lender and insurance brokerage.
These investigations are a clear indication that the law enforcement agencies are pulling up their socks to hold Trump accountable for his financial misdeeds.
People who were interviewed by the prosecutor include two employees of Deutsche Bank and employees of AON, an insurance company. It is also expected that these investigations will now enter a new phase every passing day, with more specific questions being asked of people having close relations with the president.
Although Trump will try to evade the charges with his legal team, the severity of the issue suggests that this matter can capture national attention in days to come.
Donald Trump Hitting New Low to Satisfy His Lust: The Sexual Assault Legal Cases against Trump:
Up until now, at least 26 women have alleged the president of sexual assault and inappropriate behavior. The list includes a variety of women, ranging from models to columnists.
Let’s look at how these women accused Donald Trump of sexual assault.
- Jean Carroll has alleged that President Trump sexually assaulted her in a dressing room during the 1990s. She had sued Donald Trump for defamation when the president termed her accusations as lies. The Trump Administration and the Department of Justice tried to throw the case out of the court. However, the Supreme Court has rejected the argument that the president is immune to private lawsuits.
- Similarly, a former staff member of the Trump campaign accused President Trump of trying to kiss her during a trip to Florida. The accusations made by Ava Johnson were declined by Donald Trump and the White House spokesperson.
- Jessica Leeds, a former traveling salesperson, has accused the president of pulling up her skirt while on a first-class flight in the 1980s.
- Summer Zervos, a former contestant on The Apprentice, has alleged the president of sexual assault in 2017. She has filed a defamation lawsuit against Trump, which he tried to dismiss but failed. The investigation of the case has been put on hold until the president leaves office.
- The former wife of the president, Ivana Trump, has also alleged Donald Trump of rape. The accusations were made in 1993 before the couple could reach an agreement for divorce. Since then, the former Mrs. Trump has softened her tone and said that she did not mean the word in the literal or criminal sense.
There are several other cases of sexual assault charged against Donald Trump. Many of these cases have been silenced by a hush-money payment, an investigation of which is being conducted in the Manhattan case, while others are still active in different federal courts.
Currently, Donald Trump is saved from all the investigations just because he is the president. However, after leaving the White House, these legal rape cases against Trump can make him worry.
Trump misdeeds in the Trump organization: The New York lawsuit
New York State Attorney General Letitia James has serious concerns regarding the president’s asset values. She filed a legal suit against the Trump organization in August 2020 regarding the company’s financial dealings.
The lawsuit argued that the president’s former lawyer lied in front of Congress about Trump’s assets. It further added that President Trump had obtained favorable terms of loan and insurance coverage using his presidential influence.
The State Attorney General’s office has obtained several documents and witnesses regarding the Trump organization’s properties and transactions.
The office of the State Attorney General also tried to investigate the Trump organization’s Vice President Eric Trump for his involvement in several illegal transactions and wire frauds.
Eric Trump was questioned under oath regarding the artificial inflation and deflation of the Trump organization’s assets. The document filed by Letitia James also argues that Eric Trump had lied under oath when he was interviewed about the matter.
The case has not achieved any progress as of yet, but legal experts believe that it is one of the major legal cases against Trump that he will face in the post-presidential era.
Using his Office to Help the Family Businesses: Violation of Emoluments Clause by Trump
Legal cases against Trump do not end here. The Attorney Generals of Washington and Maryland sued the president for violation of the emolument clause back in 2017. The lawsuit said the president had violated the emolument clause by accepting foreign funding for his Trump hotel in downtown Washington.
The case was initially closed when a three-judge panel said that the plaintiff lacked substantial evidence to prove his case. However, in May 2020, the Fourth Circuit overturned the ruling and reopened the case for further investigation.
An important thing to understand at this point is that even though the president has distanced himself from the day-to-day operations of his business, he still receives profit from it. This suggests that he is part of the business and can be tried for this legal case once his presidential term is over.
Another legal case against Trump has also been filed regarding the conflict of interest as the sitting president continues his involvement in the family business.
The investigations regarding these cases are still going on, and once the president is out of office, he can face legal inquiries regarding these lawsuits.
Trump as the “World’s Most Dangerous Man”: The Mary Trump lawsuit
“Fraud was not just the family business – it was a way of life,”
(An excerpt from the lawsuit of Mary Trump against Trump)
Mary Trump, the niece of the president, has filed a lawsuit against the president, arguing that the president and other family members have deliberately tried to deny her of her fair share of the inheritance from her grandfather’s assets.
It should be noted that Mary Trump is the author of the bestseller, Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man, in which she made severe allegations regarding Donald Trump.
However, Trump declined to comment on the allegations in the book or the lawsuit filed by his niece.
If his niece pursues this legal case against Trump, she can give him a tough time after his presidential term.
What lies ahead for Donald Trump? An imminent jail?
All of the aforementioned legal cases against Trump just give a small glimpse of the misdoings of the president.
The plethora of cases will only come into the limelight once he leaves the office. The legal inquiries against Donald Trump will emerge like a chain reaction where every lawsuit will open several other cases as well, increasing the worries of the president.
The sitting president enjoys immunity that saves him from all kinds of legal suits. He also holds the power to intervene and sabotage any kind of investigation going on against him.
In his post-presidential era, Trump can try to bribe people not to file the cases against him. While he is in full swing to grant regular and preemptive pardons to others, a presidential pardon by Trump for himself can save him against all of these imminent legal law cases. However, experts believe that a president granting a pardon to himself is highly improbable, as this move will end his political career, which would be the last thing that Trump wants amid his aim for the 2024 presidential race.
Even if he pardons himself, he cannot evade state-related lawsuits, as the pardon is only granted for federal crimes. This will make him accountable to the courts in one way or another.
Federal agencies are currently investigating financial and management irregularities conducted during the four years of President Trump. However, legal experts say Trump faces a severe challenge about Russian involvement in the 2016 election.
Recently, another document was released by a court of law claiming bribe offers for the presidential pardons. This will open a whole new set of legal cases against Trump.
If everything goes against Trump, he can end up in jail due to the massive irregularities in his past.
Conclusion
The Trump doctrine is going to be over soon, and he will be prone to legal punishments. It seems inevitable that he will face the wrath of the court in one form or another. The legal cases against Trump and his immunity as the president also suggest a massive abuse of powers by the president.
He will have a busy team of lawyers ahead who will be fighting to save him from the court.
However, considering the gravity of the issues and the cases against Trump, it seems that Donald Trump will face defeat in most of his upcoming legal battles. His legal defeats will just extend after the tens of setbacks in the election-related lawsuits.
Eli is a Political Data Scientist with over thirty years of experience in Data Engineering, Analytics, and Digital Marketing. Eli uses his expertise to give the latest information and distinctive analysis on US Political News, US Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, and Racial Justice equipping readers with the inequivalent knowledge.