When it comes to his legal issues, this week has brought nothing but bad news for former President Donald Trump.
Trump said Tuesday that special counsel Jack Smith notified him that he is a target of the Department of Justice’s criminal investigation into the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the US Capitol. Receiving that letter suggests that Trump’s second federal indictment could be forthcoming.
A judge in a separate case about Trump’s alleged retention of classified documents after he left office is scheduled Tuesday to consider a trial date. Federal prosecutors have pushed for a winter 2023 date, while Trump hopes to delay the trial until after the 2024 election.
And on Monday, the Georgia Supreme Court rejected his bid to essentially throw out a case over his alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election in the state.
Though Trump’s allies have attempted to dismiss the former president’s legal troubles as evidence of a political conspiracy against him, his legal problems are piling up. One federal indictment would be a serious matter for the former president. Two — coupled at least one, and possibly two, state indictments — as well as a slew of civil litigation could be disastrous.
So far, Trump has simply brushed off his legal entanglements, and they appear to be helping him in the 2024 polls. He expanded his polling lead after both his indictment in New York and his federal indictment in the classified documents case. He remains the frontrunner in the GOP primary, polling more than 30 percentage points on average ahead of Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. But even in the best-case scenario for the former president, the cases will take away valuable time and money he could be spending on his campaign while giving his rivals ample material to attack him as unfit for another term.
And while Trump’s legal troubles may not sway Republican voters, it remains to be seen whether it will cause moderates and independents to turn away…
Read the full article here