{"id":2216223,"date":"2024-04-09T07:34:02","date_gmt":"2024-04-09T11:34:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/last-week-in-lawfare-land-what-to-know-about-each-legal-crusade-against-trump\/"},"modified":"2024-04-09T07:35:56","modified_gmt":"2024-04-09T11:35:56","slug":"last-week-in-lawfare-land-what-to-know-about-each-legal-crusade-against-trump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/last-week-in-lawfare-land-what-to-know-about-each-legal-crusade-against-trump\/","title":{"rendered":"Recap of Recent Legal Battles Against Trump: Key Points to Remember"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Flast-week-in-lawfare-land-what-to-know-about-each-legal-crusade-against-trump%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2216223&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Former President \u200dDonald Trump faces legal challenges from President Joe Biden&#8217;s Department of Justice and state prosecutors with criminal and civil complaints in multiple states. The \u2064cases involve issues such as NDA payments in New York, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-rnc-win-round-against-naacp-over-election-result-challenges\/\" title=\"Trump, RNC Win Round Against NAACP over Election Result Challenges\">election result challenges<\/a> in Georgia, mishandling of classified documents in Florida,\u2062 and acts related to Jan. 6 in Washington D.C. Latest updates show ongoing legal battles \u200band trial preparations.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-content\">\n<p>As former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden prepare to face off again in November, Trump has been hamstrung by lawfare \u2014 from Biden\u2019s Department of Justice as well as state and local prosecutors \u2014 in the form of both criminal and civil complaints in New York, Georgia, Florida, and Washington D.C. Soon, Trump\u2019s so-called \u201csplit-screen\u201d campaign is expected to begin, with the presumptive Republican nominee\u2019s time divided between campaign appearances and, in at least one case, required courtroom appearances. <\/p>\n<p>To help readers keep up with the rapidly unfolding developments in these cases, The Federalist has gathered the latest information you need to know about each case.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2-long d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-1741960702\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1379703300879-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-8a55046c339d619ccfe7cba9366f1ca5 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-8a55046c339d619ccfe7cba9366f1ca5\"><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Manhattan, New York: Prosecution by DA Alvin Bragg for NDA Payment<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>How we got here<\/strong>: In this New York state criminal case, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg charged former President Donald Trump in April 2023 with 34 felony charges for alleged falsification of business records. Trump\u2019s former attorney Michael Cohen paid pornographic film actress Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 presidential election as part of a nondisclosure agreement in which she agreed not to publicize her claims that she had an affair with Trump (who denies the allegations). Nondisclosure agreements are not illegal, but Bragg <a href=\"https:\/\/manhattanda.org\/district-attorney-bragg-announces-34-count-felony-indictment-of-former-president-donald-j-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">claims<\/a> Trump concealed the payment to help his 2016 election chances and in doing so was concealing a \u201ccrime.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Latest developments<\/strong>: In the weeks before the March 25 trial date, the Manhattan U.S. attorney\u2019s office presented more than <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/03\/19\/witness-selection-and-last-minute-docs-dump-whats-new-in-braggs-get-trump-hush-money-lawfare\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">100,000 pages of potential new evidence<\/a> in response to a January subpoena by the Trump team. Trump\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/supreme-court-declines-to-consider-derek-chauvins-appeal-of-floyd-murder-conviction\/\" title=\"Supreme Court declines to consider Derek Chauvin's appeal of Floyd murder conviction\">legal team contended<\/a> that the belated disclosures, some of which occurred days before trial, warranted the dismissal of charges or at least a delay in the case.<\/p>\n<p>The new trial is expected to start April 15, which will be the first day of jury selection. On Thursday, April 4, lawyers for former President Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/newshour\/politics\/judge-rejects-trumps-request-to-delay-hush-money-trial-until-supreme-court-rules-on-immunity\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">lost<\/a> their bid to stay this case until the Supreme Court ruled on the scope of presidential immunity. <\/p>\n<p>Democrat Judge Merchan, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/politics-news\/judge-trumps-new-york-case-appears-donated-15-biden-president-2020-rcna78577\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">donor<\/a> to Biden\u2019s campaign and an anti-Trump cause in 2020, also issued a sweeping gag order on President Trump, barring him from publicly discussing the jurors, witnesses, and parties involved in the case. The gag order also extends to remarks about Merchan\u2019s family, even though his daughter works for a digital advertising firm that has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.courthousenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/trump-recusal-motion-merchan-hush-money.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">counted<\/a> both Biden and Kamala Harris\u2019 2020 campaigns and Adam Schiff\u2019s House and Senate campaigns as its clients. Lawyers for President Trump have started the process of petitioning for Judge Merchan\u2019s recusal <a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/US\/trumps-lawyers-push-recusal-judge-juan-merchan-hush\/story?id=108748916\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">based<\/a> on the likelihood that the Court\u2019s impartiality \u201cmight reasonably be questioned.\u201d <\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-4ed4867de1bac9fbcfd1d416ab6a7659 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-4ed4867de1bac9fbcfd1d416ab6a7659\"><\/div>\n<p>On Monday, the Trump team <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2024\/04\/08\/trump-hush-money-judge-recusal-bid-aims-to-delay-evade-gag-order-da-.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">filed<\/a> an appeal with a New York appeals court to put the gag order on hold and move the venue in which the trial takes place.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Fulton County, Georgia: Prosecution by DA Fani Willis for Questioning Election Results <\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>How we got here<\/strong>: The Georgia state criminal case is helmed by District Attorney Fani Willis and her team of prosecutors \u2014 which until recently included Nathan Wade, with whom Willis had an improper romantic relationship. Willis charged Trump in August 2023 with 13 felony counts, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/donald-trump-indicted-fani-willis-says-trump-and-co-conspirators-attempted-to-seize-presidential-term\/\" title=\"Trump indicted: Fani Willis accuses Trump and accomplices of trying to 'take' presidency.\">including racketeering charges<\/a>, related to his alleged attempt to challenge the 2020 election results in Georgia. President Trump is joined by 18 co-defendants, including Rudy Giuliani, Mark Meadows, Sidney Powell, and others. Some of President Trump\u2019s co-defendants have reached plea deals; others have petitioned to have the case removed to federal court, each attempt of which has been denied.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Latest developments<\/strong>: Judge Scott McAfee has approved the defense attorneys\u2019 requests to pursue an appeal against his <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/03\/15\/judge-lets-fani-willis-continue-trump-case-despite-cloud-of-impropriety-and-potential-untruthfulness\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">recent decision allowing District Attorney Fani Willis to remain involved<\/a> in the case despite the alleged conflicts of interest posed by Wade\u2019s presence on the case. Under McAfee\u2019s order, Willis can remain involved in the case under the condition that Wade leaves. Following Judge McAfee\u2019s ruling, Wade resigned from his position. The appeal of Judge McAfee\u2019s decision may further delay the trial in this case. <\/p>\n<p>A trial date has not yet been set, though prosecutors have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2023\/11\/17\/1213895254\/trump-georgia-proposed-trial-date\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">asked<\/a> for a trial to begin on Aug. 5, just a few short weeks after the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. On April 4, Judge McAfee <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/national-security\/2024\/04\/04\/trump-georgia-free-speech\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">rejected<\/a> arguments by Trump\u2019s lawyers that his efforts to challenge the results of the 2020 election in Georgia constituted \u201ccore political speech\u201d protected by the First Amendment and therefore not subject to prosecution.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-20121a351e6eacaf38f3228ada9bebff fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-10\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-20121a351e6eacaf38f3228ada9bebff\"><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Southern District of Florida: Prosecution by Biden DOJ for Handling of Classified Documents<\/strong> <\/h2>\n<p><strong>How we got here<\/strong>: In this federal criminal case, special counsel Jack Smith and federal prosecutors with Biden\u2019s Justice Department <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/06\/09\/biden-doj-indicts-former-president-donald-trump-over-classified-documents-squabble\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">charged former President Trump in June 2023 with 40 federal charges related to his alleged mishandling of classified documents<\/a> at his Mar-a-Lago residence. The trial is set to begin on May 20, 2024, though Trump\u2019s lawyers have asked for that date to be pushed back and Judge Aileen Cannon has indicated she will reschedule it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Latest developments<\/strong>: Judge Aileen Cannon recently <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/donald-trump-jack-smith-classified-documents-b862ec627ac0070e5353ac324d8d333f\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">rejected<\/a> an effort by Trump\u2019s lawyers to dismiss the case <em>as a pre-trial matter <\/em>on the grounds that the records were the personal property of the president and therefore were not subject to classified protection. The order does not appear to preclude the issue at trial. <\/p>\n<p>Judge Cannon also recently issued an <a href=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.flsd.648652\/gov.uscourts.flsd.648652.407.0.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">order<\/a> requesting that special prosecutors and Trump\u2019s legal team submit two versions of proposed jury instructions under two different legal theories. Under one of these legal theories, Judge Cannon seemingly embraced Trump\u2019s legal argument that he had complete authority as president to remove records from the White House. If this legal theory is ultimately adopted by the court, a conviction of former President Trump would be highly unlikely. <\/p>\n<p>Additionally, venue matters: The trial is currently set to take place in Fort Pierce, Florida, in a locality that heavily <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/2020-election\/results\/florida\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">backed<\/a> President Trump in the 2020 election. If that remains unchanged, the demographics of the jury pool may result in a pro-Trump courtroom.  <\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Washington, D.C.:\u00a0 Prosecution by Biden DOJ for Jan. 6 Speech<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>How we got here<\/strong>: In this federal criminal case, special counsel Jack Smith and federal prosecutors <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/08\/03\/jack-smiths-latest-indictment-is-legally-flawed-and-politically-suspect\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">charged former President Trump in August 2023 with four counts of conspiracy and obstruction<\/a> related to his actions on Jan. 6, 2021. President Trump\u2019s lawyers have argued that immunity extends to actions taken by a president while acting in his official capacity and that, in any event, the First Amendment protects his right to raise legitimate questions about a questionable election process.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Latest developments<\/strong>: This case is currently stalled while prosecutors and Trump\u2019s legal team await a ruling from the Supreme Court on whether former President Trump is entitled to broad immunity from prosecution for acts allegedly committed while in office. Currently, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in that case the week of April 22, after which it could issue a ruling by the end of the June term; if the Supreme Court rules against President Trump, a trial could quickly follow beginning in July or August. <\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>New York: Lawsuit by A.G. Letitia James <\/strong>for Inflating Net Worth<\/h2>\n<p><strong>How we got here<\/strong>: In this New York civil fraud case, Democrat Attorney General Letitia James sued former President Trump in September 2022 under a civil fraud statute alleging that he misled banks, insurers, and others about his net worth to obtain loans, although the loans have been paid back and none of the parties involved claimed to have been injured by the deals. Following a no-jury trial, <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/02\/16\/trump-fined-350-million-in-democrats-latest-gambit-to-rig-the-2024-election\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Judge Arthur Engoron issued a decision on Feb. 16, 2024<\/a> ordering Trump to pay a $454 million penalty. Trump has appealed this decision.  <\/p>\n<p><strong>Latest developments<\/strong>: President Trump has posted the <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/03\/26\/trumps-reduced-bond-doesnt-make-letitia-james-election-meddling-lawfare-any-less-scandalous\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$175 million bond<\/a> required to appeal Judge Engoron\u2019s decision. Trump is not required to pay the full $454 million penalty while the case is on appeal, though according to reports the penalty will <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/alisondurkee\/2024\/03\/19\/trump-already-owes-an-additional-3-million-in-interest-in-fraud-case-as-he-struggles-to-raise-cash\/?sh=3ed21449470c\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">increase<\/a> by $111,984 per day simply due to the interest on the penalty. The appeals court plans to hold hearings in September 2024. <\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-276cd1786310714c2139984c13588606 fdrlst__b89e9-after-post-content\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-276cd1786310714c2139984c13588606\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Former President Donald Trump faces legal challenges from President Joe Biden&#8217;s Department of Justice and various state prosecutors. These challenges include criminal and civil complaints in multiple states such as New York, Georgia, Florida, and Washington D.C. Trump&#8217;s legal battles continue as he gears up to confront Biden again in November<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3036,"featured_media":2216224,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/36550024310_069ab5a0a5_o.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2216223","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/36550024310_069ab5a0a5_o.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2216223","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3036"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2216223"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2216223\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2216224"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2216223"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2216223"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2216223"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}