Trump indicted in documents case, first ex-president to face federal charges
Donald Trump enters the stage during a rally for Georgia Republican candidates in Commerce, Georgia. AP
Gulf Today Report
Former US President Donald Trump faces a new legal challenge - this time from the government he used to lead - when he appears next week in federal court in Miami on charges of illegally retaining classified documents, obstruction and other crimes.
The indictment of a former US president on federal charges is unprecedented in American history and emerges at a time when Trump is the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination next year.
Trump announced that the federal judiciary had charged him for managing White House documents.
However, other investigations affect the former Republican president.
Here's an update on the issues affecting Trump, who is seeking a second term in 2024.
Stormy Daniels case
As part of this case, Donald Trump is accused of “paying” money to buy the silence of three people who could have revealed damaging information in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election, which he ultimately won.
At the heart of the case is the $130,000 payment to adult actress Stormy Daniels to buy her silence about an extramarital affair dating back to 2006. Although such payments are not in and of themselves illegal, Donald Trump included them under the “Legal fee” in the accounts of his company, the “Trump Organization”, which led to him being finally charged with 34 charges of “falsifying accounting documents.”
The former president, who appeared on April 4 in a New York court, has pleaded not guilty.
Attack on the Capitol
A parliamentary committee, dissolved by the Republican majority, investigated Donald Trump's role in the attack carried out by his supporters on the "Capitol" building on January 6, 2021, while lawmakers were endorsing Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 elections.
During the hearings, the then-Democratic-majority committee found that the former president incited his supporters before the attack and "failed to perform his duty as commander-in-chief" during it.
The media widely covered the work of the committee that summoned him, but he went to the judiciary to refuse to appear before him.
In its final report, the committee said that Donald Trump should not take new public office after inciting his supporters to revolt. It also recommended that the federal judiciary launch prosecutions against him, especially for calling for disobedience. Special Counsel Jack Smith will also look into the former president's role in attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
At the end of his investigation, he can also recommend whether or not he should be charged.
But the last word belongs to Attorney General Merrick Garland, whose office has already charged more than 870 participants in the attack.
2020 elections in Georgia
A Georgia prosecutor has been investigating since 2021 “attempts to influence electoral processes” in this state in the south of the United States, in which Joe Biden narrowly won.
In a phone call, the contents of which were later revealed, Donald Trump asked Brad Raffensperger, a senior Georgia official, to "find" about 12,000 ballot papers in his name, enough to reverse the results in this state.
Fulton County District Attorney Fannie Willis has assigned a grand jury to determine if there is enough evidence to prosecute Donald Trump.
I was able to collect testimonies from people from the former real estate mogul's inner circle, in particular from his former personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, who is also facing a criminal investigation.
This grand jury recommended indictments against a number of people without disclosing whether the former president was among them.
Trump financial issues in New York
In January, the Trump Organization in New York was fined up to $1.6 million for financial and tax fraud, the first criminal offense for the group that awaits a larger civil trial in the fall.
The New York State Attorney General, Democratic Representative Letitia James, filed a civil lawsuit against Donald Trump, his children and his business group for allegedly manipulating the valuation of the group's assets to obtain soft loans from banks or reduce their taxes.
The collection includes golf clubs, luxury hotels and other properties.
The plaintiff is asking for $250 million in damages on behalf of the state, in addition to preventing the former president and his relatives from taking over the management of companies.
