A New York jury convicted Donald Trump on Thursday of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to conceal money paid to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels in 2016, to prevent her from speaking publicly about a sexual encounter she claims they had years earlier.
But that conviction is just one of the legal obstacles the former president faces. There are also 54 criminal charges spread across three other cases. Two cases are related to Trump’s alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election, which he lost; and the third is about classified documents that Trump allegedly took after he left the White House. Trump has denied wrongdoing in each case, and it is unclear when those trials will be scheduled.
DECIDED
N.Y. hush
money case
34
Guilty on all counts
AWAITING TRIAL
Jan. 6
election case
Classified
documents case
40
4
Georgia 2020
election case
10
Dropped charges
DECIDED
N.Y. hush
money case
34
Guilty on all counts
AWAITING TRIAL
Jan. 6
election case
Classified
documents case
Georgia 2020
election case
4
40
10
Dropped charges
DECIDED
AWAITING TRIAL
Georgia 2020
election case
N.Y. hush
money case
Jan. 6
election case
Classified
documents case
34
4
40
10
Guilty on all counts
Dropped charges
The most substantial federal counts are related to obstruction, which is punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Defendants, however, rarely receive the maximum sentences, and it is uncertain whether Trump would be incarcerated; he was found guilty in the first of his four criminal cases, and sentencing in the hush money case is scheduled for July 11.
Here is a breakdown of what Trump faces in his three other cases:
10 charges in Georgia
1
Racketeering
1
Soliciting or impersonating
a public officer
Dropped charges
8 counts
Related to forgery or false
statements and documents
1
Racketeering
8 counts
Related to forgery or false
statements and documents
1
Soliciting or impersonating
a public officer
Dropped charges
The Fulton County, Ga., district attorney charged Trump and 18 others in connection with efforts to reverse his 2020 election loss in the state. Initially Trump was indicted on 13 charges, but three of the charges — all related to pressure he and his co-defendants allegedly put on state officials to change the election result — were dismissed by the judge. The district attorney has filed an appeal.
What do the charges mean?
The most sweeping charge in this case is Trump’s alleged violation of Georgia’s powerful anti-racketeering law. This law allows prosecutors to charge a large group of people in a complex web of potential crimes. The indictment says Trump and others were part of a criminal enterprise that refused to accept his election loss and conspired to change the outcome.
The remaining counts — soliciting or impersonating a public officer, forgery, false statements and false documents — involve the plot to appoint fake electors, as well as the bevy of false voter-fraud claims Trump and others made as they allegedly tried to subvert the election. Read more about the individual charges.
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Four charges in the federal Jan. 6 attack case
1 count
Conspiracy to defraud
the U.S. government
1
Conspiracy against
civil rights
2
Obstruction
1 count
Conspiracy to defraud
the U.S. government
1
Conspiracy against
civil rights
2
Obstruction
Federal prosecutors are investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
What do the charges mean?
Conspiracy is a broad legal term meaning two or more people plotted to break the law and then took steps to do so. A conspiracy does not have to be successful to amount to a crime.
In this case, Trump and a group of alleged co-conspirators — unnamed but many identifiable through prosecutors’ descriptions — are accused of scheming to reverse the election results and keep Trump in power. The three conspiracy counts relate to the myriad ways they allegedly tried to accomplish that goal. The fourth count, attempting to obstruct an official proceeding, arises from Trump’s attempt to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s win. Read more about the individual charges.
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40 charges in the classified documents case
32 counts
Willful retention of
national defense information
Each corresponds
to one classified
document
Added in superceding
indictment after initial
charges filed in June
2
False
statements
6
Related to obstruction,
withholding or
altering documents
32 counts
Willful retention of
national defense information
2
False
statements
6
Related to obstruction,
withholding or altering documents
Added in superceding
indictment after initial
charges filed in June
Each corresponds
to one classified
document
Federal prosecutors charged Trump with illegally hoarding classified documents from his presidency and conspiring with aides to cover up his actions.
What do the charges mean?
Each of the first 32 counts relates to a different classified document that prosecutors say Trump illegally kept after he left the White House. Some of the documents contained military intelligence and other sensitive information that could harm national security if exposed, according to prosecutors. The other charges involve Trump’s alleged attempts to hide the documents from investigators and delete Mar-a-Lago security footage. Read more about the individual charges.
