Former President Donald Trump made history in 2023 by becoming the first U.S. president to be indicted. Here’s a quick rundown of his legal troubles.
Trump, the current 2024 Republican primary frontrunner, is facing 91 total charges handed down in four indictments in New York, Washington D.C., and Florida.
Manhattan: Falsifying business records (indicted)
In late March, a New York grand jury indicted Trump on 34 counts of falsifying business records in relation to allegations that his former attorney Michael Cohen paid $130,000 to former video prostitute Stormy Daniels. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office investigated whether Cohen paid Daniels to keep quiet about an alleged extramarital affair between her and Trump, who has denied that the affair took place.
Trump arrived to his scheduled April 4 court appearance at a Manhattan courthouse and pleaded not guilty to all charges. In a Truth Social post the night before his court appearance, Trump called the indictment “Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history.”
“Wow! District Attorney Bragg just illegally LEAKED the various points, and complete information, on the pathetic Indictment against me,” Trump wrote. “I know the reporter and so, unfortunately, does he. This means that he MUST BE IMMEDIATELY INDICTED. Now, if he wants to really clean up his reputation, he will do the honorable thing and, as District Attorney, INDICT HIMSELF. He will go down in Judicial history, and his Trump Hating wife will be, I am sure, very proud of him!”
Federal: Mishandling classified documents, conspiring to obstruct justice (indicted)
Trump’s second indictment dropped on June 8 after Special Counsel Jack Smith charged him with 37 counts for storing over 300 classified documents at Mar-a-Lago. The indictment charges Trump with 31 counts of violating the Espionage Act, which carries a maximum prison sentence of ten years. (RELATED: Trump Says He’s Been Indicted In Truth Social Post)
The indictment also charges Trump with the willful retention of national security information, as well as one count of “conspiracy to obstruct justice;” one count of “withholding a document or record;” one count of “corruptly concealing a document or record;” one count of “concealing a document in a deferral investigation;” one count of “scheme to conceal;” and one count of “false statements and representations.”
The FBI raided Trump’s home in Aug. 2022 after the former president did not deliver on the National Archives and Records Administration’s (NARA) request to take possession of the classified material. Agents at the scene retrieved around 20 boxes of binders, a handwritten note and the executive grant of clemency for Roger Stone, information about the president of France and binders of photographs.
Trump argued the documents were all declassified and in safe storage in an Aug. 12 statement. He has repeatedly said the Presidential Records Act gives him the authority to declassify the documents. The claim has been widely disputed.
Judge Aileen Cannon, who is overseeing the documents case, set the trial to begin May 20, 2024 in the Fort Pierce Division of Florida, in a filing Friday.
Federal: Conspiring to overturn the 2020 election (indicted)
A grand jury indicted Trump on August 1 with four charges; conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights in relation of his alleged attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election, according to the indictment.
Trump announced in a July 18 Truth Social post that he received a “target letter” from Smith about his investigation into the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Individuals receiving these types of letters are likely to face imminent indictment.
According to ABC News, which cited unnamed sources, the three statutes cited in the target letter “include conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud the United States; a civil rights conspiracy charge; and tampering with a witness, victim or informant.”
Fulton County: Attempting to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia (investigation ongoing)
A grand jury handed down an indictment against Trump and eighteen other individuals in Fulton County, Georgia, on the evening of August 14 in relation to their alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia.
The nineteen defendants are charged with violating Georgia’s “Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations” (RICO) Act, Solicitation of Violation of Oath by Public Officer, Conspiracy To Commit Impersonating a Public Officer, Conspiracy To Commit Forgery in the First Degree, Conspiracy To Commit False Statements and Writings, Conspiracy To Commit Filing False Documents, Conspiracy To Commit Forgery in the First Degree, Conspiracy To Commit False Statements and Writings, Filing False Documents, Solicitation of Violation of Oath by Public Officer, and False Statements and Writings.
The investigation included an alleged phone call Trump made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger asking him to “find” the 11,780 votes Trump needed to defeat Biden in the state.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis opened the investigation in Feb. 2021, and a special grand jury released a report recommending potential indictments in Jan. 2023 after a seven months of review. Willis announced in April that the report could lead to an indictment by the summer.
Trump attempted to quash the special grand jury’s report, but the Georgia Supreme Court unanimously struck down the former president’s move in a Monday decision.
Civil Suit: Inflation of net worth (ongoing)
In Sept. 2022, New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a civil suit against Trump, three of his children and the Trump Organization’s executive team. The suit against Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, was later dropped.
James accuses the defendants of inflating Trump’s net work in order to secure loans and is seeking $250 million in damages as well as a ban on Trump or the other defendants operating businesses in New York.
The trial is expected to begin on Oct. 2, 2023.
Civil Suit: Defamation and rape (verdict reached)
In May, a jury found Trump liable for defamation and sexual battery in a rape and defamation case brought by former Elle Magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll. The jury, which did not find Trump liable for rape, awarded Carroll $5 million in damages.
Carroll accused Trump of having raped her in the dressing room inside Manhattan’s Bergdorf Goodman department store in 1995 or 1996. She sued him after he denied ever meeting her and called her accusations a “hoax and a lie.”
Trump’s lawyers requested a mistrial in May but were denied by Judge Lewis Kaplan. After the jury’s verdict, the former president countersued Carroll for defamation on June 28 after she claimed again that Trump had raped her. Carroll has doubled down on the rape accusations.
The former president and his lawyers attempted to have the suit dismissed, but Kaplan refused in a June 30 decision. Kaplan also denied Trump’s request for a new trial in a Wednesday ruling.
Kaplan dismissed Trump’s lawsuit against Carroll in an Aug. 7 ruling. Trump accused Carroll of defamation for telling CNN she thought “Oh, yes, he did — oh, yes, he did” as the jury ruled he is not liable for her rape charge. The judge ruled Carroll’s remarks were “substantially true” because the jury ruled that Trump “digitally” penetrated her.