United States: Shadow of Trials on the Presidency of Donald Trump

Before taking office on January 20, the recently chose Republican president should respond in due order regarding various cases...

The accession of Donald Trump to the White House will take place in the shadow of heavy judicial clouds, the businessman being the target of numerous lawsuits that could reduce his ability to govern. While the real estate tycoon met Barack Obama in the Oval Office on Thursday and visited the Capitol Building in Washington, his lawyers were working at the other end of the country in California in a lawsuit about Of the defunct Trump University, accused of cheating its students. In this case, the president-elect repeatedly attacked Judge Gonzalo Curiel, calling him "Mexican", when he was born in the United States, and claiming that his origins made him unfit to judge this case Impartially. The trial must start at the end of the month, so the billionaire could be called as a witness well before he took office on 20 January.

In New York, State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman also initiated a procedure for Trump University. The property tycoon, accustomed to judicial quibbling and with many enemies in business, also has accusations of defamation brought by a political consultant on his hands, as well as a complaint from an opponent claiming to have been assaulted at the foot Of the Trump Tower. Aside from all this, Donald Trump's finances are also subject to the famous audit of the tax administration, and one of its companies is suing a subcontractor for contract breach in Washington. And all these files represent only a small sample of current cases against the president-elect.

70 legal actions since June 2015

"This will be one of the many unprecedented things about the Trump Presidency," said Louis Seidman, a constitutional law specialist at Georgetown University. According to USA Today, Donald Trump and his companies have faced more than 3,500 lawsuits over the last thirty years, whether they are behind them or whether they are prosecuted. 'To complaints more derisory in defamation. Since the announcement of his candidacy in June 2015, at least 70 lawsuits have been launched, half by the businessman, the other half against him, according to the newspaper. The Trump Organization and one of its lawyers in California did not respond to requests from Agence France-Presse.

Even if the American president is the most powerful man in the world, he may still be in court. The Supreme Court ruled in 1982 that former President Richard Nixon (1969-1974) could not be prosecuted for acts performed in the course of his duties. But fifteen years later, she decided that Bill Clinton (1993-2001) could be prosecuted for acts before he took office in the case of sexual harassment launched by Paula Jones. Bill Clinton then escaped an impeachment in 1999 when he was accused of lying and obstructing justice. "Today the law has remained with what the Court has decided in this case," told Agence France-Presse Bob Bennett, who was Bill Clinton's lawyer at the time. "They felt that the president did not have absolute immunity in civil cases. "

Louis Seidman noted that the courts have often adjusted their agendas to cope with pressure from chairs in office. And the Supreme Court has never ruled on whether a president can face criminal prosecution. But David Trump's numerous ongoing legal actions will certainly play a role in his ability to govern, Louis Seidman said. "Dispelling of these matters will be virtually impossible. There will be constant legal distractions. On the one hand, he will take office with all the levers of power ", the Republicans controlling the executive and the two chambers of Congress, seizes Louis Seidman. "But on the other hand, he arrives at the White House being the least popular president in history, who has not won the popular vote and with half the country that hates him. "The risk is that he will react to this type of problem by exercising even more power. The whole question is whether he's a good politician, "he concludes.