Thursday 25 February 2021

Donald Trump lost a big fight to keep his tax records hidden. What other legal battles will the former president face?

Extract from ABC News

US President Donald Trump looks at the camera in front of an American flag

Donald Trump has several different legal issues to contend with.(Reuters: Carlos Barria)

Donald Trump's battle to hide his tax returns took a big hit this week, with the Supreme Court allowing a New York prosecutor access to the files.

While he lost this round of his fight over taxes, he also chalked up a win this week, as former porn star Stormy Daniels' defamation case against him was blocked.

But they aren't the only lawsuits the former president is facing. And since losing the protections of office, the playing field has certainly changed.

So what are the legal obstacles facing Mr Trump in his post-White House life?

First, what happened with those tax returns?

There's been a lot of back and forth between the courts, but here's how it played out.

In August 2019, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance subpoenaed Mr Trump's personal and corporate tax returns from 2011 to 2018 from his accountants, as part of an investigation into his business dealings.

In September 2019, a lower court said the records had to be turned over to a grand jury convened by Mr Vance, who is a Democrat.

Cyrus Vance speaks into a microphone in front of a brown background.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance made the request in 2019.(AP: Rick Bowmer)

Mr Trump took his fight to block the request all the way to the Supreme Court, but he lost in July last year.

He argued that the president was immune from investigation while he held office, or that a prosecutor must show a greater need than normal to obtain the tax records.

That was rejected by the top court, but they said he could raise other objections.

So his lawyers took it back to lower courts, saying the subpoena was too broad and amounted to political harassment.

In August last year, the case was dismissed again, despite the new arguments. He then lost an appeal in October.

The next step? Take a review of that appeals court decision back up to the Supreme Court.

That's where Mr Trump's lawyers asked for an emergency hold on the release of the records.

And this week, the Supreme Court declined.

It brings a long legal battle to an apparent end. All of the documents would go to a grand jury, which means they won't be made public.

After the decision, Mr Trump blasted the legal system and prosecutors.

He claimed the investigation is politically motivated by Democrats in "a totally Democrat location, New York City and State." And he said he would "fight on" and that "We will win!"

But that's not the only legal fight on the cards for the former president.

What about the Capitol riot?

Right now, there's at least one case Mr Trump is facing following the violence in Washington DC on January 6.

Democratic congressman Bennie Thompson has used a provision of the Ku Klux Klan Act to sue Mr Trump and his lawyer Rudy Giuliani for conspiring to incite the riot.

The law was originally passed in a response to KKK violence at the time, and prohibits violence or intimidation meant to prevent Congress from carrying out its constitutional duties.

The January riot happened during the Senate's certification process of President Joe Biden.

Jason Miller, an adviser for Mr Trump, said in a statement at the time that Mr Trump did not organise the rally that preceded the riot and "did not incite or conspire to incite any violence at the Capitol on January 6th".

But this isn't the only case or investigation into what happened this year.

The Justice Department is also looking into the riot.

They have said they don't anticipate laying charges against Mr Trump, but added their work was ongoing.

And President Biden's attorney-general nominee, Merrick Garland, said the investigation would be his first priority and vowed the department would remain politically independent.

He promised to provide prosecutors with whatever resources they need to bring charges in the cases.

How about the election?

Some of Mr Trump's actions following his election loss could crop up in a courtroom.

According to leaked audio obtained by the Washington Post in January, he told the Georgia Secretary of State there was "nothing wrong with saying … you've recalculated" votes in the state.

Two weeks ago, prosecutors there opened a criminal investigation into the call.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who is a Democrat, wrote in a letter that the investigation included "potential violations of Georgia law prohibiting the solicitation of election fraud, the making of false statements… conspiracy, racketeering, violation of oath of office and any involvement in violence or threats related to the election's administration."

The probe will look into a phone call Mr Trump made to senior Georgia official, Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

Play Video. Duration: 4 minutes 24 seconds

Leaked audio reveals Mr Trump pushing Georgia officials to "find" more votes.

In a statement at the time, Mr Miller accused Democrats of attempting "to score political points by continuing their witch hunt against President Trump", adding that "everybody sees through it."

Ms Willis' office will begin requesting grand jury subpoenas as soon as March.

What else could see Trump in court?

We know that Stormy Daniels' defamation case isn't going ahead now, after this week's Supreme Court ruling that she can't reopen defamation proceedings against Mr Trump.

That was in relation to a 2018 tweet by Mr Trump, in which he claimed Ms Daniels was committing a "con job" by accusing him of sending men to threaten her.

But author and journalist E. Jean Carroll's Advice columnist accuses Trump of rape could be mentioned in a courtroom this year.

Her lawyers are seeking to depose Mr Trump in a defamation lawsuit that Ms Carroll filed against the former president in November 2019, after he denied her accusation that he raped her at a Manhattan department store in the mid-1990s.

Mr Trump said he never knew Ms Carroll and accused her of lying to sell her new book, adding: "She's not my type."

E. Jean Carroll, author and columnist

E. Jean Carroll is seeking damages and a retraction in her lawsuit.(ABC News)

She plans to be there if Mr Trump is deposed.

"I am living for the moment to walk into that room to sit across the table from him," she told Reuters in an interview.

She is seeking unspecified damages in her lawsuit and a retraction of Mr Trump's statements. 

It's one of two such cases Mr Trump could face involving sexual misconduct.

Summer Zervos, a former contestant on his reality television show The Apprentice, accused Mr Trump of sexual misconduct in 2016, saying that he kissed her against her will at a 2007 meeting in New York and later groped her at a California hotel as the two met to discuss job opportunities.

A close up image of a woman whose face is lit by flash bulbs leaves a neoclassical building wearing a burgundy zip jacket.

Ms Zervos is one of more than two dozen women who have accused Donald Trump of sexual misconduct.(AP: Mary Altaffer)

Mr Trump denied the allegations and called Ms Zervos a liar, prompting her to sue him for defamation in 2017, seeking damages and a retraction.

Mr Trump tried unsuccessfully to have the case dismissed, arguing that as president he was immune from suits filed in state courts.

His lawyers appealed to the New York Court of Appeals, which is still considering the case.

Ms Zervos filed a motion in early February asking the court to resume the case now that Mr Trump is no longer president.

They are among more than two dozen women who have publicly accused Mr Trump of sexual misconduct that they say occurred in the years before he became president.

Other accusers include a former model, who claims Mr Trump sexually assaulted her at the 1997 US Open tennis tournament; a former Miss Universe pageant contestant who said he groped her in 2006; and a reporter who alleges he forcibly kissed her without her consent in 2005 at his Mar-a-Lago resort.

Mr Trump has denied the allegations.

A lawyer for Mr Trump and another representative of the former president did not respond to requests for comment.

ABC/wires

No comments:

Post a Comment