Donald Trump was indicted on Tuesday on four charges alleging he acted unlawfully in attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential election result, allegations he strongly denies.
The indictment means the former president now faces 78 felony charges in total, spread across three cases, with Trump facing another criminal investigation into his efforts to reverse the election outcome in Georgia. Before Trump, no former president had been charged with a criminal offense in U.S. history. He has denied any wrongdoing in all three cases, and insists the charges against him are politically motivated.
Polling indicates Trump is by some margin the most popular candidate with Republican voters to be the party's 2024 presidential nominee, meaning his legal battles could have a significant impact on who occupies the White House from January 2025 onwards.
Trump is continuing to insist the 2020 presidential election was rigged against him, despite numerous courts and independent legal experts determining it was free and fair.
Newsweek has provided a brief summary of Trump's three upcoming court cases, in order of date of indictment.
Newsweek contacted the former president for comment via the press inquiry form on his official website on Wednesday.
Stormy Daniels Case
Trump was first indicted on March 30 in New York on 34 felony accounts of falsifying business records, related to his alleged payment of hush money to adult movie actor Stormy Daniels to cover up a reported affair ahead of the 2016 presidential election. Five days later, Trump presented himself at a Manhattan court, where he was charged. He pleaded not guilty to all 34 counts and was released without having to post bail.
Falsifying business records is usually prosecuted as a misdemeanor in New York, but this can be boosted to a felony if authorities believe it was done to assist another crime. Prosecutors have yet to reveal what underlying crime they believe Trump has committed. The trial is scheduled to begin in March 2024, though this could be moved to prioritize the 2020 election case.
Classified Documents Case
On June 9, Trump was indicted on 37 felony counts over claims he mishandled classified documents after leaving the White House and failed to return them when asked to do so by the relevant authorities. Four days later, Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges after being arraigned in Miami. Three additional felony counts were added to the case on July 27, related to claims Trump and two employees sought to destroy surveillance camera footage at his Mar-a-Lago private members' resort, where the documents were being stored.
In total, Trump faces 32 counts of willfully retaining classified information in violation of the Espionage Act, six counts related to obstruction and another two for allegedly giving false statements. The trial is currently scheduled to begin on May 20, 2024.
2020 Presidential Election Case
Trump's third indictment was delivered on Tuesday, following an investigation by Special Counsel Jack Smith into his role in the efforts to overturn the 2020 election outcome, and the associated storming of Congress by hundreds of Trump supporters on January 6, 2021.
The former president faces four felony charges in this case, for conspiracy to defraud the United States; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; conspiracy against rights and obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding.
In a statement posted on his Truth Social website, Trump described the claims against him as "fake," and argued his team argued the treatment is "reminiscent of Nazi Germany in the 1930s."
