This is just the beginning of Donald Trump’s legal woes - things may get much worse

The salacious details of the criminal case against Donald Trump have understandably dominated the discussion of his legal predicaments.

A former US president being charged over a hush money payment to a porn star days before the 2016 election is as lurid as it is historic.

But in fact the most immediate criminal threat to the man hoping to retake the White House is not the most perilous.

The 76-year-old is facing three separate investigations into his efforts to overturn Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election and into his hoarding of classified documents at his Florida home.

Legal experts believe these carry a far greater chance of conviction.

Mr Trump has decried them as “witch hunts” against him personally as well as a political vendetta against his supporters.

Allies of the Republican leader believe the indictment over a seven-year-old hush money payment has been a boon to him, boosting his fundraising and polling.

But the details of the other cases involving him are far more serious, and Republicans already suffering from Trump fatigue will be given more cause to question their loyalty.

Claire Finkelstein, a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania, said the decision by New York prosecutors to “step into the fray” with their indictment this week “may actually accelerate” the timetable in the other federal cases.

It puts Mr Trump in the unprecedented position of conceivably facing multiple trials during the 2024 Republican primary race, or even the general election campaign.

“That would be all the more reason for the DOJ to just step up its efforts because of the possibility that he could get disqualified from running from office,” Prof Finkelstein said.

Of the four investigations facing him, experts say the most “open and shut” is the federal probe into Mr Trump’s handling of classified government documents.

In that case, officials obtained a search warrant to search Mr Trump’s Florida home last year, convincing a judge there was probable cause of criminal activity there.

That included the willful retention of national defence information, punishable with up to 10 years in prison.

While the case is ongoing, investigators say they are considering violations of multiple felony statutes after FBI agents seized over 100 highly sensitive government records in the Mar-a-Lago raid.

Several documents marked “top secret” were found in Mr Trump’s office, some reportedly including information obtained from US spies abroad.

In the course of their inquiries the FBI has grilled an aide who was captured on video moving boxes of documents at the property, as they build a case that Mr Trump sought to obstruct their probe.

Role in the US Capitol riot

Then there is a second probe examining Mr Trump’s role in the US Capitol riot on Jan 6 2021.

It is this one that could prove lethal for his ambition to regain the presidency.

Mr Trump, who refused to formally concede defeat to Mr Biden, urged supporters to “fight like hell” against Congress’ certification of the results before a mob stormed the building with deadly consequences.

Federal prosecutors have brought a number of former Trump administration officials before a grand jury for questioning in the case.

Mr Trump has faced a series of legal setbacks in both the Jan 6 case and secret documents case after rulings that compelled both Mr Trump’s own lawyer and his former vice president Mike Pence to testify against him. Both are being led by the same special counsel, Jack Smith.

But Prof Finkelstein points out that the Jan 6 case is the only one that could carry charges that the US Constitution explicitly states would bar a candidate from becoming president.

Legal threat looms in Georgia

“The biggest concern from that standpoint would be the [potential for] seditious conspiracy or insurrection charges,” she said.

A third serious legal threat looms in Georgia, where prosecutors have examined a pressure campaign by Mr Trump and his allies to overturn his defeat in the state.

Mr Trump infamously called a top election official in Georgia and urged him to “find 11,780 votes” - just enough to overtake Mr Biden and overturn his narrow loss in the state.

Mr Trump has denied any wrongdoing, describing the phone call as “perfect.”

However prosecutors in the state are considering bringing charges of racketeering and conspiracy against him.

Mr Trump’s history of deftly evading legal and political quandaries is well documented.

But with the former president due to appear in the dock on Tuesday, and three more cases pending, Mr Trump’s “Teflon Don” image has been irrevocably damaged.