What’s Going on With the Trump Trial?
Reported By: Sierra Reisman
Photo Courtesy: usnews
We all know former president Donald Trump is on trial for something, but the details tend to be a bit hazy. He is currently facing many different charges in different states for different crimes, as well as looking at both civil and criminal penalties. Yet even with these pending charges and penalties, he’s still running for president and winning in Republican polls. So what exactly is happening with the Trump trial(s)?
Starting in Washington DC, Trump is facing conspiracy charges for his role in the Jan. 6 uprising of 2020. At the moment, Trump is appealing these charges on grounds of presidential immunity. This claim, which would effectively render all US presidents immune to prosecution for anything they do in office, is likely to go to the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS). A trial date for the conspiracy charges is set, but this may shift depending on the outcome of the appeal.
Related to the Jan. 6 trial is Trump’s Georgia trial; he faces a variety of state charges for trying to overturn the 2020 election results. The indictment was unsealed in Sept., but the case is currently being derailed due to allegations of an inappropriate relationship between Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis and a special prosecutor she hired for the case. This issue is to postpone further proceedings until next month.
In Florida, Trump is facing the aftermath of the Mar-a-Lago raid. He is being accused of storing top secret documents in his private residence and resisting government demands to return them. This case is still in progress, and is currently to go to trial in May.
In New York, Trump is facing 34 felony counts of falsifying documents to hide ‘hush money’ payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels as cover for an extramarital affair. This case began in March, and it marked the first time a former US president was ever criminally charged. The next hearings are scheduled for Feb. 15, and the case is set to go to trial this March.
Trump is also facing a civil lawsuit in New York as well. Author E. Jean Carroll accused Trump of sexually assaulting her in 1995, to which Trump responded with defamatory insults. Carroll sued Trump for defamation in 2019, and after a change to New York state law temporarily altered the statute of limitations on sexual assault cases, Carroll was able to sue Trump for the assault as well. Carroll won both the defamation and assault cases. Now the court is ruling on damages (the monetary compensation Trump owes Carroll) and this process is ongoing.
As a result of Trump’s legal entanglements, many states are fighting to remove him from their 2024 presidential primary ballots. Colorado and Maine have already done so, and legal challenges have arisen in 35 states so far. These challenges rely on a clause in the Fourteenth Amendment, which prohibits anyone who engaged in “insurrection or rebellion” to hold public office. This decision has been controversial however, and the SCOTUS has promised to step in a ruling to clarify Trump’s eligibility nation-wide. All in all, in spite of the numerous legal controversies surrounding him, Trump is still on the ballot for 2024.