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Posted: 2023-08-02T18:35:54Z | Updated: 2023-08-17T14:42:16Z

As Donald Trumps legal woes get more, uh, woeful, they are also getting more complicated.

As of mid-August, the former president is facing multiple criminal indictments as well as several ongoing and potential civil suits. The civil cases are wide-ranging, encompassing New York Attorney General Letitia James ongoing lawsuit over the Trump Organizations finances, as well as writer E. Jean Carrolls defamation lawsuit against Trump personally. But those cases shouldnt come as any surprise to a man who, even before he got involved in politics, had spent previous decades accumulating several thousand lawsuits .

No, where things get interesting are the criminal cases.

In March 2023, Trump became the first former president to be criminally indicted, when he was charged with falsifying business records in New York. Since then, he has earned the dubious honor several times over, with two federal indictments and a state-level indictment.

The investigations have some significant overlap: Two of them are based on Trumps efforts to overturn the 2020 election, though they are being brought by different prosecutors in different jurisdictions. Meanwhile, two separate indictments on different subjects are being brought by the Justice Departments special counsel, Jack Smith, who was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland to oversee the DOJs investigations into Trump. It gets a little confusing.

Adding to the complexity is the likelihood Trump will attempt to pardon himself of any convictions should he win the presidency in 2024. Its not ultimately clear if he can, but even then he wouldnt necessarily be off the hook, as a president can only pardon federal not state crimes.

Heres your quick and dirty guide to Trumps various criminal indictments, in chronological order.

Stormy Daniels Case: New York

In Short:

Trump was charged on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records over his role in hush money payments, including a high-profile one to porn actor Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election.

  • Federal or state? State
  • Possible prison time? Each of the charges carries a potential prison sentence of up to four years.
  • Indictment date? March 30, 2023
  • Trial date? March 2024

What To Know:

On March 30, Trump became the first-ever former president to be indicted on criminal charges. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg charged him on 34 counts of falsifying business records related to his role in several hush money payments, including one of $130,000 to Stormy Daniels. The porn actor, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, claimed ahead of the 2016 presidential election that she had an affair with Trump some 11 years before. Trump has denied the affair, but admitted to reimbursing his then-lawyer, Michael Cohen, for the payment, which he also denied was related to his campaign.

While a hush money payment isnt illegal in and of itself, the charges stem from what prosecutors allege was Trumps effort to illegally cover it up in an effort to protect his campaign for president. They accuse Trump of false statements to tax authorities, campaign contributions beyond what is allowed by law, and trying to hide violations of New York state election law. The charges include allegations of 11 falsified invoices, 12 general ledger entries and 11 checks one charge for each document. Each charge carries a maximum of four years in prison. Trump has denied any wrongdoing in the payments.

The case is scheduled to go to trial in late March 2024, just as the presidential election cycle will be kicking off in earnest.

Mar-A-Lago Documents Case: Federal

In Short:

Trump was charged with 40 felony counts related to his mishandling of classified documents he took with him when he left the White House.

  • Federal or state? Federal
  • Possible prison time? The various counts have potential prison sentences ranging from five to 10 years.
  • Indictment date? June 9, 2023
  • Trial date? May 2024

What to know:

On June 9, Trump was charged again this time on 37 felony counts of federal crimes, including 31 counts for the alleged willful retention of national defense documents, plus a few more counts on things like conspiracy to corrupt justice and withholding a document or record. Fast forward just under two months, and on July 27, Trump was hit with an additional three felony charges for this case, including two alleging he had ordered a computer server with incriminating security camera footage to be deleted.

The case comes from the many, many boxes of documents that Trump took with him when he left the White House at the end of his presidency boxes that allegedly included sensitive and classified material that related to a number of national security issues, such as Americas nuclear capabilities and data about U.S. and allied vulnerabilities and possible responses to attacks. The indictment alleges that Trump not only bragged about the documents and showed them off willy-nilly, but that he was careless and haphazard about securing the sensitive information. To wit: The indictment includes a photo showing boxes of documents stored in a bathroom , as well as one of an overturned box with documents, including at least one classified document, spilled across the floor. (The indictment also includes the alleged text from a staffer alerted to the spill: Oh no oh no.)

Trump, for his part, has asserted that he had every right to take and keep the documents, despite the fact the same law he has cited to defend himself says otherwise .

The case is one of two being brought by special counsel Jack Smith. (Well get to the other one in a moment.)

The trial, which is set for May 2024, is being overseen by Judge Aileen Cannon , herself a Trump appointee who was confirmed to the bench just a few days after the 2020 election. Her oversight of the case has been controversial: Democrats have already called for her recusal after one of her previous rulings which favored Trump was found to be based on shaky legal reasoning and was overturned by a higher court.