538: What We Know About Trump's Legal Troubles
Despite a near-constant swirl of legal problems, former President Donald Trump has managed to avoid indictment so far. But one prosecutor seems poised to take the plunge and become the first to criminally indict a former president. Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, is reportedly close to filing charges for Trump’s role in paying hush money to porn actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 election.
But if Bragg ends up being the first prosecutor to indict Trump, will he be the last? That question could turn out to be very significant. After all, it’s a big deal to charge a former president with a crime, but the allegations against Trump in the New York City case are more contained and arguably less important for Trump’s reelection bid than other pending investigations at the local and federal level into his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. “[The Stormy Daniels case] is relatively small-scale compared to other pending investigations,” said Daniel Richman, a former federal prosecutor and law professor at Columbia University. “We’re talking about a reasonably discrete set of financial transactions — not a really serious charge to an institution like the republic.”
What emerges from those other investigations over the coming months could prove just as significant for Trump’s future as the case that’s currently in the news — if not more so. Here’s an overview of the cases that could have the biggest impact on Trump, and what they could mean for his political future.
The Stormy Daniels payoff
WHAT DO WE KNOW?
In January, Manhattan prosecutors began presenting their case to a grand jury regarding Trump’s role in paying hush money to Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign. Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, who made the payment and was subsequently reimbursed, has testified before the grand jury multiple times during the prosecutors’ presentation of their case, and Trump himself was invited to testify earlier this month — though he opted not to. An invitation for an investigation’s target to testify is usually one of the last steps before an indictment, which means that charges could drop soon.
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/what-we-know-about-trumps-legal-troubles/
= new reply since forum marked as read
