Not impeachment single: trump awaiting new investigations and lawsuits

Although President Donald Trump was acquitted on two counts of impeachment on Wednesday, February 5, he is still awaiting criminal investigations, civil litigation, and Congressional investigations into his administration and family business, reports USA Today.

Photo: Depositphoto

During a Senate impeachment trial last week, lawyers for a woman who accused Trump of rape more than 20 years ago announced they were looking for Trump's DNA sample.

“We have never seen any politician, not to mention the president, act in this way. I don’t think we know how it will end, ”said David Weinstein, former federal attorney in Miami.

Republican strategists have predicted Trump's reputation will be cleared after acquittal in the impeachment case.

“It's like surviving an attempt on your political life, this is the most important thing. The rest of the investigations are quite insignificant compared to this, ”said Scott Jennings, former assistant to President George W. Bush.

On the subject: Trump fired an official of Ukrainian origin, who was a witness in the impeachment case

Investigations and trials that took place against the backdrop of the 2020 presidential race precede the problem underlying the impeachment process - did the president abuse his power by delaying military assistance to Ukraine to put pressure on the country and force him to conduct investigations against a political rival.

The answer can have far-reaching consequences for the balance of power between the executive and the legislature.

Trump's financial fraud case comes to Supreme Court

Trump did not show his tax returns until the Supreme Court, which will take place on March 31.

The House Control and Reform Committee requires Trump's eight-year tax return and other documents from Mazars USA, Trump's long-time accounting firm. Manhattan County Attorney Cyrus Vance is looking for Trump's financial documents for a criminal investigation into the payment of money to two women claiming to have had a relationship with Trump before he became president. Trump denies the allegations.

“We won’t go anywhere”

Federal attorneys in California and New York are exploring sources of funding for the Trump campaign in 2016.

As part of this extensive investigation, California capitalist Imaad Zubery was charged in January with obstructing an investigation into a $ 900K campaign source of funding.

In a separate lawsuit, DC Attorney General Carl Rasin sued the company, which allegedly overpaid for a place at the Trump hotel in Washington, which benefited Trump's family business. This company paid the hotel more than $ 1 million for a place for events and meals for four days.

Rasin said he did not intend to give up attempts to return the money.

“We’ll dig it out, we won’t go anywhere,” Rasin said in an interview.

The battle for Mueller continues

The Judicial Committee of the House of Representatives is about to hear the testimony of Donald McGan, a witness in an investigation conducted by Special Prosecutor Robert Muller on Russia's interference in the 2016 elections.

Mueller's report describes numerous cases where Trump tried to frustrate the investigation. McGan told investigators that Trump had ordered him to remove Mueller.

McGan refused to appear on the agenda of the committee to testify because he was a close adviser to the president.

The District of Columbia Court of Appeals is deciding whether McGan can be forced to testify. During a January hearing, lawyers for the House of Representatives said that if the administration continues to block McGan’s testimony, the president will face the prospect of new impeachment articles.

The Department of Justice argues that the courts should not force McGan to testify and force the administration to disclose classified information. The Trump administration objections were met with deep skepticism by some members of the court.

“Has there ever been a case of such widespread disobedience to Congress?”, Referring to the Trump administration’s refusal to cooperate with the impeachment investigation, Judge Thomas Griffith asked the Department of Justice lawyer Hashim Muppan.

The Court of Appeal is likely to issue separate judgments based on McGan's testimony.

Rudy Giuliani, Trump's personal lawyer, was the president’s most aggressive advocate during Mueller’s investigation. He is the subject of a criminal investigation by federal prosecutors in the same office that Giuliani headed as a lawyer in Manhattan before he became mayor of New York in 1993.

The investigation is partially focused on the work of Giuliani with Leo Parnassus and Igor Fruman. They worked with Giuliani in search of information in Ukraine that could hurt Joe Biden, a former U.S. vice president who fights against Trump in the 2020 presidential election.

Questions about Trump's financial fraud remain

Questions remain about whether Trump violated the once obscure constitutional provision that prohibits the president from accepting money from a foreign government.

The litigation regarding the remuneration clause that Trump ridiculed as "bloated" went through federal courts in Washington and two states.

The question is whether Trump’s financial stake in hotels and restaurants serving foreign and local clients with government interests that Trump leads violates the Constitution. After he became president, Trump transferred the day-to-day control of his company to his elder sons, but he still owns the business.

Trump's family business has attracted the attention of the New York Attorney General. The New York Times reports that investigators provided the court with records related to the financing of four major projects at Trump's company.

The investigation was prompted by Congressional testimony from former Trump personal lawyer Michael Cohen, who said Trump was inflating his assets in the financial statements.

“There will still be questions about the president’s financial fraud and motivation, financial connections and business interests around the world,” said Deepak Gupta, a Washington attorney with two Emoluments v. Trump cases.

“We know that foreign governments patronize his business,” he said, “and for foreign officials this is the easiest way to fill the pockets of the president.”

Disturbing the balance of power

Republican strategist Ron Bonzhan suggested Trump's acquittal could deprive Democrats of the incentive to continue investigations in Congress.

“We will most likely see the White House say that the investigations in the House of Representatives are still exclusively a political vendetta organized by the democratic leadership with the goal of influencing the 2020 elections, rather than doing real work for the American people,” said Bonzhan.

According to Bonzhan, the impeachment procedure did not affect Trump’s political position, and his supporters will continue to view the investigation as a waste of time.

“In general, Trump supporters really agree that this is a political process,” Bonzhan said.

On the subject: How the acquittal case justified Trump’s reelection

Democratic strategist Simon Rosenberg, who runs the think tank of the National Democratic Network, said it's impossible to turn away from upcoming investigations.

“I don’t think there will be any weakening regarding accountability. The chamber is constitutionally responsible for checking the executive branch, ”Rosenberg said.

The White House has repeatedly ignored subpoenas in Congress during various investigations, including impeachment, which could upset the balance of power between the executive and the legislature.

“How will the government function if the balance of power between the executive and the legislature changes?” Rosenberg said.

Since the differences between the two sides are deeper than ever, he said that he has no answer to this.

Read also on ForumDaily:

Life in Impeachland: what it feels like to be a Ukrainian journalist in Washington

Congress appeal: fact check for Trump's claims on the US economy, unemployment and salaries

'It was a crappy speech': Pelosi defiantly tore the text of Trump's speech in Congress

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