Explained: After 1st Conviction, Other Criminal Cases Against Donald Trump

On Thursday, former US President Donald Trump was found guilty on 34 felony charges regarding hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign. The 77-year-old, who is the first former US president to be criminally convicted, still faces criminal charges in three other cases, whose trials are yet to begin. 

Mr Trump faced 88 criminal counts in all and 54 now remain. Here's a look at the other criminal cases against him.

June 2023: Classified Documents Case 

Mr Trump is charged with mishandling classified documents and hoarding them at his Palm Beach, Florida, home after completing his term as President. He is accused of obstructing the FBI's attempts to retrieve those documents. It is said that the documents were taken from the White House office and stored at his private residence in January 2021. FBI agents raided Mar-a-Lago the next year and seized dozens of classified and top-secret documents. In June 2023, Trump was indicted on 40 counts for mishandling the secret documents. 

A trial in the case was scheduled to begin on May 20, but Judge Aileen Cannon, who was appointed to the federal bench by Mr Trump, postponed it, stating that there are too many outstanding pre-trial motions and classified issues that need to be resolved. It is unlikely that the trial will start before the 2024 November election.

August 2023: Capitol Riots Case 

In August 2023, the former President was indicted on four felony charges for his efforts to block the peaceful transfer of power from him to Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election and working to overturn the results of the election. He is also accused of instigating violent riots at the US Capitol on January 6.  

Federal prosecution regarding this case was brought by Jack Smith, charging Mr Trump with conspiring to defraud the United States government and obstructing official proceedings.

The trial is yet to begin as Mr Trump claims that he can't be prosecuted for actions taken while he was president. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

August 2023: Georgia Election Interference Case 

A Fulton County grand jury indicted Mr Trump with 10 felony counts for interfering in the 2020 Georgia Presidential election to overturn the results to the state. He faces charges of attempting to overturn the 2020 election as part of a "racketeering conspiracy" with 18 allies. 

A key event in this case was his January 2, 2021, phone call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, in which Trump urged Raffensperger to "find" 11,780 votes to reverse Biden's victory.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis launched a criminal investigation in February 2021, with a special grand jury examining potential violations, including solicitation of election fraud, and conspiracy. This case has drawn significant public and political attention, with critics viewing it as an attack on democracy. The investigations in this case are still ongoing.

The three remaining criminal cases are proceeding slowly. The US Supreme Court is trying to determine if Mr Trump should be criminally immune for actions he took while he was President. He has also sought to delay any trials until after the November presidential election and it will be interesting to see what happens to these cases after he wins.