In a year which could have been the start of his ultimate comeback, which even includes a return to social media with his own platform, 2022 has instead already been one of major turmoil for Donald Trump and his family.
In just the first few weeks of the year, a number of criminal and civil investigations into Trump have announced dramatic and substantial updates into their probes, putting him at further risk of a criminal indictment and any chance of him returning to the White House in 2024 getting eviscerated.
So far in January alone, the Supreme Court has thrown out his attempt to block hundreds of documents being passed over to the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 attack, New York Attorney General General Letitia James has detailed a number of examples in which the Trump Organization allegedly committed tax and insurance fraud, and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis requested a special grand jury in her investigation into Trump asking Georgia's secretary of state Brad Raffensperger to "find 11,780 votes" in order to help him win the presidential election.
The inquiries exist on top of more of Trump's inner circle being subpoenaed to testify to the panel investigating the Capitol riot which Trump is accused of inciting, as well as several lawsuits filed against him in connection to the insurrection by Capitol Police officers who blame him for the attack.
However, it is not just Trump who is starting to feel the pressure with the multiple investigations. Three of Trump's adult children—Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and Ivanka Trump—have also been roped in.
For weeks, Trump has been trying to stop Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr. being forced to testify to the New York investigation into the Trump Organization's financial dealings.
In January, James subpoenaed Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr., along with their father, before her office also announced steps to force all three of them to comply with the orders.
While making the announcement, which gave explicit details on how the Trump Organization is alleged to have fraudulently valued multiple assets to achieve benefits such as bigger bank loans, James' office said Donald Trump, Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump were "directly involved in one or more transactions" under review.
According to the Attorney General's office, Ivanka Trump was a "primary contact" for the Trump Organization's largest lender, Deutsche Bank, and allegedly "caused misleading financial statements" to be submitted to Deutsche Bank and the federal government.
Donald Trump, Jr. is also alleged to have had authority over "numerous financial statements containing misleading asset valuations," according to James.
One of Trump's other children, Eric Trump, was questioned under oath by the New York attorney general's office in connection to the civil investigation in October 2020. He, along with Ivanka Trump, have also been targeted for information by the committee investigating the January 6 attack.
CNN reported how the panel had subpoenaed and obtained the phone records associated with Eric Trump and Kimberly Guilfoyle, fiancée to Donald Trump Jr., and requested that Ivanka Trump voluntarily testify before the House committee.
While no specific allegations have been made against Ivanka Trump with regards to the insurrection, a former White House adviser, Rep. Liz Cheney, vice chair of the House Select Committee, previously claimed that they had received "first-hand testimony" that she asked her father "to please stop this violence," at least twice while he was watching the attack unfold live on television. The former president failed to take any action for more than three hours.
In response, Donald Trump criticized the House committee for seeking information from Eric and Ivanka, saying it is a "disgrace" that they'll "go after children" who are aged 38 and 40 respectively.
While barely a week has gone by where there has not been some sort of chaotic incident in Trump's universe over the past six years, Kimberly Wehle, legal analyst and professor of law at the University of Baltimore, noted how the past few weeks have been particularly troublesome for the former president.
"He's Teflon Don, he said he could shoot somebody on Fifth Avenue and survive it, his supporters are going to support him no matter what, but I'm starting to think more and more that the walls are closing in on this guy," Wehle told The Guardian.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, domestic policy ... Read more
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.
