Trump's legal woes will continue even as he runs for president
Mounting legal trouble for former President Trump
Trump is also facing continued investigations in Georgia, over his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, and in Washington, where a special counsel is probing the events of Jan. 6, 2021, as well as Trump's handling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago and potential obstruction of the investigation.
SAN JOSE, Calif. - Former President Donald Trump could still face other charges in multiple cases including election interference in Georgia and withholding classified documents from the federal government.
The world will be watching Tuesday as Trump turns himself in to the Manhattan D.A. but this indictment isn’t the only legal issue Donald Trump is facing.
"There are multiple other cases where he could also end up being incarcerated. It all depends of course on what specific charges are brought," said Melissa Michelson, Menlo College Political Science Professor and Dean of the Arts and Sciences Dept.
Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg has not said if he’ll seek jail time for Trump but even if he did so, that won’t legally prevent Trump from being able to run for President again. Trump says the indictment is a political attack and has denied any wrong doing, but his legal challenges have continued to grow.
Bay Area political leaders react to Trump's indictment
Bay Area politicos on both sides of the aisle are weighing in on what Trump's indictment may mean for the country and both major political parties.
"Then there’s also the cases related to the election of 2020, and the insurrection of January 6, 2021. There’s also cases related to his removal of classified documents and taking them to Mar-a-Lago and possibly obstructing the criminal investigation into how some of those documents got to Mar-a-Lago. So we’re talking about some pretty serious laws he could be charged with violating like the Espionage Act," Michelson said.
Trump was indicted in connection with money paid to adult film actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal. Prosecutors say he feared they’d go public during the 2016 Presidential election about his extramarital affairs with them.. His attorney has said any suggestion he falsified business records tied to these payments is wrong.
"They're his own personal records, first of all. They weren't false. They were, in fact, legal feed and that's how they were billed," said Joseph Tacopina, Trump's Defense Attorney.
Trump is also facing two other lawsuits.
"Jean Carroll, who has accused former President Trump of raping her, now has two active lawsuits against Trump for defamation. Where he’s denying that he raped her, and also using social media to say things about her that she thinks are defamatory," said Michelson.
Carroll filed a second lawsuit last October after Trump made a social media post calling her rape claims a hoax, and a complete scam. Trump attempted to get the case thrown out, but that was denied, and the case could go to trial before the end of this month.