Future US President
What remains of Trump’s legal problems
Donald Trump once had four criminal cases on his hands. But with his re-election, virtually all lawsuits have become obsolete. An overview.
Donald Trump was the first former president in American history to be charged under criminal law – four times. Two charges related to his attempts to retroactively overturn the election defeat against President Joe Biden, and another related to his taking secret files from the White House at the end of his term in office.
The accusations relate to actions taken during his time in office, which raised the question for Trump’s lawyers: What actions can and should a former US head of state be held accountable for? The answer to this was given by the country’s highest court in July 2024 – and it could pulverize the cases pending against Trump.
Donald Trump and the protective arm of the Supreme Court
“The president does not enjoy immunity for his unofficial actions, and not everything the president does is official. The president is not above the law,” the constitutional judges ruled vaguely and clearly. But: They cannot be prosecuted for actions that are part of their core constitutional tasks. The courts have to clarify in detail which of Trump’s actions were “official” and which were not, but the Supreme Court’s decision is considered a de facto carte blanche for former and future US presidents.
Trump’s rulings in three civil lawsuits for financial fraud, sexual abuse and defamation are not affected by the Supreme Court’s ruling. In these cases, he was sentenced to fines totaling the enormous sum of more than half a billion dollars.
An overview of the most important lawsuits against Trump – and what’s left of them:
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
