After "storming Congress and obstructing the transfer of power," Trump's electoral burden is increasing, with expectations of a third case

 The prospect of criminal charges in a third case against former president and presidential candidate Donald Trump is deepening legal and political tensions surrounding the 2024 election.

Trump said Detective Jack Smith sent him a letter on Sunday telling him he was a target for investigation, a step that usually precedes filing charges. Reports indicated that the letter refers to 3 laws that could be the basis for the third criminal trial against Trump.

The first includes the crime of conspiracy to defraud the government, the second is the crime of obstructing the official process, and the third is section 241 of Title 18 of the United States Code, which criminalizes “conspiring to harm, suppress, threaten, or intimidate any person” into “the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or a privilege conferred on him by the Constitution or laws of the United States.”

The charge of obstructing official procedures was used against hundreds of rioters in the events of January 6, against the backdrop of an attempt to disrupt the process of ratifying the work of the Electoral College that was taking place inside the Congressional Building, and hundreds of them were convicted and sentenced to prison under this law.

Trump has already been charged with criminal offenses in a Manhattan case over secret payments to an adult film actress and separately over his keeping secret documents in his private home.

Trump's defense team claims against each charge that he is the victim of a politicized attempt to keep him out of the electoral race, which threatens to harm the legal institutions on which the American political process is based.

In a sign of Trump's intention to continue the challenge until the end, the former president said at an Iowa campaign event on Tuesday evening, "We have a man, and the only way he can be elected is to arm the Department of Justice," referring to President Biden.

It is noteworthy that Trump is still far ahead of his competitors in all opinion polls about the Republican candidates. He gets the votes of 60% of the Republicans, while the remaining percentage is divided between 5 or 6 candidates, led by Ron DeSantis by 20%, while the rest of the candidates get less than 5%.

Away from the controversy over Trump's candidacy, the American political and legal system will face an unusual test, given that the front-runner to win the Republican nomination is being tried by the Department of Justice of his potential Democratic rival, current President Biden.

However, the third indictment over Trump's unprecedented attempt to break the chain of peaceful transfer of power will be the deepest of the legal charges against him.

Reports indicate a wide-ranging investigation covering efforts to cancel elections in major swing states, alleged attempts to thwart the Electoral College vote process, and Trump's actions before, after, and during his supporters storming the Congressional Building in an attempt to stop the certification of election results.

Indicting Trump for these violations would effectively become the first time a former president has been charged with attempting to destroy constitutional institutions, the basic principle that voters choose their president freely.

Former Trump attorney Ty Cobb said any possible indictment of election interference should be seen as a particularly historic stain.

Trump is already scheduled to appear in court next March in the Manhattan case. Further trials will require more time during a period when Trump is expected to tour the United States to promote his candidacy and participate in various election events, as well as debates.

And the situation could become more complicated because Trump is still waiting to hear whether he will be charged in an investigation by the Georgia attorney general over his alleged efforts to steal Biden's election victory in the critical swing state.

But if Trump eventually becomes the Republican nominee while fighting to clear his name on any of these issues, American voters will also face the unusual dilemma of whether to put a potentially convicted felon in the Oval Office and whether to entrust him with the most important national security secrets...