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Business and personal 45th President of the United States Tenure Impeachments Prosecutions Interactions involving Russia |
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The article's lead section may need to be rewritten. (May 2024) |
From the 1970s until he was elected president in 2016, Donald Trump and his businesses were involved in over 4,000 legal cases in United States federal and state courts, including battles with casino patrons, million-dollar real estate lawsuits, personal defamation lawsuits, and over 100 business tax disputes.[1] He has also been accused of sexual harassment and sexual assault,[2][3] with one accusation resulting in him being held civilly liable.[4]
In 2015, Trump's lawyer Alan Garten called Trump's legal entanglements "a natural part of doing business" in the U.S.[5][6] While litigation is indeed common in the real estate industry,[5] Trump has been involved in more legal cases than his fellow magnates Edward J. DeBartolo Jr., Donald Bren, Stephen M. Ross, Sam Zell, and Larry Silverstein combined.[7] Numerous legal matters and investigations occurred during and after Trump's presidency, some being of historical import.
Between October 2021 and July 2022 alone, the Republican National Committee paid more than US$2 million to attorneys representing Trump in his presidential, personal, and business capacities.[8] The New York Times published an overview of his legal involvements as of September 2022.[9] In January 2023, a federal judge fined Trump and his attorney nearly $1 million, characterizing him as "a prolific and sophisticated litigant who is repeatedly using the courts to seek revenge on political adversaries".[10]
On December 6, 2022, the parent company of Trump's many businesses, The Trump Organization, was convicted on 17 criminal charges.[11][12][13]
On May 9, 2023, regarding E. Jean Carroll's claims of defamation and sexual assault, an anonymous jury[14] found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation, but was found not liable for rape according to New York state definition. Presiding Judge Lewis A. Kaplan later stated that the jury had ruled that Trump had committed rape according to the common definition of the word.[15] Trump was ordered to pay Carroll $5 million in damages.[4][16] On January 26, 2024, Trump was ordered to pay Carroll an additional $83.3 million in damages in a second defamation lawsuit.[17]
In June 2023, Trump was indicted on federal criminal charges relating to his handling of classified documents and was arraigned in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in Miami. Pretrial deadlines for Trump’s alleged violations of the Classified Information Procedures Act (CIPA) are set for June and July 2024.[18] The case is not expected to go to trial until 2025.[19]
On August 14, 2023, Trump was criminally indicted by a grand jury in Georgia on state election-related charges. Fulton County, Georgia, district attorney Fani Willis investigated his efforts to overturn that state's 2020 presidential election results.[20]
On September 26, 2023, in New York v. Trump, a judge issued a summary judgment finding Trump and his two adult sons liable for fraud regarding fraudulent overvaluation of The Trump Organization's assets and Trump's net worth.[21] On February 16, 2024, following a three-month trial, Trump, The Trump Organization, his sons, and the former chief financial officer were fined a total of $364 million.[22] A week later, the court finalized that Trump must also pay $100 million in interest.[23] On April 1, 2024, Trump posted bond of $175 million, averting seizure of his properties and assets while he appeals.[24] The original judgment (plus interest) against the defendants still stands.[25]
On January 12, 2024, a case regarding an alleged pyramid scheme was dismissed from federal court, with plaintiffs recommended to file cases in state courts.[26]
On May 30, 2024, in People v. Trump, Trump was convicted on 34 New York state felony criminal counts of falsifying business records related to hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels prior to his election to the presidency.[27] He had been indicted on March 30, 2023 by a grand jury in Manhattan. He was arraigned on April 4, 2023, and pleaded not guilty to all counts.[28][29] The trial began April 15, 2024 and ended with his conviction.[30]
In 2024,[31] Trump will also face trial on federal charges related to the 2020 election.[32]
Litigation isn't unusual for resolving business disputes or enforcing contracts, particularly in the real-estate industry. It is difficult to determine whether Mr. Trump files more lawsuits than others with similarly broad business interests. The Republican Party has long argued that excessive litigation in the U.S. increases the costs of goods and services and limits job creation. Republican leaders have pushed, in particular, for medical-malpractice changes, to reduce fraud in the asbestos-claims process and to cut down on what they see as frivolous litigation in general. Mr. Trump's political opponents have cited his pattern of litigiousness to buttress their contention that he isn't a true conservative.
He is a litigation magnet who has been the target (and the initiator) of hundreds of civil suits over the past several decades.... Indeed, Trump's penchant for litigation – and punching back against his critics in court – has shown no signs of abating while he is on the campaign trail.
Two Trump Organization entities — the Trump Corporation and the Trump Payroll Corp. — were on trial. Both were found guilty on all charges.
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