Tracking the Trump criminal cases and where they stand
Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, is the first former U.S. president convicted of a crime. A jury in May found him guilty in his New York hush money trial, and a federal judge on July 15 threw out an indictment accusing him of illegally keeping classified documents. He is still facing charges in two other cases, one in federal court and one in state court. He has denied wrongdoing in each, and he can still run for president. Here is the latest in each of Trump’s four criminal cases.
Hush money case
Trump was convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records in connection with hush money payments to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 election.
What to know
The jury found Trump guilty on all counts. He faces up to four years in prison; sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 26.
Why it matters
The case marks the first-ever criminal conviction of a former U.S. president. This conviction does not bar Trump from running for or holding office.
The background
Daniels was paid $130,000 on the eve of the 2016 election to keep quiet about her claims that she had a sexual encounter with Trump years earlier. Trump denies the affair but has admitted to reimbursing his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, for the payments. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg alleged that Trump misclassified the reimbursement payments as legal expenses when they were actually campaign expenses. Read more about the charges in the New York case.
Classified documents case
Federal prosecutors charged Trump with illegally hoarding classified documents from his presidency and conspiring with aides to cover up his actions.
What to know
U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon on July 15 granted Trump’s request to dismiss the case, ruling that the appointment of special counsel Jack Smith, the lead prosecutor, was unconstitutional. She said Smith’s appointment violated both the Constitution’s appointment’s clause, which provides a framework for how public officials are nominated and appointed, and the appropriations clause, which gives Congress control over federal spending. Smith is appealing this decision.
Cannon had indefinitely postponed the trial, citing complicated legal rules and deadlines surrounding the use of classified evidence in public criminal trials. Other courts have rejected arguments similar to the one that Trump made in Florida about the legality of Smith’s appointment.
Why it matters
Trump is accused of dozens of violations of national security laws that the Justice Department says jeopardized some of the nation’s most closely guarded secrets. Prosecutors are also seeking to show that Trump and aides allegedly tried to destroy evidence in the case.
The background
A federal grand jury initially charged Trump in June 2023 with 37 counts, including willful retention of national defense secrets, obstruction of justice and conspiracy. An additional set of charges said Trump and an aide, Carlos De Oliveira, sought to delete security footage from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate to prevent investigators from seeing it. Trump was facing a total of 40 federal charges. Another aide, Walt Nauta, is accused of helping Trump. Read the full indictment.
Federal Jan. 6 election case
Federal prosecutors charged Trump with conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 election. He is accused of spreading claims about voter fraud that he knew to be false, then pressuring local, state and federal officials to block Joe Biden’s victory.
What to know
Jack Smith, the special counsel, filed a new indictment of Trump following a historic Supreme Court ruling in July that granted presidents broad immunity from prosecution for official actions. The new indictment removes a series of allegations that the court’s conservative majority said were wrongly filed. Those allegations specifically involved Trump’s attempt in late 2020 to make the Justice Department bolster his false claims of election fraud. The original 45-page indictment has been reduced to 36 pages.
The Supreme Court ruled on July 1 that presidents have “absolute” immunity from prosecution for clearly official actions but no such immunity for unofficial acts. The 6-3 ruling, decided on ideological lines, sent the case back to a lower court to determine which acts alleged in the indictment are official.
In a dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote that the decision “reshapes the institution of the presidency” and “gives former President Trump all the immunity he asked for and more.”
Trump, who has pleaded not guilty, argued he had complete immunity from prosecution. Two lower courts rejected that claim. It’s unlikely that the case will go to trial before the November election. If Trump wins the presidency, he could order the Justice Department to drop the charges.
Why it matters
The charges in the indictment are among the most serious that can be brought against a former U.S. president. The indictment accuses Trump of seeking to sabotage the peaceful transfer of power, a bedrock of American democracy.
The background
Jack Smith was tapped in November 2022 as special counsel to handle the investigation. Investigators looked into the Trump campaign’s attempts to raise money off false claims of election fraud and plans for “fake electors” who could deliver the election to Trump. The indictment lists six co-conspirators, but none of them have been charged. Read more about the government’s case against Trump.
Georgia election interference case
Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis indicted Trump and 18 others in August in connection with their attempts to reverse Trump’s 2020 election loss in the state.
What to know
Trump faces eight charges, down from an initial 13 when the indictment was first filed. A judge on Sept. 12 dismissed two charges against Trump and one against his allies under the Constitution’s supremacy clause, which prohibits state prosecutions of actions that fall under federal jurisdiction. The same judge dismissed three charges against Trump in March. Trump and the other defendants still stand accused of engaging in a racketeering conspiracy related to their attempts to subvert the vote in Georgia in the 2020 election. Four of Trump’s co-defendants have pleaded guilty to illegally conspiring to overturn his defeat and could testify if other defendants go to trial.
The defendants tried to get Willis disqualified from the case in the spring, alleging she had an improper relationship with the case’s lead prosecutor, Nathan Wade. The judge allowed Willis to continue with the prosecution on the condition that Wade resigned, which he did. Trump is appealing the judge’s decision. Oral arguments for the appeal are set for Dec. 5.
Why the case matters
This is the most expansive indictment brought against Trump regarding the 2020 election. Willis used Georgia’s powerful anti-racketeering law — originally created to take down organized crime — to indict not only Trump but a network of allies who allegedly sought to help him.
The background
Willis launched the investigation more than two years ago after audio leaked from a January 2021 phone call in which Trump pressured Georgia’s Republican secretary of state to “find” the votes to reverse his loss and threatened vague criminal consequences if he refused. Read more about how Trump tried to undo his election loss.