Ending speculations, former President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced his third White House bid. Addressing 400 invited guests at Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, Trump said he was announcing his candidacy for president of the United States "to make America great and glorious again."
But, the days head for Trump is likely to challenging, for he has a number of legal hurdles that may impede his campaign for the White House.
Legal challenges galore
Of the significant lawsuits and controversies surrounding Trump, the most important one has to the Justice Department's investigation into whether or not he moved classified documents to his Mar-a-Lago resort when he left office.
A special master, Senior U.S. District Judge Raymond Dearie,
is reviewing the seized documents and investigators have begun conducting interviews, and a federal grand jury has issued a subpoena, hinting that the probe is moving forward.
Then there is the House select committee investigation into the US Capitol attack, which subpoenaed Trump in October to testify under oath and provide documents. Committee vice chair Liz Cheney, a Republican, has said the committee could make referrals to the Justice Department seeking criminal charges against Trump. The committee is expected to issue a report before the end of the year.
Trump has called the panel's investigation, which revealed the involvement of some GOP lawmakers and Trump allies in the riot, a politically-motivated sham. However, only the Justice Department can decide whether to charge Trump with federal crimes.
Trump will also have to face an special grand jury investigating into his involvement in the alleged efforts to overturn President Joe Biden’s victory in Georgia. The probe will focus on a phone call Trump to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, on Jan. 2, 2021, asking him to "find" enough votes needed to overturn Trump's election loss in Georgia.
According to legal experts, Trump may have violated at least three Georgia criminal election laws: conspiracy to commit election fraud, criminal solicitation to commit election fraud and
intentional interference with performance of election duties.
The Justice Department is also looking into a plot to put forward fake GOP electors from seven states.
Fraud cases in NY
There is also a trial in New York with regard to Donald Trump namesake business, the Trump Organization, for cheating and tax fraud. The company, which operates hotels, golf courses and other real estate around the world, is said to have run a
15-year scheme to pay high-level executives in perks like luxury cars and apartments without paying taxes on them.
New York Attorney General Letitia James has also filed a lawsuit against Trump, his three adult children, and Trump organization for allegedly inflating his net worth to obtain lower interest rates on loans and get better insurance coverage. James is seeking $250 million in allegedly ill-gotten funds.
Trump is also facing a defamation lawsuit filed by Jean Carroll, a former Elle magazine writer, after he denied her allegation that he raped her in the 1990s in a New York City department store. Besides, there are multiple lawsuits pending against Trump with regard to Capitol Coup, saying his words and actions incited the riot.
Meanwhile, legal experts have said that the investigators now will be moving ahead with caution that he has now announced his Presidential bid. "Trump’s announcement could make investigators proceed more cautiously," Stephen Binhak, a former federal prosecutor, told TIME.
"When considering whether to bring charges against Trump, Attorney General Merrick Garland is now even more likely to weigh whether and how politics will [affect] the public’s perception of the fairness of the investigation and any charges, the likelihood that a jury will convict, and how a judge would sentence Mr. Trump if there is a conviction," Binhak added.