indictments of Donald Trump

Trump in courtFormer U.S. president Donald Trump in a New York City court during his arraignment on April 4, 2023, in the first of four criminal cases eventually filed against him. He is the first current or former president to be charged with a crime.

In March 2023 Donald Trump became the first current or former U.S. president to be charged with a crime. In the months that followed, three additional indictments were filed. In October 2023 Trump also faced a civil charges that grew out of a lawsuit brought by New York’s attorney general. The lawsuit alleges that Trump and other defendants committed fraud by inflating the value of Trump holdings to get loans and insurance deals that were financially favorable. He has denied all wrongdoing in the cases, but in February 2024, a judge ordered Trump to pay nearly $355 million in fines after finding him guilty

Here is a brief summary of all the criminal charges. Trump is presumed innocent of all charges unless he is found guilty in a court of law. Follow the links to read the original charging documents.

  • The Stormy Daniels case: On May 30, 2023, Trump was convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records “to conceal damaging information and unlawful activity” while he was a candidate in the 2016 presidential election. The records pertained to money allegedly paid to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels to not reveal details of an extramarital affair she said she had had with Trump in 2006. On May 30, 2024, a New York jury found Trump guilty of all 34 counts. Read the indictment.
  • The documents case: On June 8, 2023, a federal grand jury returned a 37-count indictment, filed by the office of special counsel Jack Smith, relating to the alleged mishandling of classified documents that had been found at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. In July the grand jury returned a superseding indictment that included three more charges. On July 15, 2024, federal judge Aileen M. Cannon dismissed the case against Trump on the grounds that the appointment of special counsel Jack Smith was unconstitutional. The dismissal is likely to be appealed. Read the indictment.
  • The election/January 6 case: On August 1, 2023, Trump was indicted on four charges related to his attempts to overturn the results of the election of 2020, which was won by Joe Biden, including efforts linked to the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. In comments after the charges were announced, special counsel Smith called the events of that day “an unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy.…It was fueled by lies, lies by the defendant.” Trump has claimed that a former president cannot be charged with crimes for actions taken while in office. After hearing oral arguments on the matter in April 2024, the United States Supreme Court issued a general decision (Trump v. United States) stating that former presidents are entitled to absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for actions that involve the exercise of their “core constitutional powers” and to “presumptive immunity” for all other official acts. Smith filed a superseding indictment in August. Read the indictment.
  • The Georgia case: On August 14, 2023, a grand jury in Fulton county, Georgia, returned a 41-count indictment against Trump and 18 of his allies. Trump was charged with 13 counts related to his attempts to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia. Among those charged alongside Trump were former New York City mayor and Trump personal attorney Rudolph Giuliani, legal scholar John Eastman, and former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. Read the indictment.

Trump, the Republican nominee for president in the 2024 election, was wounded slightly in an assassination attempt on July 13, 2024, while campaigning in Pennsylvania.

Tracy Grant The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica