Although former President Donald Trump may have exited the White House at the end of 2020, he has not left the news circuit. A brief glance at the news, and anyone can see Trump’s name has been tied to numbers of activities, events, and accusations. 

Trump’s presidency was one for the history books. Trump is one of three presidents to be impeached, and he was the first president to be impeached twice. Technically, Trump was impeached for the second time after President Joe Biden had already been inaugurated, making him the first U.S. president to be impeached after they had left office as well. However, despite concentrated efforts, he was never removed from office. 

The impeachment did not seem to affect his pull in the Republican Party. In the recent primaries across the country, the Republican candidates who were Trump-endorsed did better than their Republican counterparts, despite the current Trump-related controversies. 

On Aug. 8, the FBI searched Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate after receiving a search warrant in south Florida. This search was breaking news; no one saw it coming. However, there were several events leading up to the search. Trump also posted a number of messages on his social media platform Truth Social that were false and misleading. Christopher Wray is the director of the FBI, and he was appointed by Trump in 2017. 

The search itself was to find materials that Trump was thought to have removed from the White House during his presidency, including classified documents. The inventory after the search displayed 11 sets of classified or confidential documents. The consequences and fallout from the search are still unfolding. 

In addition to the recent FBI search, Trump invoked the Fifth Amendment during the deposition of a three year on-going civil investigation into whether the Trump Organization provided misleading financial statements to lenders, insurers, and tax authorities. The Trump Organization is a group of about 500 business entities over which Donald Trump is the main or only owner. Trump claimed on Truth Social that this investigation is “the greatest Witch Hunt in U.S. history!” As a general rule of practice, presidents publicly release their tax returns while running for White House. However, these documents must be handed over to Congress according to the federal appeals court. 

After the events on the eighth, many supporters used violent rhetoric against law enforcement. Wray claimed in a news conference, “Violence against law enforcement is not the answer, no matter who you’re upset with.” 

Allen Weisselberg, a top executive and former CFO for Trump Organization, pleaded guilty on Aug. 18 to evading taxes; he struck a plea deal with prosecutors, and he is now a witness against the company at trial in return for a lighter sentence. Trump himself has not yet been charged. 

With all this uncertainty concerning Trump’s role in several legal cases, there is still talk about Trump running for president in 2024. There is a large number of Trump supporters still waving their “Trump 2024” flags despite all the murky waters surrounding Trump’s actions. Only time will tell how these events will unfold and more importantly, how they will affect the general public.