why donald.trump needs lawyer

Should Trump be prosecuted for a federal crime?

Based on the available evidence, there is no basis to prosecute Trump and little reason even to open a criminal investigation. Federal criminal prosecutions can take place only pursuant to specific statutes, so it's worth analyzing some of the laws that critics say Trump may have violated.

Should Donald Trump be the beneficiary of the prosecution tradition?

But actual prosecutions are not, and Donald Trump should be the beneficiary of this tradition, even if he himself would surely not offer such grace to others.

Did Trump misunderstand his power over the Department of Justice?

(Worth noting: It wasn't just the Department of Justice where Trump seemed to fundamentally misunderstand his power over them. He repeatedly referred to "my generals" and "my military.")

Why is Attorney General Loretta James investigating Trump?

James has for more than three years been investigating the Trump Organization, which manages hotels, golf courses and other real estate around the world. The attorney general has said her probe has found evidence that the company overstated asset values to obtain favorable loans and understated asset values to get tax breaks.

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Where did Donald Trump borrow a sign to build a wall?

Donald Trump holds a sign supporting his plan to build a wall between the United States and Mexico that he borrowed from a member of the audience at his campaign rally in Fayetteville, North Carolina March 9, 2016.

Was Trump University an academic institution?

Let’s not kid ourselves. Trump University was not an academic institution, far from it. It was a get-rich-quick scheme by a guy selling a get-rich-quick scheme. It is not the first or the last of its type. Late night, cheap-advertising-time-television will always feature this fare. Donald’s efforts, however, were on so much a grander scale ― $35,000... “a university.” Really? What this was is an out-and-out fraud scheme by a man now trying to become the leader of our country and the free world.

Insurrection Act

This law prohibits anyone who "incites, sets on foot, assists, or engages in any rebellion or insurrection against the authority of the United States or the laws thereof, or gives aid or comfort thereto." In the first place, this law has almost never been invoked. The leading precedent on the statute comes from a case from 1863!

Election fraud

This law bans "attempts to deprive or defraud residents of a State of a fair and impartially conducted election process, by . [the] tabulation of ballots known by the person to be materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent." Under this theory, by instructing his attorney general to say there was fraud in Georgia, Trump committed this crime.

Obstruction of justice

This law makes it a crime to corruptly obstruct, influence or impede any official proceeding or attempt to do so. Once more, the issue would be intent -- here reflected in the word "corruptly." In his January 6 speech, Trump encouraged the crowd to march to Capitol Hill but he did not explicitly encourage violence.

Hatch Act

The Hatch Act prohibits federal employees from engaging in partisan political activity. The president himself is explicitly exempt from the strictures of the Hatch Act, but could be charged with the provision that makes it "unlawful for any person to intimidate, threaten, command, or coerce" a federal employee to "engage in ...

Conspiracy to defraud the United States

This broad provision, much loved by prosecutors, makes it a crime to "conspire to commit any offense against the United States, or to defraud the United States." The first part of this law runs into the same problem as the specific statutes noted above -- that it's difficult to prove an underlying crime.