1 / 10There has been much speculation that even if he concedes he lost last week's election, U.S. President Donald Trump is interested in remaining a force in Republican politics by acquiring a stake in a media company or running as a candidate again.2 / 10But Trump's time outside of office could be consumed by meetings with lawyers and possibly depositions under oath or testimony at trial. Come late January, he loses protections the U.S. legal system affords to a sitting president, former prosecutors say.3 / 10Trump, 74, has been no stranger to lawsuits in a career as a real estate builder, professional football team owner and casino magnate. He has often worked to settle matters quietly, admitting no wrongdoing. However, his profile as an ex-president could make that challenging.4 / 10Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, who enforces New York state laws, has been conducting a criminal investigation into Trump and the Trump Organization for more than two years. The probe originally focused on hush-money payments that Trump's former lawyer and self-described fixer Michael Cohen paid before the 2016 election to two women who said they had sexual encounters with Trump, which the president has denied.5 / 10Vance has suggested in recent court filings that his probe is now broader and could focus on bank, tax and insurance fraud, as well as falsification of business records.6 / 10In July, the U.S. Supreme Court — denying Trump's bid to keep the returns under wraps — said the president was not immune from state criminal probes while in office, but could raise other defences to Vance's subpoena.7 / 10Some people believe Vance has been reluctant to charge Trump because of uncertainty over whether the case against a sitting president is constitutional, said Harry Sandick, a former prosecutor in New York.8 / 10The investigation poses a threat to Trump, said Corey Brettschneider, a political science professor at Brown University in Providence, R.I. Trump could conceivably face a criminal prosecution brought by the U.S. Department of Justice, led by a new U.S. attorney general.9 / 10Some legal experts have said Trump could face federal income tax evasion charges, pointing to a New York Times report that Trump paid $750 US in federal income taxes in both 2016 and 2017.10 / 10'You've got the stuff that has come out of the New York Times that has all kind of indicia of tax fraud,' Nick Akerman, a lawyer at Dorsey & Whitney and a former federal prosecutor. Trump has rejected findings from the Times report, tweeting that he had paid many millions of dollars in taxes but was entitled to depreciation and tax credits.