https://www.justsecurity.org/75032/litigation-tracker-pending-criminal-and-civil-cases-against-donald-trump/
For those of us who've lost track of the legal jeopardy Donnie Loser Trump is in, this site is an eye opener.
This excerpt below is the criminal cases only.
CRIMINAL CASES
19. Criminal Investigations into Trump’s Finances
People of the State of New York v. Trump Corporation d/b/a Trump Organization, Trump Payroll Corp., d/b/a Trump Organization, Allen Weisselberg
Trump v. Deutsche Bank, No. 19-cv-03826 (S.D.N.Y. Apr. 29, 2019)
Trump v. Vance, No. 19-cv-08694 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 19, 2019)
Prosecuting Office: In 2019, then-President Trump sued to block subpoenas issued by three House Committees and the Manhattan District Attorney seeking his financial information in 2019. As of Feb. 22, the Manhattan DA now has access to Trump’s tax information.
Case Summary: In 2019, the House Intelligence and Finance Committees issued subpoenas to both Deutsche Bank and Capital One seeking information about then-President Trump’s finances. Before the banks complied with the subpoenas, Trump sued, seeking a declaratory judgment that they were unenforceable and an injunction that would have prevented the banks from disclosing Trump’s financial information. In addition, the House Oversight Committee subpoenaed Mazars, Trump’s accounting firm, demanding additional accounting information. Trump again sued to block the subpoena.
In parallel, Manhattan District Attorney, Cyrus Vance Jr., subpoenaed Mazars, for access to Trump’s tax records. Trump again sued to prevent the disclosure of this information.
All three cases reached the Supreme Court, where they were decided on the same day, July 9, 2020. The congressional subpoenas were combined into one case, and were remanded so the lower courts could consider separation of powers concerns raised by congressional committees subpoenaing a sitting president. In the Vance case, the Court ruled that a president’s financial information could be subpoenaed by a local district attorney.
Case Status: With the seating of the new Congress in January 2021, the Congressional subpoenas expired. The Vance subpoena again reached the Supreme Court, which on Feb. 22, refused to block it. His spokesperson has confirmed that the office now has access to Trump’s tax returns, including millions of pages of documents. Charges have not been filed.
Update-1: New reporting on Mar. 1 revealed that Vance’s investigation has focused on Trump Organization chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, whose potential cooperation with prosecutors could be a significant breakthrough in the investigation. On Mar. 31, the New York Times reported that Vance’s office has subpoenaed Weisselberg’s personal bank records, and on Apr. 8, investigators took possession of financial records from Weisselberg’s daughter-in-law.
Update-2: New reporting on Mar. 8 revealed that Vance’s probe has expanded to include investigation of a $130 million loan the Trump Organization received to build its Chicago tower, and whether the forgiveness of that loan was reported as income, as required by the IRS.
Update-3: On May, 25, 2021, the Washington Post reported that Vance has convened a special grand jury that is “expected to decide whether to indict former president Donald Trump, other executives at his company or the business itself should prosecutors present the panel with criminal charges.” According to the Post, “The move indicates that District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr.’s investigation of the former president and his business has reached an advanced stage …. It suggests, too, that Vance believes he has found evidence of a crime — if not by Trump then by someone potentially close to him or by his company.”
Update-4: On Jun. 4, ABC News and the New York Times report that Trump Organization senior vice president and controller, Jeff McConney is among a number of witnesses to have already appeared before the special grand jury. He is reportedly the first employee of the company called to testify.
Update-5: On July 1, prosecutors indicted the Trump Organization and the chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg with running a tax fraud scheme for over fifteen years. The indictment charges Weisselberg, the Trump Organization, and the Trump Payroll Co. with compensating Weisselberg and other Trump Organization executives with off-the-books funds that were unreported or misreported to federal, state, and local tax authorities.
The indictment includes a reference to the former President. It states that “as part of the scheme to defraud, Trump Corporation personnel … arranged for tuition expenses for Weisselberg’s family members to be paid by personal checks drawn on the account of and signed by Donald J. ‘Trump.” The indictment also refers to an “unindicted co-conspirator,” who is Jeff McConney, the Trump Organization’s controller, a person familiar with the investigation told CNN.
Update-6: Matthew Calamari Jr., the Trump Organization’s corporate director of security, and Jeffrey McConney, controller of the Trump Organization, appeared before a Manhattan grand jury on September 2. Calamari received “transactional immunity for the topics he testified about” while McConney was reportedly asked to clarify his previous grand jury testimony and respond to inquiries related to Calamari Sr.
Update-7: The Washington Post reports that the Manhattan DA has convened a second grand jury “to hear evidence about the Trump Organization’s financial practices and potentially to vote on criminal charges.” One source reported that the new grand jury will scrutinize whether Trump’s company manipulated the value of its assets–a practice that NY AG Letitia James is also investigating in her parallel civil probe.
Update-8: Donald Trump’s longtime accountant, Donald Bender, who worked for the firm Mazars, reportedly appeared before the grand jury. In recent weeks prosecutors’ also interviewed Rosemary Vrablic, a former managing director at Deutsche Bank. According to an anonymous source, “prosecutors pressed Vrablic about Trump’s role in dealings with the bank,” the Washington Post reported.
Update-9: On Jan. 1, 2022, Alvin Bragg replaced Vance as Manhattan DA and took the helm of the investigation into Trump’s finances. Before taking office, Bragg stated that he would be directly involved in the investigation and noted that he had asked two of Vance’s top prosecutors to continue working on the case.
Update-10: Two of the prosecutors working on the Trump case, Carey R. Dunne and Mark F. Pomerantz, resigned from the prosecution when Bragg indicated he had doubts on moving forward with the investigation. The New York Times later reported that Pomerantz stated that Trump was “guilty of numerous felony violations” and that it was “a grave failure of justice” not to prosecute him, according to a copy of Pomerantz’s resignation letter.
Update-11: On Apr. 7, 2022, Bragg publicly stated that the Trump investigation was continuing and revealed that his office had even questioned new witnesses. In a press release, Bragg stated, “I pledge that the Office will publicly state the conclusion of our investigation – whether we conclude our work without bringing charges, or move forward with an indictment.”
Update-12: On Aug. 18, 2022, Allen Weisselberg pleaded guilty to fifteen financial felonies including tax fraud and grand larceny. As part of the deal with the new DA Alvin Bragg, Weisselberg agreed to testify if the Trump Organization goes to trial on the tax fraud charges.
Update-13: On Oct. 24, the tax fraud trial against the Trump Organization began, and, on Nov. 21, the prosecution rested its side of the case.
Update-14: On Nov. 21, the New York Times reported that the DA’s office has resumed a criminal investigation of Trump’s possible hush money payment and associated falsification of business records.
Update-15: On Dec. 6, 2022, a jury convicted the Trump Organization of tax fraud and other crimes related to the company’s practice of giving out off-the-books perks to executives that were never taxed. Allen Weisselberg testified as the prosecution’s star witness against the company. Prosecutors never charged Trump himself over the scheme, though the prosecutors implicated him as being personally involved in the scheme.
Update-16: On Jan. 10, 2023, New York state court Judge Juan Merchan sentenced Allen Weisselberg to five months in prison for financial felonies including tax fraud and grand larceny.
Update-17: On Jan. 13, 2023, Judge Merchan sentenced the Trump Organization to pay $1.6 million in fines for its conviction on tax crimes.
20. DC Attorney General Incitement Investigation for Attack on U.S. Capitol
Prosecuting Office: DC Attorney General (AG)
Case Summary: DC Attorney General Karl Racine has said he is exploring whether to charge Trump with incitement. So far, his office has focused on a DC statute that makes it a misdemeanor to “incite or provoke violence where there is a likelihood that such violence will ensue.” Presumably, DC prosecutors are looking into Trump’s statements and tweets before and during the riot, gauging whether they amount to criminal incitement.
That said, Racine has cautioned that prosecuting Trump would be an uphill battle. Though the former president no longer could claim presidential immunity, the First Amendment may still shield his speech from prosecution. Under Brandenburg–the controlling case here–a speaker can be prosecuted for incitement only when their speech is both intended and likely to cause imminent lawless action. This is a notoriously difficult standard to meet, especially on the intent side. Even though some rioters have claimed they were following Trump’s instructions, Racine would need to actually prove it was Trump’s actual goal for them to do so. Despite the trail of incriminating statements Trump left behind, Racine may still have trouble meeting such a high bar.
Not only that, Racine has limited options in terms of what offenses he can charge. Because DC splits criminal jurisdiction with the U.S. government, Racine’s office can enforce only low-level crimes. As a result, he cannot charge Trump with arguably more applicable felonies, and is effectively limited to DC’s incitement statute. And as defense attorneys in DC have noted, this misdemeanor offense is typically charged in street-level disorderly conduct cases, arguably making it a poor fit.
Case Status: Racine’s office is investigating Trump’s conduct but has not filed charges.
Update: As of August 2022, there are no public signs that the DC AG is still investigating Trump.
21. Fulton County, Georgia Criminal Election Influence Investigation
Prosecuting Office: Fulton County, GA District Attorney’s Office.
Case Summary: On Feb. 10, 2021, the Fulton County DA’s Office opened an investigation into attempted election interference by former President Trump. The investigation is looking into potential violations of Georgia election laws, including the “solicitation of election fraud, the making of false statements to state and local governmental bodies, conspiracy, racketeering, violation of oath of office and any involvement in violence or threats related to the election’s administration.”
Case Status: On Feb. 10, 2021, the Fulton County DA’s Office sent letters to Governor Brian Kemp, Lieutenant Governor Duncan, Secretary of State Raffensperger, and Attorney General Carr informing them of the new investigation and requesting that all records relating to the election, including emails sent by employees from non-government accounts, be preserved.
Fulton County DA Fani Willis also reportedly plans to investigate a phone call between Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger where Raffensperger claims Graham asked the Secretary of State if he could throw out legally cast ballots. Graham’s spokesperson claims that this is not true and Graham was instead asking about the signature verification process. The DA’s office is also reportedly looking into whether Rudy Giuliani violated election laws in making false statements to Georgia officials.
The week of March 1 2021, prosecutors are expected to seek grand jury subpoenas for documents and witnesses connected to the investigation.
On Mar. 6, Willis brought on John Floyd, a national expert on state racketeering prosecution, to assist in racketeering investigations. He has not been brought on specifically for the Trump investigation, but as Willis is investigating racketeering in the Trump case, this development suggests that racketeering charges could play a larger role.
On Mar. 11, a recording of a call between then-President Trump and the chief investigator of the Georgia Secretary of State’s office, Frances Watson, was released By the Wall Street Journal. On the call, Trump urged Watson to look for fraud in mail-in ballots. The Fulton County DA’s Office has said that they will request a copy of the phone call.
Update-1: As of Mar. 28, there are reportedly two grand juries considering subpoenas for documents relevant to the investigation.
Update-2: Reporting (on Nov. 6 and Nov. 12) suggests that Willis is considering convening a special grand jury dedicated solely to allegations of election tampering in addition to the two grand juries that have already been convened.
Update-3: On Jan. 20, 2022, Willis submitted a letter to the chief judge of Fulton County’s Superior Court requesting a special grand jury for her investigation of President Trump. The letter states that a special grand jury will assist because a “significant number of witnesses and prospective witnesses have refused to cooperate with the investigation absent a subpoena requiring their testimony.”
Update-4: On Jan. 30, 2022, Willis requested the FBI to conduct a security safety assessment and provide other protective services following Trump’s alarming and charged rhetoric at a recent Texas rally. He called for massive protests against the “racist” and “vicious” prosecutors if they “do anything wrong.”
Update-5: On May 2, 2022, prosecutors convened a special grand jury to investigate “whether there were unlawful attempts to disrupt the administration of the 2020 elections here in Georgia.” The grand jury currently has up to one year to issue a report advising the local DA whether to pursue criminal charges against Trump.
Update-6: Grand jury proceedings began on May 27, 2022. The grand jury expects to hear testimony from “as many as 50 witnesses” and the process “is likely to last weeks.”
Update-7: On July 5, 2022, the grand jury issued subpoenas to several of Trump’s key associates who were allegedly involved in the election interference scheme. The targets include Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani; campaign lawyers John Eastman, Cleta Mitchell, Kenneth Cheseboro, and Jenna Ellis; Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.); and attorney Jacki Pick Deason. Under the subpoenas, these witnesses now must testify under oath before the grand jury.
Update-8: On July 13, 2022, Senator Graham moved to quash the grand jury subpoena by filing a motion in South Carolina federal court. Graham argued that he had legislative immunity–afforded by the Constitution’s Speech and Debate clause–because his calls to Georgia officials about the 2020 election qualified as legislative activity.
Update-9: On Aug. 2, 2022, Rudy Giuliani’s lawyer asked Willis’ office to delay his testimony because he was still recovering from a recent medical procedure. The Fulton County judge ultimately rejected that request and ordered Giuliani to appear before the grand jury on Aug. 17.
Update-10: On Aug. 11, 2022, Trump hired a high-profile Atlanta-based criminal defense attorney, Drew Findling, to represent him during the criminal proceedings.
Update-11: On Aug. 15, 2022, local prosecutors informed Rudy Giuliani that he was formally a “target” of their criminal investigation into election interference in Georgia, which generally means that an indictment is possible but not guaranteed. That same day, a federal judge rejected Senator Graham’s bid to avoid testifying, and ordered Graham to appear before the grand jury on Aug. 23.
Update-12: Senator Graham appealed the order requiring him to testify to the Eleventh Circuit, which then directed the district court to consider whether Graham’s testimony should be limited based on his legislative immunity claim. On Sept. 9, the district court ultimately ordered Graham to testify but also held that Graham could refuse to answer questions about his “investigatory fact-finding … related to his decision to certify … the 2020 presidential election” because those inquiries would fall under his immunized legislative duties. The court held, in line with its prior decisions and that of the court of appeals, that Graham could be questioned about three areas that fell outside of his legislative activities: (1) “any alleged efforts to ‘cajole’ or encourage Secretary Raffensperger or other Georgia election officials to throw out ballots or otherwise alter Georgia’s election practices and procedures;” (2) “Senator Graham’s alleged communications and coordination with the Trump Campaign and its post-election efforts in Georgia;” and (3) “Senator Graham’s public statements related to Georgia’s 2020 elections.”
Update-13: Graham appealed the district court’s order to the Eleventh Circuit, but the appeals court upheld the district court’s ruling. The panel held that Graham could be forced to testify in the probe because his legislative status did confer blanket immunity from questioning. Graham asked the Supreme Court to revisit that ruling, but the Court denied Graham’s request on Nov. 1, 2022
Update-14: On Nov. 22, Graham testified before the grand jury. His office released a statement saying, “Today, Senator Graham appeared before the Fulton County Special Grand Jury for just over two hours and answered all questions.”
Update-15: The Fulton County grand jury completed its investigation into election interference on Jan. 9, 2023. The judge scheduled a hearing for Jan. 24 to determine whether to release the grand jury’s report, including any recommendation on whether charges should be filed.
22. Westchester, New York Criminal Investigation of Trump Organization Golf Course
Prosecuting Office: Westchester District Attorney’s Office
Case Summary: Westchester District Attorney’s Office of Mimi E. Rocah has reportedly launched a criminal investigation, led by Elliott B. Jacobson, examining, at least in part, whether the Trump Organization misled local officials about the property value of its golf course to reduce its taxes.
Case Status: The full scope of the investigation is unknown but the office has subpoenaed records from the course.
23. National Archives Referral for Mishandled Classified Materials
Prosecuting Office: Department of Justice (via referral by National Archives); Office of the Special Counsel Jack Smith
Case Summary: In January 2022, the National Archives recovered fifteen boxes of documents from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in Florida. Many of the documents were covered by the Presidential Records Act, which requires presidents to preserve and turn over their official records. The Archives later discovered that the boxes included “items marked as classified national security information.”
In response to a letter from the House Oversight Committee, the Archives confirmed on Feb. 18 that it had “identified classified information in the boxes” and had “been in communication with the Department of Justice” about Trump’s handling of those materials.
On Feb. 9, 2022, the Archives made a referral to the Justice Department for Trump’s handling of government records. On or before Apr. 29, 2022, the Justice Department notified Trump’s counsel Evan Corcoran that the Department had an “ongoing criminal investigation” into the handling of the government documents marked as classified. (The grand jury investigation was reported by the New York Times on May 12, 2022.)
Case Status: On or before Apr. 29, 2022, the Justice Department notified Trump’s counsel Evan Corcoran that the Department had an “ongoing criminal investigation” into the handling of the government documents marked as classified. (The grand jury investigation was reported by the New York Times on May 12, 2022.)
Update-1: On Apr. 7, 2022, the Washington Post reported that the DOJ plans to investigate Trump’s removal of official records to Mar-a-Lago.
Update-2: On May 12, 2022, the New York Times reported that the Justice Department has started a “grand jury investigation into whether classified White House documents that ended up at former President Donald J. Trump’s Florida home were mishandled,” and that the grand jury has issued at least one subpoena. That subpoena is to the National Archives to obtain the classified documents.
Update-3: On June 3, 2022, federal investigators removed classified documents from Mar-a-Lago under a grand jury subpoena.
On June 8, Trump’s attorneys received an email from federal investigators asking them to further secure the room where documents are being stored. The email asked that “the room at Mar-a-Lago where the documents had been stored be secured and that all the boxes that were moved from the White House to Mar-a-Lago (along with any other items in that room) be preserved in that room in their current condition until further notice,” according to the Wall Street Journal.
Following the June 3 visit, one of Trump’s lawyers reportedly signed a statement that all materials marked as classified and held in boxes in a storage area have been returned to the government. On June 22, the Trump Organization received a subpoena for surveillance tapes that covered areas of the club where the documents were possibly stored, which the FBI later obtained.
Update-4: On Aug. 8, 2022, FBI agents executed a search warrant on Mar-a-Lago and raided the club in search of additional classified materials beyond those taken in June. Attorney General Merrick Garland later confirmed that he had personally approved the search. The DOJ also asked a court to unseal the search warrant itself, which would reveal the alleged crimes that formed the basis of the warrant as well as the list of items taken during the search. Trump now has the option to oppose the unsealing, which he would need to do by Aug. 12.
Update-5: On Aug. 12, the court granted the DOJ’s motion and unsealed the warrant and property receipt. The warrant revealed that Trump is under investigation for violating three criminal statutes: destruction or removal of records, obstruction of justice, and mishandling classified information in violation of the Espionage Act. The property receipt indicated that agents had seized 11 sets of documents, some marked as highly classified.
Update-6: Several media outlets, including CNN and the Washington Post, asked the court to unseal the search warrant documents on Aug. 11. On Aug. 15, the DOJ responded by filing a motion urging the court to keep sealed the search warrant affidavit, which would specify the reasons why investigators believed they had probable cause to search the premises. The DOJ argued that the affidavit contains sensitive information that would “compromise” the government’s ongoing criminal investigation.
Update-7: On Aug. 22, 2022, Trump filed a lawsuit challenging the DOJ’s investigation in Florida federal court. Trump’s suit requested that the court appoint a special master to review the seized documents and to screen out any materials covered by attorney-client or executive privilege. The suit also asked the court to enjoin the DOJ from reviewing the documents and to order the DOJ to return some of Trump’s personal property.
Update-8: On Aug. 30, 2022, the DOJ filed a motion opposing Trump’s request to appoint a special master. The DOJ advanced several arguments, including that Trump lacked standing to challenge the seizure of presidential records, that an injunction against the DOJ’s investigation was inappropriate, that a a former president like Trump cannot assert executive privilege in scenarios like this, and that a special master is unnecessary because a government filter team could screen out privileged information.
Update-9: On Sept. 5, 2022, the district court granted Trump’s request to appoint a special master and enjoined the DOJ from reviewing the seized records as part of its criminal investigation. On Sept. 8, the DOJ filed a notice of appeal and asked the district court to stay its decision with respect to the classified materials. It argued that the DOJ was likely to win its subsequent appeal over the classified documents, because Trump could not possibly assert any personal interest in classified government records. The DOJ also explained that the government would suffer irreparable harm if it were enjoined from using the seized classified materials, because it needed to promptly conduct a national security risk assessment.
Update-10: On Sept. 15, the district court appointed the Hon. Raymond Dearie–a Senior Judge of the Eastern District of New York–as special master. The district court also denied the DOJ’s motion for a stay.
Update-11: The special master–Judge Dearie–held his first hearing on Sept. 20, 2022. Much of the argument focused on the status of the classified documents. Trump’s counsel argued that Judge Dearie should not take the DOJ’s word that some of the seized records were classified but stopped short of arguing that Trump had actually declassified them. According to reporting, the judge “expressed skepticism” at those arguments, and indicated that he would likely deem the records classified unless Trump offered contrary evidence.
Update-12: On Sept. 21, the Eleventh Circuit granted the DOJ’s motion for a stay, meaning that the DOJ can use the classified documents in its investigation and that the DOJ need not submit those documents to the special master for review. The appeals court agreed with the DOJ that Trump could not assert a personal interest in classified records, and also noted that Trump had so far refused to advance any actual evidence that the records had been declassified.
Update-13: On Nov. 22, the court of appeals heard oral argument (C-SPAN) on the merits of whether Judge Cannon should have exercised jurisdiction over Trump’s motion in the first place. The three-judge panel included two of the judges from the prior panel that affirmed the DOJ motion on Sept. 21. The two sides’ arguments on jurisdiction were practically the same as the arguments made in their briefs at issue in the Sept. 21 ruling.
Update-14: On Dec. 1, 2022, the Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled in favor of the government’s petition to vacate Florida district court Judge Aileen Cannon’s order and dismiss the underlying civil action. The Eleventh Circuit held that Judge Cannon should have never exercised jurisdiction over Trump’s motion for return of property.
