Trump acquitted: these investigations which still threaten the former president
Although acquitted on Saturday by the Senate during his second impeachment trial, the ex-president is far from having finished with justice.
Acquitted, but not out of the woods. Legal proceedings or commission of inquiry: the former President of the United States Donald Trump could still be held accountable for the events of January 6, when his supporters invaded the US Congress killing 5 and injuring dozens.
Before the Senate, Democratic prosecutors sought to demonstrate that the 45th president had incited violence with months of "lies", denying his November 3 presidential defeat to Joe Biden, then his speech in front of thousands of supporters in Washington, the day of the Capitol storm.
"Fight like devils," he told them, while parliamentarians certified the victory of his Democratic rival. Donald Trump denies any responsibility for these events, and his lawyers stressed that he had, on one occasion during this speech, called for “peaceful” demonstrations.
"Responsible" for violence on the Capitol according to the leader of the Republicans
Although he acquitted him in the Senate because he felt the upper house lacked the competence to try him, the powerful Republican leader Mitch McConnell himself, in the process, raised the threat of legal action. . "There is no doubt, no, that President Trump is, in fact and morally, responsible," he said in the chamber. "He is still responsible for everything he did while he was in office. He hasn't escaped anything at all yet."
45% of Americans believe Donald Trump is responsible for the violence and should face criminal charges, according to a Quinnipiac poll released on Sunday.
A conviction of the former president unlikely
In fact, a conviction in court seems difficult. "I really doubt that (the lawsuits) can survive if not the trial, at least a judgment on appeal. I think the case would fall apart," Jonathan Turley, professor of constitutional law at the George Washington University.
A conviction appears all the more complicated since the president's speech of January 6 could be protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution, so dear to Americans, which guarantees freedom of expression.
The district attorney general of the District of Columbia, where Washington is located, Karl Racine, however, warned that he could rely on a local law allowing prosecutions "against individuals who obviously encourage" violence. In this context, Donald Trump would risk six months in prison, he explained on MSNBC on January 17.
For his part, the Washington federal prosecutor, Michael Sherwin, has already indicted dozens of people for their role in the violence. And some victims could in theory seek legal action against the ex-president. But the billionaire could be protected in part by the fact that he was president at the material time.
Attempts to influence the results in Georgia
Another legal route goes through the key state of Georgia, won by Joe Biden. Fulton County prosecutor, which partly covers Atlanta, Fani Willis, on February 10 announced the opening of a preliminary investigation into "attempts to influence electoral operations" in that southern state.
In particular, she asked several senior officials to keep documents that "attest to attempts to influence" election officials. Among them: Georgia Secretary of State Republican Brad Raffensperger. In a phone call made public on January 3, Donald Trump asked him to "find" nearly 12,000 ballots in his name, enough to catch up with Joe Biden in this state.
A commission of inquiry into the facts of January 6
The Democratic Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, announced on Sunday the upcoming creation of an independent commission of inquiry, "on the model" of that created in the United States after the attacks of September 11, 2001.
She will be responsible for investigating "the domestic terrorist attack carried out on January 6, 2021 against the Capitol," she wrote.
Many parliamentarians, Republicans and Democrats alike, had called for the creation of such a commission, without necessarily sharing the same objectives. It would expose "in broad daylight to what extent President Trump is responsible and has, in an abject manner, violated his presidential oath," Democratic Senator Chris Coons said Sunday on ABC channel.
A commission is necessary "to understand what happened and ensure that it never happens again," said Senator Lindsey Graham, a great ally of the Republican billionaire, Sunday on Fox.
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