Donald Trump could face two more criminal indictments: Attorney

Donald Trump could be charged in two further criminal cases, according to a legal expert who told Newsweek it is “more than likely” he will also be indicted in the ongoing Arizona election interference case.

The claim was made by Daniel Gielchinsky, an attorney and founder of Florida-based company DGIM Law, who said a fifth Trump indictment in Arizona would “most likely” be the result of another defendant agreeing to testify against him as part of a plea deal.

In August 2023, 18 Trump supporters, including Rudy Giuliani and ex-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, were indicted on charges including fraud, forgery and conspiracy, related to their alleged involvement in a plot to overturn the 2020 presidential election result in the state of Arizona. Prosecutors claim the group planned to submit fake certificates of ascertainment fraudulently claiming Trump had won the state. Trump himself wasn’t charged.

Speaking to Newsweek, Gielchinsky claimed that Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, a Democrat, could end up indicting Trump, potentially after a plea deal involving one or more of the defendants.

Referring to Mayes, he said: “The prosecutor is not finished. It looks to me like she’s a very thoughtful lawyer, very thorough, and she may have believed for whatever reason that she didn’t have enough information yet to indict President Trump but I don’t think we’ve seen the end of it.

“I think a lot of defendants on the current indictment, all she needs is one to say the right things in a cooperation agreement or a plea deal, and I think she’ll end up indicting the president too.

“I think it will be one of the defendants saying something, cooperating, testifying. They reconvene a grand jury, bring that testimony before a grand jury, and ultimately indict Donald Trump.”

Asked what the probability is Trump will be indicted in the Arizona case, Gielchinsky replied: “More than likely—I don’t think she would have gone through all the trouble of naming him as an unindicted co-conspirator, the term ‘co-conspirator’ in and of itself implies that the person being described engaged in activity that could lead to them becoming a defendant. The term tells me more than likely they’re seeking to bring him into the indictment at some point.”

On May 21, 11 of those indicted in the Arizona case, including Giuliani, were arraigned and pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.

Gielchinsky also said Trump may face a sixth criminal indictment as part of an ongoing case into alleged 2020 election interference in Michigan.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel charged 16 Republicans she alleges were involved in a plot to subvert the state’s 2020 election result by fraudulently posing as pro-Trump electors. One of those charged agreed to cooperate in return for having their charges dropped, whilst 15 pleaded not guilty.

In April, special agent Howard Shock, one of the lead investigators in the case, confirmed that Trump, Meadows and Giuliani are all listed as unindicted co-conspirators in the case when questioned by a defense attorney.

Asked whether Trump could end up being indicted in the Michigan case, Gielchinsky answered: “Could be, could be. I think the Arizona one is set up that way almost, to plan for indicting him, the Michigan one—it’s a possibility.”

Newsweek contacted representatives of Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential election campaign for comment by email.

Trump is already facing criminal charges in four separate cases related to claims he falsified business records to cover up a hush money payment, mishandled classified documents and broke the law attempting to reverse the 2020 presidential election outcome both nationwide and in the state of Georgia specifically. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges and claims the cases against him are politically motivated.

The former president is currently on trial over the first of these cases in New York with closing arguments due to begin on Tuesday following four weeks of testimony.