Donald Trump: How many investigations is former US president facing?

Published

3 years ago

March 23, 2023

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New York is bracing itself for chaos after Donald Trump claimed he will soon be arrested there.

It comes after a grand jury investigating the former president’s business affairs invited him to testify – often a sign an indictment is close.

The Manhattan criminal case centres around alleged ‘hush’ money sent to former adult film star Stormy Daniels after she said they had an affair.

As well as the New York case, Mr Trump also faces probes in Florida, Georgia and over the insurrection in Washington DC.

Stormy Daniels (criminal)

Ms Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, claims she had an affair with Mr Trump in 2006, which the former US president denies.

In 2016 when he was running for president, she offered to sell her story to the press.

Mr Trump’s then-lawyer Michael Cohen was notified of her plans, resulting in a $130,000 (£105,000) payment being made to keep Ms Daniels quiet.

Once he was elected, Mr Trump reimbursed Mr Cohen by paying him more than double the original amount. He continued to deny the affair, however.

New York investigators have been looking into the former president’s finances for years – originally led by former District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr.

But when he was replaced with Alvin Bragg in 2022, Mr Bragg decided to drop the grand jury investigation into claims the Trump empire fraudulently inflated its real estate value.

Instead he decided to focus on the silence money case last summer, impanelling a grand jury (one assembled in secret to determine whether there’s enough evidence to prosecute) in January.

Soon after Mr Cohen, who was jailed on several counts in 2018, was summoned by prosecutors.

According to court documents, Mr Trump falsely listed his former lawyer’s reimbursement as “legal services”.

If the grand jury is persuaded, this could result in an accounting fraud charge.

They could also decide to indict him on campaign fraud charges – as silencing Ms Daniels’s claims could have helped propel him to power.

The former president has claimed he is likely to be arrested, but no indictment has been issued.

He describes the investigation as a politically motivated “witch hunt”.

The grand jury will reconvene next week, while New York authorities prepare for unrest after Mr Trump urged his supporters to protest there.

Trump Organization fraud (civil)

In a separate case the New York attorney general Letitia James is pursuing a civil lawsuit against the Trump Organization for overvaluing its real estate assets by billions.

Lodged last September, Ms James alleges members of the Trump group lied to lenders about the group’s net worth to get bigger loans.

Documents see her accuse Mr Trump, his sons Donald Jr, Eric, and daughter Ivanka of “astounding” fraud.

She is also seeking $250m (£226m) she claims the Trumps obtained fraudulently.

The case is set to go to court in October, and while it is not a criminal case at this stage, Ms James has referred it to the district attorney as such.

The lawsuit could however ban Mr Trump and his children from owning real estate in New York for five years – or being business directors or officers there.

Classified documents (criminal)

The US Justice Department (DoJ) launched a criminal investigation into Mr Trump after he was found to have removed classified documents from the White House when he left in 2021.

It is being led by special counsel Jack Smith – an independent lawyer hired by the DoJ.

According to court documents, Mr Trump resisted federal government efforts to retrieve official paperwork for more than a year.

This could open him up to separate allegations of obstructing justice.

In August the FBI obtained a court warrant to raid his Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Florida, where they found 11,000 documents – more than 100 of which were marked as classified.

Mr Trump has claimed he “declassified” some of the documents, although there is no evidence for this.

He also says some of them were subject to privilege, which stops them being used in legal proceedings.

Mr Smith’s investigation is ongoing.

Georgia election result (criminal)

Mr Trump disputed the results in several states after he lost the 2020 presidential election, including Georgia where the close margin triggered a run-off.

Ahead of the Democratic victory on 5 January 2021, a phone call between Mr Trump and Republican secretary of state Brad Raffensperger was leaked to the media.

In it, Mr Trump told Mr Raffensperger to “find 11,780 votes”.

This sparked a 26-member grand jury investigation into electoral fraud, racketeering and making false statements to government officials – led by Fani Willis, top prosecutor for Georgia’s Fulton County.

They spent eight months interrogating more than 70 witnesses and filed a lengthy report earlier this year.

It is not clear whether Mr Trump would be indicted as around 20 of his allies have also been named as potential targets of the probe.

The report is being kept secret, but Ms Willis will decide whether to prosecute later this year.

Mr Trump rejects the investigation, calling Ms Willis a “young, ambitious, Radical Left Democrat… who is presiding over one of the most Crime Ridden and Corrupt places”.

January 6 riots (criminal and civil)

In December, a congressional committee filed an 845-page report on the insurrection at the White House on 6 January 2021.

They concluded that Mr Trump and his allies had a “multipart plan to overturn the 2020 presidential election”, including the attack on the Capitol.

It recommended Mr Trump be indicted on four criminal charges – but this is largely symbolic as only the DoJ can do so.

Separately, DoJ special counsel Jack Smith is still carrying out a criminal investigation into the Capitol assault.

While Mr Trump could be charged – he hasn’t been called for questioning yet – it is not clear what the exact focus is. But hundreds of people involved on the day have already been indicted or jailed.

Two congressmen have pursued civil lawsuits for inciting the riots on 6 January.

The first – by Mississippi Democrat Bernie Thompson – was dropped while the House committee gained momentum. But the second – by California Democrat Eric Swalwell – is ongoing.

Mr Trump has continued to claim widescale voter fraud took place.

US

Charlie Kirk posthumously awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom by Donald Trump

Published

1 hour ago

October 15, 2025

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Charlie Kirk posthumously awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom by Donald Trump

Charlie Kirk has been posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Donald Trump.

The USA’s highest civilian honour was received by the conservative activist’s widow, Erika, at the White House.

Mr Kirk, 31, was fatally shot on 10 September while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University.

He founded Turning Point USA and toured American university campuses, debating students about current affairs.

Addressing those attending the ceremony in the White House rose garden, the US president said they were there to “honour and remember a fearless warrior for liberty” and a “beloved leader who galvanised the next generation”.

He said Mr Kirk’s name was being entered “forever into the eternal roster of true American heroes”.

Mr Trump described Charlie Kirk as an “American patriot of the deepest conviction, the finest quality and the highest calibre”.

He said his nation had been “robbed” of an “extraordinary champion”.

And Mr Trump said Mr Kirk was assassinated in the “prime of his life for boldly speaking the truth, for living his faith, and relentlessly fighting for a better and stronger America”.

The ceremony coincided with what would have been Mr Kirk’s 32nd birthday.

Mr Trump described Erika Kirk, now head of Turning Point USA, as someone who had “endured unspeakable hardship with unbelievable strength”.

A 22-year-old man, Tyler Robinson, from the city of Washington in Utah has been charged with Mr Kirk’s murder. Prosecutors said they would seek the death penalty.

At a memorial event held at a stadium in Arizona, Erika Kirk told an enormous crowd she forgave her husband’s killer.

“The answer to hate is not hate,” she said.

US

Grammy-winning R&B and soul star D’Angelo dies after ‘prolonged battle with cancer’

Published

1 hour ago

October 15, 2025

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Grammy-winning R&B and soul star D'Angelo dies after 'prolonged battle with cancer'

Grammy-award winning R&B and soul singer D’Angelo has died following a battle with pancreatic cancer, his family has said.

He died on Tuesday, leaving behind a “legacy of extraordinarily moving music” following a “prolonged and courageous battle with cancer,” his family said in a statement.

The prominent musician, born Michael D’Angelo Archer, was 51 years old.

A family statement said: “We are saddened that he can only leave dear memories with his family, but we are eternally grateful for the legacy of extraordinarily moving music he leaves behind.

“We ask that you respect our privacy during this difficult time, but invite you all join us in mourning his passing while also celebrating the gift of song that he has left for the world.”

The singer rose to prominence in the 1990s with his first album, Brown Sugar.

The track “Lady” from that album reached No. 10 in March 1996 and remained on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart for 20 weeks.

US

‘Treat adult users like adults’: ChatGPT to write erotica

Published

3 hours ago

October 15, 2025

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ChatGPT will soon write erotica for verified adults, according to OpenAI’s chief executive, as well as becoming more “human-like”.

As part of the company’s policy to “treat adult users like adults”, the chatbot will be able to create sexual content once age verification is fully rolled out across the tool.

“In December, as we roll out age-gating more fully and as part of our ‘treat adult users like adults’ principle, we will allow even more, like erotica for verified adults,” said Sam Altman in a post on X.

The announcement wasn’t popular with everyone.

One X user asked Mr Altman: “Why do age-gates always have to lead to erotica? Like, I just want to be able to be treated like an adult and not a toddler, that doesn’t mean I want perv-mode activated.”

“You won’t get it unless you ask for it,” he responded.

According to the announcement, ChatGPT had become more restrictive and “less useful/enjoyable to many users who had no mental health problems” while the company tackled problems concerning the chatbot and vulnerable users.

“We made ChatGPT pretty restrictive to make sure we were being careful with mental health issues,” Mr Altman said. “Given the seriousness of the issue we wanted to get this right.”

In August, the family of teenager Adam Raine began suing OpenAI over his death. It was the first time the company had faced a wrongful death lawsuit.

Adam’s parents accused Sam Altman of putting profit over safety after ChatGPT instructed their son on how to end his life, and even offered to write a suicide note for him.

At the time, OpenAI told Sky News it learned its safeguards “can sometimes become less reliable in long interactions where parts of the model’s safety training may degrade” and said it would continually improve those safeguards.

“Now that we have been able to mitigate the serious mental health issues and have new tools, we are going to be able to safely relax the restrictions in most cases,” said Mr Altman on Tuesday evening.

“In a few weeks, we plan to put out a new version of ChatGPT that allows people to have a personality that behaves more like what people liked about 4o (we hope it will be better!).”

The latest ChatGPT model, 5o, has faced criticism by users for being less playful and creative than the previous model.

Now, OpenAI will allow 5o to “respond in a very human-like way and “use a ton of emoji, or act like a friend” if users want that option.

In response to Mr Altman’s post, one X user said: “About time… ChatGPT used to feel like a person you could actually talk to, then it turned into a compliance bot.

“If it can be made fun again without losing the guardrails, that’s a huge win. People don’t want chaos, just authenticity.”

Mr Altman responded: “For sure; we want that too.

“Almost all users can use ChatGPT however they’d like without negative effects; for a very small percentage of users in mentally fragile states there can be serious problems.

“0.1% of a billion users is still a million people.”

Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.