For Trump, the Georgia election case is just one of many legal problems

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The Georgia investigation into the efforts of Donald Trump and his allies to overturn his defeat in the 2020 election is one of several cases causing legal problems for the former president.

An Atlanta judge is weighing arguments on whether to release a special grand jury report that is expected to include recommendations for Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis on possible criminal prosecution.

Trump faces a host of questions as he campaigns for another term in 2024, including a criminal investigation into top-secret documents found at his Florida estate, an investigation in Washington into his efforts to undo the results of the 2020 presidential election, and more investigations in New York .

Trump, a Republican, has denied any wrongdoing and says he is being targeted by Democrats trying to prevent him from regaining the White House.

Here’s a look at the probes being conducted in various states and areas:

MAR-A-LAGO

The Justice Department is investigating the retention of top secret government documents at Trumps Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago, and potential efforts to obstruct that investigation.

As part of that inquiry, agents and prosecutors spent months interviewing several people close to Trump, including an aide seen on surveillance video moving boxes of documents around the property.

A grand jury in Washington is hearing evidence in the investigation. Prosecutors last year granted limited immunity to a close Trump ally to secure his testimony.

Attorney General Merrick Garland in November named Jack Smith, a veteran war crimes prosecutor who previously headed the Justice Department’s public integrity section, to serve as special counsel in the investigation into Mar-a-Lago and key aspects of a separate investigation into efforts to subvert the results of the 2020 presidential election.

2020 ELECTION AND CAPITOL RIOT

The Justice Department is investigating Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and efforts to recall the election that Trump falsely claimed was stolen.

Federal prosecutors are particularly focused on a scheme by Trump allies to raise fake presidential electors in key battleground states won by President Joe Biden as a way to spoil the vote, issuing subpoenas to many state Republican party chairmen.

Federal prosecutors have brought several Trump administration officials to the grand jury for questioning, including a former Trump White House lawyer and a top aide to Vice President Mike Pence.

In a sign of the expanding nature of the investigation, election officials in several states whose results are disputed by Trump have received subpoenas requesting communications with or involving Trump and his campaign aides.

A House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack recommended that the Justice Department file criminal charges against Trump and associates who helped him launch a broad pressure campaign to try to revoke his defeat in the 2020 election.

Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

GEORGIA

After his loss in the 2020 election, Trump called Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and urged him to find 11,780 votes just enough to overtake Democrat Joe Biden and overturn Trump’s narrow defeat in state.

The Jan. 2 phone call was part of a month-long investigation by a special grand jury in Atlanta investigating whether the crimes were committed as part of a pressure campaign to overturn Trump’s defeat.

Among those questioned by the special grand jury were Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York and Trump’s lawyer; Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina; and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp.

Prosecutors advised Giuliani and Georgia Republicans who acted as voter fraud that they were at risk of prosecution. The fake voters signed a certificate stating that Trump had won the election and declared themselves the state’s electors, even though Biden had won the state and a record of Democratic electors had been certified. .

Trump and his allies have denied any wrongdoing, and he has repeatedly described his phone call with Raffensperger as perfect.

NEW YORK

New York Attorney General Letitia James sued Trump and the Trump Organization, alleging it misled banks and tax authorities about the value of assets such as golf courses and skyscrapers in order to get loans and tax benefits.

That case, which is pending, could lead to civil penalties against the company if the Democratic attorney general prevails. He wants $250 million and a ban on Trump doing business in New York.

Meanwhile, a judge has appointed an independent monitor to keep an eye on the company.

The Manhattan district attorney’s office says it is continuing a parallel criminal investigation into Trump’s business dealings.

District Attorney Alvin Bragg recently named a new senior prosecutor to oversee that investigation, which appears headed for a possible Trump indictment as the Democrat slowed things down after taking office a year ago.

Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen said he met Jan. 17 with Manhattan prosecutors who revived a year-old investigation into payments made to a porn star to keep him quiet about an alleged extramarital sex with Trump.

In another case, the Trump Organization was convicted of tax fraud in December for helping executives avoid taxes on extravagant perks like Manhattan apartments and luxury cars. Trump himself has not been tried. The company was fined $1.6 million.

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