Former President Donald J. Trump faces multiple investigations across the country, both at the state and federal level, into matters related to his business and political career.
Mr Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony charges brought by Manhattan prosecutors related to his role in what they described as a hush-money scheme to cover up a potential sex scandal to clear his path to the 2016 presidency d. Georgia’s attorney general is in the final stages of an investigation into Mr. Trump’s attempts to overturn the election results in that state.
And Jack Smith, the special prosecutor leading the dossier case, is also investigating Mr Trump’s efforts to reverse his 2020 election defeat and his role in the events leading up to the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Here’s where the notable investigations surrounding the former president stand.
Manhattan criminal case
The Manhattan district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, brought the case alleging Mr. Trump’s role in paying money to a porn star, Stormi Daniels, who was prepared during the campaign to go public with her story of having sex with him.
Michael D. Cohen, Mr. Trump’s go-between at the time, paid Ms. Daniels $130,000 to keep quiet. After being sworn in as president, Mr. Trump reinstated Mr. Cohen.
Although the payment of hush money is not inherently criminal, Mr. Bragg has accused Mr. Trump of falsifying records related to the payments and the reimbursement to Mr. Cohen, who is expected to serve as the prosecution’s star witness.
In court documents, prosecutors also cited the account of another woman, Karen McDougall, a former Playboy model. Ms. McDougal tried to sell her story of an affair with Mr. Trump during the campaign and reached a $150,000 settlement with The National Enquirer.
Instead of publishing her account, the tabloid covered it up in cooperation with Mr. Trump and Mr. Cohen, prosecutors say. (Mr Trump has denied having a relationship with either Ms Daniels or Ms McDougall.)
The case is scheduled for trial in March.
Criminal investigation in Georgia
Prosecutors in Georgia recently indicated they would announce indictments this summer in their investigation of Mr. Trump and some of his allies for trying to meddle in the state’s 2020 presidential election.
Mr Trump and his aides have had numerous contacts with officials in Georgia since the election, including a call in which he urged Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find 11,780 votes” – the number he would need to overcome the lead of President Biden there.
Legal experts say Mr. Trump and others appear to be at “substantial risk” of prosecution for violating a number of Georgia laws, including the state’s racketeering statute.
A special grand jury was empaneled last May in Fulton County and heard testimony from 75 witnesses behind closed doors over several months. The grand jury produced a final report, but key elements of it — including recommendations on who should be charged and on what charges — remain sealed.
But the head, Emily Kors, said charges were recommended against more than a dozen people, and she strongly hinted in an interview with The New York Times in February that Mr. Trump was among those names. “You won’t be shocked,” she said. “It’s not rocket science.”
Fannie T. Willis, the Fulton County district attorney, will ultimately decide what charges to seek and then bring them before a regular grand jury. She recently indicated that she would do so in the first three weeks of August.
Jan 6 Inquiries
A House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack has spent a year and a half examining the role Mr. Trump and his allies played in his efforts to hang on to power after his defeat in the November 2020 election.
In December, the commission issued an 845-page report detailing the events leading up to the attack on the Capitol, which concluded that Mr. Trump and some of his associates had developed “a multi-part plan to overturn the 2020 presidential election.”
The panel also charged Mr. Trump with sedition and conspiracy to defraud the United States, among other federal crimes, and referred him and some of his allies to the Justice Department for possible prosecution.
The referrals were largely symbolic, but they sent a powerful signal that a bipartisan congressional panel believed the former president had committed crimes.
Mr. Smith’s office is conducting its own investigation into Mr. Trump’s attempts to overturn the election, building on months of work by other federal prosecutors in Washington, who have also indicted nearly 1,000 people involved in the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021
The special counsel’s office has focused on a wide range of schemes that Mr. Trump and his allies used to try to prevent defeat, including a plan to create fake ballots of pro-Trump voters in key states, which were won by Mr. Biden. Prosecutors under Mr. Smith have also sought information about Mr. Trump’s main fundraising operation since the election.
The special counsel’s office recently won important legal battles in its investigation, as judges in Washington issued rulings forcing senior Trump administration officials such as former Vice President Mike Pence and former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows to testify before a grand jury.
It’s unclear what charges, if any, may come from the federal investigation. But prosecutors continue to pursue different angles. They recently subpoenaed Trump White House staff members who may have been involved in the firing of the cybersecurity official whose agency rated the 2020 election as “the most secure in American history,” according to two people briefed on the matter.
New York State Civil Investigation
In a lawsuit in September, New York Attorney General Letitia James accused Mr. Trump of defrauding creditors and insurers by fraudulently overstating his assets by billions of dollars.
Ms. James sought to bar the Trumps, including Mr. Trump’s older sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, and his older daughter, Ivanka, from operating businesses in New York.
She has already successfully asked a judge to appoint an independent monitor to oversee the Trump Organization’s use of annual financial statements.
Because the investigation into Ms. James is civil, she cannot press criminal charges. She may choose to continue negotiating a settlement in hopes of getting a faster financial payout. But if she prevails at trial, the judge could impose large financial penalties on Mr. Trump and restrict his business operations in New York.
Ms. James’ investigators questioned Mr. Trump under oath in April, and the trial is scheduled for October.
Reporting contributed by Jonah E. Bromwich, Rebecca Davis O’Brien, Michael Gold, Michael Rothfeld, Ed Shanahan, Richard Fawcett and Ashley Wong.