NEW YORK (AP) — For 40 years, former President Donald Trump has conducted countless legal investigations without being indicted. This record could soon come to an end.
Trump could be indicted by a Manhattan grand jury later this week, and he could be charged with falsifying business records related to hush-money payments he made to women during the 2016 campaign.
This is his one of several scrutiny Trump has stepped up as he runs for president for the third time. He denies all allegations of wrongdoing and accuses prosecutors of engaging in a politically motivated “witch hunt” to harm his campaign. An indictment in New York would mark an astounding change in American history, making Trump the first ex-president to face criminal prosecution. And that carries a tremendous amount of weight on Trump himself, jeopardizing his longstanding ability to avoid consequences despite being involved in a staggering number of incidents.
“Throughout his life, he did things that could have been investigated and prosecuted, and those experiences taught him that he could act without guilt.”
Trump first came under legal scrutiny in the 1970s when the Justice Department filed a racism lawsuit against his family’s real estate business.
Trump and his father fought hard in a lawsuit accused of refusing to rent apartments to black tenants in a mostly white building. According to eyewitness testimony, applications from potential black tenants were marked with a “C” for “coloured.” Trump is demanding $100 million and is suing the government for defamation.
The lawsuit ended in a settlement, paving the way for some black residents, but without forcing the Trumps to specifically admit that they “failed and neglected” compliance with fair housing laws.
Since then, Trump and his company have been the subject of thousands of civil lawsuits and numerous investigations. A casino and real estate business, bribery and improper lobbying allegations, fraud allegations against the now-defunct Trump University and the charity Trump Foundation, and an investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney into the sale of Trump’s Soho Hotel and his condominiums. It is in Lower Manhattan.
According to Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a state watchdog group known as CREW, in November 2022, Trump will face at least 56 felony counts, excluding allegations of illegal trading, since the start of the 2015 campaign. was indicted on However, he was never formally charged.
A master of the tactic of delay, Trump “finds endless ways to delay in the hope that investigations and litigation will be over, and he’s been having spectacular success,” said the former federal corruption attorney. He said Noah Bookbinder president of CREW.
“This is accountability because no functioning democracy allows people to operate with complete impunity in positions of power where they can commit crimes and not face any consequences. is absolutely necessary.
Here’s Trump’s reaction to such a strong statement:
Since he committed no crime, the result itself is unjust. As president, Trump continued to face legal scrutiny. For two years, the Justice Department investigated his 2016 campaign and its ties to Russia. Special Counsel Robert Mueller found no direct evidence of collusion, but his final report presented evidence of obstruction. Even behind the scenes, he said he could not recommend criminal prosecution of Trump.
