Former President Donald J. Trump’s legal peril appeared to intensify significantly Monday with the startling revelation that federal agents armed with a warrant had searched his Mar-a-Lago club and Palm home Beach, Florida.
It was not immediately clear what investigators might have seized, but the search came after federal agents visited the Palm Beach estate in the spring to discuss materials Mr. Trump improperly took with him when he left the White House, including numerous pages of classified documents. .
The mere fact that federal authorities had taken the remarkable step of searching the private residence of a former US president was a reminder of the great legal scrutiny Mr. Trump as he considers running for president in 2024.
He and his family have criticized the various investigations surrounding him as partisan or vindictive, and have denied any wrongdoing.
Federal prosecutors investigating attempts to reverse the loss of Mr. Trump in the 2020 election have asked witnesses directly about their involvement in these efforts. In Georgia, a criminal investigation is focused on his push to alter election results there.
More immediately, lawyers for the New York state attorney general’s office plan to impeach Mr. Trump on Wednesday as part of a long-running civil investigation into whether he and his family’s real estate business inflated fraudulent way the value of their hotels, golf. courses and other assets to obtain favorable loans.
The status of other investigations into the former president is more difficult to understand, although one, a criminal probe by the Manhattan district attorney’s office, appeared to lose steam in the spring. (An issue that had taken a back seat resurfaced on Tuesday, when a federal appeals court ruled that the House could access Mr. Trump’s tax returns.)
Here are the notable queries involving Mr. trump
New York State Civil Investigation
Mr Trump has fought for months to avoid the high-stakes deposition he is scheduled to take on Wednesday, which could shape the outcome of New York Attorney General Letitia James’ civil investigation into him and his family business , the Trump Organization. . (The declaration was due in July; it was delayed after the death of his first wife, Ivana.)
Ms. James’s investigation, which is in its final stages, focuses on whether the financial statements in which Mr. Trump valued his assets reflected a pattern of fraud or were simply examples of his penchant for exaggeration.
Ms. James said in a court filing this year that the Trump Organization’s business practices were “fraudulent or deceptive” but that his office needed to question Mr. Trump and two of his adult children, Ivanka and Donald Jr., to determine who he was. responsible for the conduct.
The two sat for depositions recently after the judge overseeing the case ordered them to do so. His brother Eric was interviewed in 2020 as part of the investigation and repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, according to a court filing.
The former president’s statement follows a lengthy legal battle that resulted in a state judge ruling in April that Mr. Trump was in contempt of court. This decision came after Ms. James filed a motion asking that Mr. Trump was forced to submit the documents requested in eight previous requests.
His lawyers said they had searched for, and found, no documents that the attorney general did not already have. However, the judge fined Mr Trump $10,000 a day until he submitted affidavits describing the search. The contempt order was lifted in May after he paid a $110,000 fine and filed affidavits.
In the same month, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by Mr. Trump that sought to stop the investigation of Ms. James because, the former president’s lawyers argued, she had violated his rights and his investigation was politically motivated.
Because Ms. James’s investigation is civil, she can sue Mr. But Trump cannot press criminal charges. You might also choose to continue settlement negotiations in hopes of getting a faster financial payout rather than filing a lawsuit that would undoubtedly take years to resolve.
If Ms. James were to sue and prevail at trial, a judge could impose heavy financial penalties on Mr. Trump and restrict his business operations in New York.
Mr. Trump’s lawyers would likely argue in any such suit that real estate valuation is a subjective process and that his company simply estimated the value of the properties in question, with no intention of artificially inflating them.
Manhattan Criminal Case
Despite its civil nature, the investigation of Ms. James and the deposition of Mr. Trump still has the potential for criminal charges. That’s because the Manhattan district attorney’s investigation also focused on appraisals of Mr. Trump’s properties before they appeared to be flagged in the spring. It could gain a new life depending on the performance of Mr. Trump on Wednesday.
Alvin Bragg, the district attorney, said in April that the investigation, which began under his predecessor, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., was continuing but did not offer a clear idea of its direction.
The comments of Mr. Bragg arrived after two prosecutors who had led the investigation left. One of them, Mark F. Pomerantz, said in a resignation letter published by The New York Times that he believed the office had enough evidence to charge Mr. Trump with “numerous” crimes. Mr. Pomerantz criticized Mr. Bragg for not filing an indictment in the case.
In his April statements on the matter, Mr. Bragg said new witnesses had been interviewed and additional documents reviewed, although he declined to provide details. Later in April, The Times reported that at least three witnesses considered central to the case had not heard from Mr. Bragg for several months or had not asked to testify.
The investigation has resulted in criminal charges against the Trump Organization and its chief financial officer, Allen H. Weisselberg.
Last July, before the end of Mr. Vance, the district attorney’s office accused the company of running a 15-year scheme to help its executives evade taxes by compensating them with fringe benefits that were hidden from authorities. Mr. Weisselberg was accused of avoiding taxes on $1.7 million in profits that should have been reported as income.
The case is expected to go to trial at the end of the year.
Georgia Criminal Investigation
Mr. Trump is also under scrutiny in Georgia, where Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis is investigating whether the former president and others criminally interfered in the 2020 presidential election.
Mr. Trump and his associates had numerous interactions with Georgia officials after the election, including a call in which he urged Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find 11,780 votes,” the number he would have needed to overcome President Biden’s leadership in the state.
It is the only known criminal investigation that focuses directly on the efforts of Mr. Trump to annul the election results. In January, Fulton County’s top judge approved Ms. Willis’ request for a special grand jury in the case.
On Tuesday, a different judge in Fulton County said Rudolph W. Giuliani, a lawyer for Mr. Trump and a central figure in the Georgia investigation, must travel there to appear before a grand jury. Mr. Giuliani, who had two coronary stents implanted last month, had told prosecutors he was not well enough to fly to Georgia.
But the judge, Robert CI McBurney, provisionally ordered him to appear to give evidence in person on August 17. (Judge McBurney said he might reconsider the date if Mr. Giuliani’s doctor presented a proper medical excuse.)
“Mr. Giuliani is not authorized to travel by plane, AIR,” Judge McBurney said. “John Madden drove all over the country in his big bus, from stadium to stadium. So one thing we need to explore is whether Mr. Giuliani could make it this far without jeopardizing his recovery and health. On a train, on a bus or Uber, or whatever,” he said, adding, “New York is nowhere near Atlanta, but it’s not traveling from Fairbanks.”
Judge McBurney also said Tuesday that prosecutors should let Mr. Giuliani, 78, know if he is a target of the criminal investigation. Ms Willis’ office has already told at least 17 people they are targets.
Westchester County Criminal Investigation
In Westchester County, Miriam E. Rocah, the district attorney, appears to be focused at least in part on whether the Trump Organization misled local officials about the value of a golf course in order to lower their taxes. She has subpoenaed the company for records on the matter.
Washington DC Lawsuit
In January 2020, Karl Racine, the District of Columbia Attorney General, sued the inaugural committee of Mr. Trump, saying he had overpaid his own family business by more than $1 million or space at the Trump International Hotel during the January 2017 inauguration.
The lawsuit, which names the inaugural committee, the hotel and the Trump Organization as defendants, is scheduled to go to trial in September after a judge ruled it could go forward.
Mr. Racine’s office has subpoenaed a number of party members, including Melania Trump, the former first lady, and questioned Ivanka Trump, Eric Trump and Thomas J. Barrack Jr., who chaired the inaugural committee.
January 6 Consultation
A House committee investigating the Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol, with the help of more than a dozen former federal prosecutors, is examining the role that Mr. Trump and his allies may have played in their efforts to hold on to power after their electoral defeat in November 2020. .
While the committee itself does not have the power to bring criminal charges, it could refer the matter to Attorney General Merrick B. Garland for prosecution through the Justice Department.
Jonah E. Bromwich, Rebecca Davis O’Brien,…