Lawsuits, indictments, and legal proceedings
On his first day in office, Trump issued sweeping pardons and commutations for approximately 1,500 people charged in connection with the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack, including individuals convicted of violent assaults on police officers.
Judge Juan Merchan sentenced Donald Trump to an unconditional discharge in the New York hush money case, imposing no jail time, probation, or fine, making Trump the first convicted felon to assume the U.S. presidency.
Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the federal classified documents case against Trump, ruling that Special Counsel Jack Smith's appointment was unconstitutional, a decision that was widely criticized by legal scholars.
A Manhattan jury convicted Donald Trump on all 34 counts of falsifying business records, making him the first former U.S. president to be convicted of a felony.
The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously reversed Colorado's removal of Trump from the state's primary ballot, ruling that states cannot unilaterally disqualify federal candidates under the 14th Amendment's insurrection clause.
A federal jury ordered Donald Trump to pay E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million in damages for defaming her after she accused him of sexual assault, one of the largest defamation verdicts against an individual in U.S. history.
A New York judge ruled that Donald Trump committed fraud for years by inflating the value of his real estate assets on financial statements, ordering the dissolution of some of his business entities and setting the stage for a trial on remaining claims.
A Fulton County, Georgia grand jury indicted Trump and 18 co-defendants under state racketeering laws for a sprawling conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia, including Trump's recorded call pressuring the secretary of state to 'find' votes.
Special Counsel Jack Smith charged Trump with four federal counts related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, alleging a broad conspiracy involving fake electors, pressure on the Vice President, and the weaponization of the Justice Department.
Special Counsel Jack Smith unsealed a 37-count federal indictment charging Trump with willful retention of national defense information, obstruction of justice, and making false statements related to classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago.
A Manhattan grand jury indicted Donald Trump on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, making him the first former president ever indicted on criminal charges.
The House Select Committee voted unanimously to refer Donald Trump to the Justice Department on four criminal charges, including insurrection and obstruction, concluding that he was the 'central cause' of the January 6 attack.
FBI agents executed a search warrant at Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, seizing boxes of classified documents including materials marked top secret and sensitive compartmented information.
The House Select Committee investigating the Capitol attack launched its public hearings, presenting evidence over multiple sessions that Trump orchestrated a multi-part plan to overturn the 2020 election.
The House Select Committee investigating the January 6 attack issued subpoenas to members of Trump's inner circle, including former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, Steve Bannon, and other key figures, setting up major legal confrontations over executive privilege.
The Biden Justice Department reversed the Trump-era DOJ position and concluded that the House Ways and Means Committee was entitled to obtain Trump's tax returns, ending a years-long legal battle.
Allen Weisselberg, the longtime CFO of the Trump Organization, was indicted along with the company itself on charges of running a 15-year tax fraud scheme involving unreported employee compensation.
The Senate voted 57-43 to convict Trump for incitement of insurrection, but fell short of the two-thirds majority needed. Seven Republicans crossed party lines to vote guilty, the most bipartisan impeachment vote in history.
The Manhattan District Attorney's office expanded its investigation of the Trump Organization into a full criminal probe, examining potential bank and insurance fraud, tax fraud, and falsification of business records.
The House of Representatives impeached President Trump for the second time, charging him with 'incitement of insurrection' for his role in the January 6 attack on the Capitol, making him the only president in American history to be impeached twice.
Following a rally where Trump urged supporters to 'fight like hell,' thousands stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to prevent the certification of Joe Biden's electoral victory.
In a recorded hour-long phone call, President Trump pressured Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to 'find 11,780 votes' to overturn Biden's victory in the state, a call that would later form the basis of criminal charges.
In the weeks following his election loss, Trump personally pressured state legislators, election officials, and governors in key battleground states to overturn certified results and declare him the winner.
The Republican-controlled Senate voted to acquit President Trump on both articles of impeachment, with Senator Mitt Romney becoming the only Republican to vote for conviction.
The House of Representatives impeached President Trump on two articles — abuse of power and obstruction of Congress — making him the third U.S. president to be impeached.
The U.S. House of Representatives voted to formalize the impeachment inquiry into President Trump over his efforts to pressure Ukraine into investigating political rival Joe Biden.
Trump's longtime personal attorney Michael Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison for campaign finance violations, tax evasion, and lying to Congress, telling the judge he committed the crimes 'at the direction of' the president.
The day after the 2018 midterm elections, Trump forced Attorney General Jeff Sessions to resign, punishing him for recusing himself from the Russia investigation and installing a loyalist as acting attorney general to oversee the Mueller probe.
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed former FBI Director Robert Mueller as Special Counsel to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 election and any links to the Trump campaign, launching a two-year investigation that would dominate Trump's presidency.
President Trump abruptly fired FBI Director James Comey while the FBI was investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election and potential ties to the Trump campaign, triggering a constitutional crisis.
National Security Advisor Michael Flynn was forced to resign after it was revealed he had lied to Vice President Pence about his conversations with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak regarding U.S. sanctions.
Just one week into his presidency, Trump signed an executive order banning entry from seven Muslim-majority countries, triggering immediate chaos at airports and a wave of federal court challenges.
In the weeks following the Access Hollywood tape, more than a dozen women came forward publicly to accuse Trump of unwanted kissing, groping, and sexual assault, directly contradicting his claim that the tape was mere 'locker room talk.'
Trump repeatedly claimed that federal judge Gonzalo Curiel could not fairly preside over the Trump University fraud case because of his 'Mexican heritage,' prompting Paul Ryan to call it 'the textbook definition of a racist comment.'
Multiple fraud lawsuits against Trump University gained national attention during the Republican primary, with former students alleging they were deceived into paying up to $35,000 for worthless real estate courses at what turned out to be an unlicensed institution.
Donald Trump launched Trump University, a for-profit real estate training program that would later face multiple fraud lawsuits and result in a $25 million settlement after thousands of students alleged they were deceived.
Construction of Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue relied on a crew of undocumented Polish immigrants who worked 12-hour shifts for sub-standard wages, demolishing the Bonwit Teller building to make way for Trump's signature skyscraper.
Donald Trump, Fred Trump, and Trump Management signed a consent decree with the Department of Justice to settle charges of systematic racial discrimination in housing, agreeing to a set of reforms without admitting guilt.
The Department of Justice filed a civil rights suit against Trump, his father Fred, and their company for refusing to rent to Black tenants in 39 buildings across New York City.
