Donald Trump cases: Tracking civil, criminal charges against former president

WASHINGTON - On Wednesday, the Supreme Court said it will take up the case regarding former President Donald Trump and whether he can be prosecuted on election interference charges.

Here’s a look at some of the top probes against the former president. 

Trump’s fight to stay on Colorado, Maine, Illinois ballots

The Supreme Court has yet to decide if Trump could remain on the Colorado ballot after the state’s supreme court ruled that Trump violated the 14th Amendment and is ineligible to run for president.

RELATED: Supreme Court poised to side with Trump, putting him back on Colorado ballot

On Wednesday, a Cook County judge ordered the Illinois State Board of Elections to remove former president Donald Trump from the state's primary ballot.

Judge Tracie Porter gave the order Wednesday, urging the board to remove Trump or "cause any votes cast for him to be suppressed," for violating section three of the 14th Amendment, or the "disqualification clause," for engaging in insurrection, according to court documents. 

The order, however, is put on hold until Friday, March 1, in case of an appeal from Trump's attorneys to the Illinois Appellate Court, First District or the Illinois Supreme Court. 

Last December, a divided Colorado Supreme Court declared Trump ineligible for the White House under the U.S. Constitution’s insurrection clause and removed him from the state’s presidential primary ballot.  The justices found that Trump incited an insurrection for his role in the attack on the Capitol.

However, Justice Elena Kagan was among several justices who wanted to know "why a single state should decide who gets to be President of the United States."

"We do not reach these conclusions lightly," wrote the court’s majority. "We are mindful of the magnitude and weight of the questions now before us. We are likewise mindful of our solemn duty to apply the law, without fear or favor, and without being swayed by public reaction to the decisions that the law mandates we reach."

Classified documents case

Trump has been charged by Special Counsel Jack Smith in a federal case in Florida related to the mishandling of classified documents, including sensitive documents on nuclear capabilities. The 40 felony counts against him include charges of retaining classified information, obstructing justice and making false statements.

That historic indictment — the first federal case against a former U.S. president — alleges that Trump repeatedly enlisted aides and lawyers to help him hide records demanded by investigators and cavalierly showed off a Pentagon "plan of attack" and classified map.

The top charges carry a penalty of up to 20 years in prison.

Trump is set to stand trial on May 20, 2024, in Fort Pierce, Florida, though his lawyers have asked for the date to be pushed back. That request is still pending.

Trump has repeatedly claimed that he declassified the documents that were taken with him to Mar-a-Lago, but there’s no evidence that that happened and his own lawyers have not echoed that assertion in court papers.

Hush money scheme

Trump became the first former U.S. president in history to face criminal charges when he was indicted in New York in March on state charges stemming from hush money payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign to bury allegations of extramarital sexual encounters.

RELATED: Judge sets March trial date in Donald Trump's NY hush-money case

He pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. Each count is punishable by up to four years in prison, though it’s not clear if a judge would impose any prison time if Trump were convicted.

Judge Juan Manuel Merchan has scheduled Trump’s trial to start March 25, 2024. 

Donald Trump has denied any wrongdoing and repeatedly assailed the investigation, calling the hush-money indictment "political persecution." His lawyers argue that payments to Michael Cohen were legitimate legal expenses and not part of any cover-up. 

2020 election in Georgia

For over two years, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has been investigating whether Trump and his allies illegally meddled in the 2020 election in Georgia.

Trump and 18 others were charged in August by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis with participating in a scheme to illegally try to overturn his narrow loss to Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election. 

RELATED: Judge in Trump Georgia case in 'unenviable position' as final arguments loom

The alleged scheme includes a wide-ranging list of alleged acts, including Trump’s infamous January 2021 phone call to Georgia’s secretary of state, an effort to replace Georgia’s Democratic presidential electors with ones who would vote for Trump, harassment of a Fulton County election worker and the unauthorized copying of data and software from elections equipment.

All 19 defendants are charged under Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, known as RICO. Trump also is charged with 12 other criminal counts, including solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer, filing false documents, false statements and writings, and assorted conspiracy charges. The RICO charge alone carries a penalty of five to 20 years in prison.

Trump has been forceful in his insistence that he did nothing wrong. He has repeatedly said his Jan. 2, 2021, telephone call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger was "perfect." Trump attorney Steve Sadow has said Trump "should never have been indicted" and is "innocent of all the charges brought against him."

New York civil cases

 On Feb. 16, a New York judge ordered Donald Trump and his companies to pay $355 million in penalties, finding they engaged in a yearslong scheme to dupe banks and others with financial statements that inflated his wealth.

Trump, who built his reputation as a real estate titan, also was barred from serving as an officer or director of any New York corporation for three years or from getting a loan from banks registered in his native state.

The total $364 million verdict — which grows to $454 million, adding interest — keeps the Trump Organization in business. The judge backed away from an earlier ruling that would have dissolved the former president’s companies. But if upheld, the verdict will force a shakeup at the top of the company.

Trump called the verdict a "Complete and Total sham." He wrote on his Truth Social platform that New York Attorney General Letitia James "has been obsessed with ’Getting Trump' for years" and that Engoron’s decision was "an illegal, unAmerican judgment against me, my family, and my tremendous business."

RELATED: Trump civil fraud trial verdict: $364M penalty imposed

A New York appellate judge on Wednesday refused to halt collection of Donald Trump’s $454 million civil fraud penalty while he appeals, leaving the former president less than a month to pay up or secure a bond covering the full amount he owes.

Judge Anil Singh of the state’s mid-level appeals court rejected Trump's offer of a $100 million bond, though he did offer Trump some leeway that could help him secure the necessary bond before New York Attorney General Letitia James seeks to enforce the judgment starting on March 25.

Trump’s lawyers warned he may need to sell some properties to cover the penalty and would have no way of getting them back if he is successful in his appeal. State lawyers said those disclosures suggested Trump — who has more than a half-billion dollars in pending court debt — was having trouble coming up with the staggering sum he owes.

Trump’s lawyers floated their smaller bond offer in court papers as they sought an order from the appellate court preventing James’ office from enforcing the judgment while his appeal plays out. Singh, sitting in the Appellate Division of the state’s trial court, ruled after hearing arguments at an emergency hearing Wednesday.

In all, Trump and his co-defendants owe more than $465 million to the state. They have until March 25 to secure a stay — a legal mechanism pausing collection while he appeals — before they would be forced to pay the penalty or risk having some of their assets seized. Posting a bond in the full amount would trigger an automatic stay under state law.

"The exorbitant and punitive amount of the judgment coupled with an unlawful and unconstitutional blanket prohibition on lending transactions would make it impossible to secure and post a complete bond," Trump lawyers Clifford Robert, Alina Habba and Michael Farina wrote in court papers detailing the $100 million bond offer.

Trump filed his appeal on Monday. In their notices of appeal, his lawyers said they want the appellate court to decide whether Engoron "committed errors of law and/or fact" and whether he abused his discretion or "acted in excess" of his jurisdiction.

RELATED: Donald Trump appeals $454 million judgment in New York civil fraud case

Judge Arthur Engoron’s Feb. 16 decision punishes Trump, his company and executives including his sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr. for scheming to pad his net worth by billions of dollars on financial statements given to banks, insurers and others to make deals and secure loans.

E. Jean Carroll case

In a separate civil case in federal court in New York, a jury awarded $83.3 million to E. Jean Carroll last month for Trump's social media attacks against the longtime advice columnist over her claims that he sexually assaulted her in a Manhattan department store. 

Protesting vigorously, Trump said he would appeal.

It was the second time in nine months that a civil jury returned a verdict related to Carroll's claim that a flirtatious, chance encounter with Trump in 1996 at Bergdorf Goodman's Fifth Avenue store ended violently. She said Trump slammed her against a dressing room wall, pulled down her tights and forced himself on her.

RELATED: Trump defamation trial verdict: Former president must pay $83.3M to E. Jean Carroll

In May, a different jury awarded Carroll $5 million. It found Trump not liable for rape, but responsible for sexually abusing Carroll and then defaming her by claiming she made it up. He is appealing that award, too.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.