Donald Trump is facing charges for espionage, paying money to an adult film star, fraudulently overturning the election, and for his role in the attack on the capitol.
Former president Donald Trump is no stranger to scandal or lawsuits, but he’s facing four now that might cause him more trouble than he’s had before. While the larger-than-life figure seems to somehow always land on his feet, one must wonder when some of his behavior will catch up to him. According to BBC News, he’s on the chopping block for everything for alleged payments to adult film actresses to inciting insurrections.
For years, Trump has been under fire for alleged payments to Stormy Daniels, who went public with claims that she’d been paid hush money after they had an affair; Donald Trump has vehemently denied these claims. He’s been invited to testify in front of a grand jury, and if prosecutors proceed with the case, it will be the first ever criminal case brought against a former U.S. president. Trump insists that the accusations and potential court proceedings are merely political, but the court may say otherwise.
The Department of Justice is also investigating the removal of White House documents taken to Trump’s Florida estate after he left office. When Mar-a-Lago was searched in August, almost 11,000 documents were seized, around 100 of which were considered classified, though Donald Trump is insisting that the search itself was a “witch-hunt.” Nevertheless, it’s being treated as an active criminal investigation, with prosecutors even looking at charging him with a violation of the Espionage Act, because he held onto documents that could be used to hurt the U.S.
The investigation of the January 6 attack on the capitol by Trump supporters and right-wing extremists has been under investigation for months, as has Trump for his role in potentially inciting the insurrection. While some of the criminal proceedings have been public, much of the investigation has been conducted under the radar, constituting the largest police investigation in U.S. history. It’s unlikely that Donald Trump himself will be brought in under criminal charges for the insurrection, but capitol rioters have been arrested in droves, which is not a good image for someone who plans to run for president again.
Though Trump has been accused of attempting to overturn the 2020 election results, and prosecutors have spent years looking into it, the investigating grand jury was dissolved earlier this year after issuing a final report, which remains sealed. The suspicion that Donald Trump tried to fraudulently overturn the election is still widely held, though, and is still being investigated, despite Trump’s protests that this case, also, is a “witch hunt.” If brought to court and if found guilty, the sentences for all involved would be severe, and it would likely take decades for the Republican party to recover some, if any, of its dignity.
There are Americans that fall on both sides of the political spectrum, those who love Trump and those who hate him. But it’s hard to argue against the fact that Donald Trump has had more criminal charges brought against him than any other U.S. president that came before him. Though his die-hard followers aren’t likely to be influenced, his legal mix-ups might turn some Republicans and moderates away from him entirely.
