NEW: President Trump could face criminal and civil investigations at both the federal and state levels for many years to come should he lose the White House, and the immunity from prosecution he's so far enjoyed. by @davelevinthal in @Politicsinsider ($) ow.ly/60vQ50Cd2DD
Trouble likely awaits him from multiple places: federal- and state-level investigations, criminal and civil inquiries, and matters involving his businesses, political operations, and tenure as president.
But Trump could take perhaps the most dramatic step there is to avoid legal peril; he could try to issue a pardon to himself, or resign outright from the presidency during the lame-duck period and order his replacement Mike Pence to preemptively pardon him.
There's some precedent for such a move. President Gerald Ford sparked controversy in 1974 when he preemptively pardoned his predecessor Richard Nixon who had recently resigned from the White House in the aftermath of the Watergate scandal.
But such gambits wouldn't inoculate Trump and his closest allies from potential fines and even jail time from any state-level challenges where a presidential pardon has no effect.
Former Department of Justice and Federal Election Commission officials, as well as other legal scholars, tell Insider that Trump's post-presidency legal issues could last years.
If so, Trump's personal troubles would follow a parade of legal scandals — and in some cases, prison time — involving former political and personal associates, including Manafort, Bannon, Flynn, Gates, Stone, Cohen, & Broidy.
"There are any number of criminal complaints that could ensnare the president once he leaves office," said Brendan Fischer of the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center, which has filed several complaints against Trump, his campaign, and pro-Trump political organizations.
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