Trump's three criminal cases: what are the 78 counts against him, and what punishment does he face

The 45th President of the United States, Donald Trump, faces a total of 78 charges in three criminal cases. They include 44 federal and 34 state charges. All of them are criminal offenses, and in three jurisdictions. Trump has denied wrongdoing in each case. Edition The Washington Post dealt with these matters in more detail.

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On August 3, Trump was arrested again. A court in Washington has formally charged 45th US President Donald Trump with plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. with the BBC.

The most stringent federal charges relate to obstruction of activities, punishable by up to 20 years in prison. However, defendants rarely receive maximum sentences, and it is unclear whether Trump will be jailed even if he is found guilty in any of the cases.

On the subject: Stormy Daniels and other violations: what criminal cases are open against Trump

Breakdown of charges:

• 4 allegations in the case regarding an attempt to cancel the election results;
• 40 charges in the case of secret documents;
• 34 charges in the case of falsification of business documents.

Federal prosecutors are investigating the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, as well as attempts by Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

4 allegations in the case of trying to cancel the election results

Trump faces four counts of conspiracy to defraud the US government, two counts of witness tampering and one count of conspiracy to commit civil rights violations.

What do the accusations mean?

Conspiracy is a broad legal term meaning that two or more people conspired to break the law and then took steps to do so. A conspiracy does not have to be successful to be considered a crime.

In this case, Trump and a group of alleged accomplices (unnamed, but many of whom can be identified from prosecutors' descriptions) are accused of conspiring to overturn the election and keep Trump in power. The three counts of conspiracy relate to the many ways in which they allegedly attempted to achieve this goal. The fourth point, an attempt to obstruct the official proceedings, arises from Trump's attempt to prevent Congress from confirming the victory of the incumbent US President Joe Biden.

Punishment

Conspiracy to deceive the government is punishable by up to 5 years in prison. Conspiracy to obstruct official proceedings and obstruction of official proceedings are punishable by imprisonment for up to 20 years. The Civil Rights Act provides for penalties of up to 10 years in prison — unless the crime involves murder, rape, or kidnapping (successful or attempted), in which case the maximum penalty is the death penalty.

40 accusations in the secret documents case

Federal prosecutors have accused Trump of illegally possessing classified documents from his presidency and conspiring with aides to cover up his actions.

Trump faces 32 charges of knowingly possessing classified national defense information, 2 charges of making false statements, and 6 charges of possession and alteration of classified documents.

What do the accusations mean?

Each of the first 32 counts relates to different classified documents that prosecutors say Trump illegally kept after he left the White House. Prosecutors said some of the documents contained military intelligence and other sensitive information, the disclosure of which could harm national security. Other allegations relate to Trump's alleged attempts to hide documents from investigators and remove surveillance footage from Mar-a-Lago.

Punishment

The maximum penalty for each count of illegal possession of national defense information is 10 years in prison. Conspiracy to obstruct justice, falsifying evidence, altering or destroying records, and concealing evidence in a federal investigation all carry penalties of up to 20 years. Each accusation of false testimony is punishable by imprisonment for up to 5 years.

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34 allegations in the case of falsification of business documents

The Manhattan District Attorney accused Trump of falsifying business documents in connection with the silence payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 election.

What do the accusations mean?

Each of the charges relates to a separate case in which prosecutors allege that Trump misclassified campaign expenses as legal expenses. Falsifying business records is a crime in New York State, but may be classified as a felony if prosecutors believe there is "intent to commit fraud" that includes intent to "commit another crime or assist or cover up" a crime.

Punishment

If found guilty, Trump faces up to four years in prison on each count. The judge has the power to issue consecutive sentences, which means that Trump will have to serve them one after the other.

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