Losers of presidential elections can usually look forward to taking a break from a hectic year of campaigns, media appearances, and public life. Unfortunately for Donald Trump, that won’t be the case—even if he wins, which he might.
Trump’s holiday season will be jam-packed with court appearances for a long list of lawsuits, including a class-action lawsuit against Trump University and one that alleges rape of a 13-year old girl. USA Today reported that a total of 75 lawsuits involving Trump and his businesses remain open.
In October alone, Democrats have sued the Republican National Committee and Trump’s campaign for voter intimidation in five different states: New Jersey, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Arizona. Mexican government officials this month filed a federal criminal tax evasion charge against Trump related to the now-folded Trump Ocean Resort in Tijuana. GOP consultant Cheryl Jacobus this month filed a $4 million defamation lawsuit against Trump due to tweets by his former campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, that she said destroyed her career. There’s also a class-action lawsuit accusing the Trump campaign of sending unsolicited text messages.
Some of these legal challenges hold less water than others. Jezebel cast doubt on the validity of the claims put forth by the Trump child-rape lawsuit, for instance. But others, like the DNC voter intimidation suits or those against Trump University, are likely to not fade away given the increased scrutiny over Trump’s conduct as a result of the election. Trump’s group of “volunteer poll watchers,” known as Stop the Steal, may soon undergo legal scrutiny. Trump advisor Roger Stone has said that the volunteer group would be sent to cities with high minority populations.
And if Trump successfully wins the presidency? As USA Today reports, it won’t make any of them go away:
“If elected, the open lawsuits will tag along with Trump. He would not be entitled to immunity, and could be required to give depositions or even testify in open court. That could chew up time and expose a litany of uncomfortable private and business dealings to the public.”
Here’s a rundown of Trump’s recent and upcoming legal challenges:
1) Nevada State Democratic Party v. Nevada Republican Party (U.S. District Court of Nevada)
Court Date: Nov. 3
A federal judge in Nevada asked for all training material given to poll watchers, exit pollers, and any information given to volunteers with Trump’s campaign. Both representatives from the RNC and Trump’s campaign were scheduled to appear at a hearing in the Las Vegas court of the U.S. District Court of Nevada on Thursday.
2) DNC v. RNC (U.S. District Court of New Jersey)
Court Date: Nov. 4
A federal judge in New Jersey has ordered Trump’s campaign and the RNC to disclose any agreements it had to “engage in ballot security efforts.” This includes detailing any geographic areas that are being targeted, as well as the reasons they are being targeted.
3) Arizona Democratic Party v. Arizona Republican Party, Donald J. Trump for President, Inc., Roger J. Stone, Jr. and Stop the Steal, Inc. (U.S. District Court of Arizona)
Court Date: Nov. 4
The Arizona Democratic Party alleges that Trump and ally Roger Stone are deploying Stop the Steal—the campaign’s volunteer poll watchers and exit pollsters—to prevent African-Americans and Hispanics from voting. According to the Phoenix New Times, the state’s Democratic Party is hoping to ban Trump from encouraging people to engage in poll-watching activities, which includes: “loitering” near polling places, “questioning, interrogating, or verbally harassing voters or prospective voters,” and following voters to take photos or video of them.
Arizona District Judge John Tuchi has called for a hearing on the matter on Thursday, Nov. 4.
4) Pennsylvania Democratic Party v. Republican Party of Pennsylvania, Donald J. Trump for President, Inc., Roger J. Stone, Jr. and Stop the Steal, Inc. (U.S. District Court of Pennsylvania)
Court Date: Nov. 7
Pennsylvania Democrats have accused Trump and Stone of also plotting voter intimidating efforts in Pennsylvania, reported Bloomberg. A federal judge has granted the case a hearing on Nov. 7, the day before Election Day.
“Trump’s calls for unlawful intimidation have grown louder and louder, and the conspiracy to harass and threaten voters on Election Day has already resulted in acts that threaten the voting rights of registered … voters,” wrote the Pennsylvania Democratic Party in its complaint. “The [state] Democratic Party, and untold numbers of [Pennsylvania] voters, will suffer irreparable harm if the right to vote is imperiled by the same forms of virulent harassment that federal law has prohibited since shortly after the Civil War.”
5) Ohio Democratic Party v. Republican Party of Ohio, Donald J. Trump for President, Inc., Roger J. Stone, Jr. and Stop the Steal, Inc. (U.S. District Court of Ohio)
Court date: Nov. 9
A federal judge in Ohio gave Trump and the RNC until Wednesday, Nov. 9, to respond to a lawsuit alleging voter intimidation.
6) Low v. Trump University, LLC
Court Date: Nov. 28
The civil trial against Trump’s for-profit, now shuttered online real-estate school is scheduled to begin on Nov. 28. That’s not the only litigation related to Trump University; there’s also two class-action lawsuits in California filed by former students as well as another one bought on by the New York State Attorney General.
7) Jane Doe v. Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein (U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York)
Court Date: Dec. 16
A anonymous woman known in a lawsuit as “Jane Doe” alleges that she was raped by Trump as a 13-year-old at a 1994 party hosted by financier Jeffrey Epstein, who was convicted in 2008 of soliciting an underage girl for prostitution. Trump is scheduled for status update hearing before a federal judge on Dec. 16. As the Daily Dot reported, further investigation of the case only raises more questions, which is a big reason you haven’t seen it dominating the headlines thus far. What happens after Dec. 16 is anyone’s guess.
