A guide to Donald Trump's four criminal cases - BBC News
The former president is juggling potentially explosive legal battles with campaigning for the White House.
Donald Trump is heading towards a likely election rematch with Joe Biden in November, but this time around he's juggling campaigning with some potentially explosive legal battles.

The 77-year-old, who is the first former president in US history to be criminally charged, now faces dozens of charges across four separate cases.

And his legal troubles don't end there, as Mr Trump is also facing several civil cases relating to, among other things, the business empire that made his name. There are crucial legal appeals that are yet to be settled too, including one on whether he is immune from prosecution.

Here, we'll focus on the four criminal cases Mr Trump is facing and explain what they're about, what could happen next and, crucially, what's at stake as he seeks to return to the White House.

A payment made to the adult film actress Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 election.

Ms Daniels says she was paid $130,000 (£103,000) to stay quiet after having sex with Mr Trump, who denies they ever had an affair.

It's worth noting, though, that providing so-called hush-money is not in fact illegal.

Instead, this case is more technical and centres on how Mr Trump's former lawyer, who paid Ms Daniels, had his reimbursement recorded in Mr Trump's accounts.

The former president is accused of falsifying his business records by saying the payment was for legal fees. He's facing 34 counts of fraud under campaign finance laws, and has pleaded not guilty to all of them.

Mr Trump has said the case is politically motivated. "This is just a way of hurting me in the election," he told reporters. "This is not a crime."

Jury selection begins on 15 April, with the trial proper expected to start a week or two after that.

It was delayed by a month when a judge granted a request to allow time for new evidence to be reviewed.

It will be the first criminal trial of a US president.

Could Mr Trump go to prison?

Each of the charges carries a maximum of four years in prison, although a judge could sentence Mr Trump to probation if he is convicted.

Legal experts told the BBC they think it is unlikely Mr Trump will be jailed if convicted in this case and that a fine is the more likely outcome.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, is using a rarely used strategy to bring felony charges rather than less serious misdemeanours.

Whether Mr Trump illegally conspired to overturn his 2020 election defeat to Joe Biden.

Federal prosecutors allege he pressured officials to reverse the results, knowingly spread lies about election fraud and sought to exploit the Capitol riot on 6 January 2021 to delay the certification of Mr Biden's victory and stay in power.

He's been charged with four criminal counts, including conspiracy to defraud the US and conspiracy against the rights of citizens.

Some had speculated he would be charged with insurrection, or aiding insurrection, but that is not one of the charges.

He has denied wrongdoing and made an unsubstantiated accusation that the Biden administration is behind the prosecution.

This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch the moment Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol building

It has been postponed indefinitely while an appeal from Mr Trump plays out.

The Supreme Court will rule on Mr Trump's argument that a former president cannot be prosecuted like any other citizen.

Justices will hear the case on 25 April and decide by June.

The challenge increases the chances that this trial may not happen before November's election.

And if Mr Trump were to win the vote, he could in theory pardon himself or order the charges to be dismissed.

Could Mr Trump go to prison?

But there are logistical, security and political questions around whether Mr Trump would actually serve time in jail even if convicted.

A conviction at trial would take the US into uncharted territory.

Mr Trump and some 18 other defendants are accused of criminally conspiring to overturn his very narrow defeat in the state of Georgia in the 2020 election.

The huge racketeering investigation, led by Georgia prosecutor Fani Willis, was sparked in part by a leaked phone call in which the former president asked the state's top election official to "find 11,780 votes".

Mr Trump was hit 13 criminal counts, subsequently reduced to 10. They include one alleged violation of Georgia's Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (Rico).

The former president has repeatedly denied wrongdoing in the case and has entered a plea of not guilty.

Prosecutors want the case to begin in August, but a date has not been set.

The timeline was complicated by a failed effort to disqualify Ms Willis because of her romantic relationship with a man she hired to work on the case.

Could Mr Trump go to prison?

Georgia prosecutors would need to prove that there was a pattern of corruption from Mr Trump and his co-defendants aimed at overturning the election result in order to bring a conviction.

As for making false statements, that carries a penalty of between one to five years in prison or a fine.

Whether Mr Trump mishandled classified documents by taking them from the White House to his Mar-a-Lago residence after he left office.

It's also about whether he obstructed the FBI's efforts to retrieve the files, as well as the criminal investigation into his handling of them.

The majority of the counts are for the wilful retention of national defence information, which falls under the Espionage Act.

There are then eight individual counts, which include conspiracy to obstruct justice, withholding a document or record and making false statements. Mr Trump has pleaded not guilty on all counts.

Prosecutors want it to start in July.

Mr Trump and his lawyers want it put off until after the November presidential election.

Could Mr Trump go to prison?

These charges could, in theory, lead to substantial prison time if Mr Trump is convicted.

Looking at the letter of the law, the counts under the Espionage Act each carry a maximum sentence of 10 years. Other counts, related to conspiracy and withholding or concealing documents, each carry maximum sentences of 20 years.

But the logistics of jailing a former president mean a conventional prison sentence is seen as unlikely by many experts.

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