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- As U.S. President Donald Trump continues to refute the result the 2020 election, a host of criminal probes and legal fights are mounting on the other side of his exit from the White House
- New York prosecutors, led by Manhattan District Attorney, Cyrus Vance Jr., are putting together an investigation into his business dealings
- The investigation includes two New York state enquiries into whether he misled tax authorities, banks or business partners, as well as two lawsuits relating to sexual assault
- Letitia James, New York’s Attorney General, has also launched an investigation into whether Trump’s company lied about the value of its assets to secure loans or tax benefits
- A Democratic-led Justice Department could also pursue matters left uncharged in Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian election interference
- President-elect Joe Biden has said he would not direct his Justice Department to pursue charges against Trump, but also has no intention to stand in the way of any investigation the department might launch on its own
U.S. President Donald Trump’s refusal to concede the 2020 election has in many instances been described as desperate. But with criminal probes and a host of mounting legal fights waiting on the other side of his White House exit, it’s not hard to understand why.
Just a few blocks south of the namesake tower where Trump launched his run for office, New York prosecutors are putting together an investigation into his business dealings that could hang over his head long after the United States Presidential Inauguration on January 20 next year.
Led by Manhattan District Attorney, Cyrus Vance Jr., the probe is one of several legal entanglements set to intensify when Trump hands the presidency to Joe Biden and loses his immunity from prosecution.
There are currently two New York state enquiries into whether he misled tax authorities, banks or business partners, as well as two lawsuits relating to sexual assault. On top of that, a growing number of Democrats are pushing to bring back a federal campaign finance investigation that was dropped under U.S. Attorney General William Barr.
That said, it’s not yet known whether there is sufficient evidence to charge Trump, and doing so would be an unprecedented event in an already volatile political environment.
“With the country so sharply polarised in 2020, would a legal battle ultimately be seen as political retaliation? That is a difficult calculation,” said Meena Bose, executive director of the Peter S. Kalikow Center for the Study of the American Presidency at Hofstra University.
Trump maintains that he has the “absolute right” to pardon himself – an event that would also be unprecedented since no president has ever attempted to do so.
However, a 1974 Justice Department opinion concluded that presidents could not pardon themselves because it would violate the “fundamental rule that no one may be the judge in his own case.”
Particularly concerning for Trump is Vance’s investigation, which involves state-level charges that could not be thrown out with a presidential pardon. While the details of the probe remain unknown, court filings say it relates to public reports of “extensive and protracted criminal conduct at the Trump Organisation.”
Letitia James, New York’s Attorney General, has also launched an investigation into whether Trump’s company lied about the value of its assets to secure loans or tax benefits, although this probe is civil in nature, not criminal.
Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer, told congress in February 2019 that the outgoing president had often inflated the value of his assets in dealings with lenders and prospective business partners, but deflated them again for tax purposes.
There’s also the possibility that a Democratic-led Justice Department could pursue matters left uncharged in Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian election interference.
However, Joe Biden claims he would not direct his Justice Department to pursue charges against Trump, but also has no intention to stand in the way of any investigation the department might launch on its own.
“Look, the Justice Department is not the president’s private law firm. The attorney general is not the president’s private lawyer,” Biden told reporters in August.
“I will not interfere with the Justice Department’s judgment of whether or not they think they should pursue the prosecution of anyone that they think has violated the law,” Biden added.
A number of Democrats have said that indicting Trump could rile the almost 74 million Americans who voted for him. Should that happen, Biden would face an even greater task when it comes to healing the nation’s deep political cracks.
