Entry openedJan 2021
Last updatedAug 2026
Documented items14
Primary sources30
Page views380
Ultimately Responsible
Donald J. Trump
45th & 47th President
45th President of the United States, 2017–2021, and 47th, 2025–. Defeated in 2020, he disputed the result for two months, pressed state officials and his own vice president to change it, and told the crowd at the Ellipse on January 6, 2021 to march on the Capitol while the electoral count was under way. He was impeached twice and acquitted twice, convicted on thirty-four felony counts in New York in May 2024, and found liable by a jury for sexual abuse and defamation. On the first day of his second term he granted clemency to those convicted over the attack, including the seditious conspiracy convictions. What is recorded below is dated and sourced.
Documented conduct
Jul 15, 2024
The case dismissed, and never tried
Judge Aileen Cannon, whom he had appointed, dismissed the prosecution without reaching the evidence, holding that the special counsel's appointment violated the Appointments Clause. The special counsel appealed. After the November 2024 election he dropped the appeal as to the former president, citing the Department's standing policy against prosecuting a sitting president, and the case against the remaining defendants was dismissed in 2025. No court ever ruled on whether he had unlawfully kept the documents.
Source: U.S. v. Trump, S.D. Fla., order of July 15 2024
Jul 1, 2024
Immunity for official acts, which he had asked for
The Supreme Court held, on his own application, that a former president has absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for acts within his exclusive constitutional authority and at least presumptive immunity for other official acts. The decision narrowed the federal election case against him and is now part of the law for every president after him.
Source: Trump v. United States, 603 U.S. 593 (2024)
Feb 16, 2024
Found liable for a yearslong business fraud
A New York court found that he and his companies ran "a yearslong scheme to dupe banks and others with financial statements that inflated his wealth", and imposed a penalty that reached about $454 million with interest. In August 2025 an appeals court vacated the money penalty as excessive under the Eighth Amendment while leaving the finding of fraud standing.
Source: People of the State of New York v. Trump; appeal August 21 2025
Aug 14, 2023
Indicted in Fulton County over the Georgia result
A Fulton County grand jury returned a racketeering indictment against him and eighteen others in August 2023 over the scheme to overturn Georgia's 2020 result — the effort whose opening move, the call to the Secretary of State, is recorded above. He pleaded not guilty. Four co-defendants took plea deals, among them the lawyer who had filed the fraud suits.
The district attorney was disqualified by the Georgia Court of Appeals for an appearance of impropriety arising from her relationship with the special prosecutor she had hired, and the Georgia Supreme Court declined to disturb that. The prosecutor who took the case over dropped it on November 26, 2025, writing that "the citizens of Georgia are not served by pursuing this case in full for another five to ten years" and that there is "no realistic prospect that a sitting President will be compelled to appear in Georgia to stand trial." As with the two federal prosecutions, the charges ended without a trial and no court ruled on the conduct.
Source: State of Georgia v. Trump et al., Fulton County Superior Court; dismissed November 26 2025
Aug 1, 2023
Indicted over the attempt to overturn the 2020 election
A federal grand jury in Washington returned a four-count indictment — conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights. After the Supreme Court's immunity decision the special counsel obtained a narrowed superseding indictment. Following the 2024 election the case was dismissed WITHOUT PREJUDICE, on the Department's position that a sitting president cannot be prosecuted; the judge noted that immunity is temporary and expires when he leaves office.
Source: United States v. Trump, D.D.C.; dismissed November 26 2024
Jun 9, 2023
Indicted under the Espionage Act
A federal grand jury in the Southern District of Florida indicted him, with an aide, over the removal and retention of classified documents — thirty-one counts of willful retention of national defense information, each carrying up to ten years, alongside counts of conspiracy to obstruct justice and making false statements. A superseding indictment added evidence tampering and a third defendant. It is the only federal prosecution ever brought against a former president under that Act.
Source: U.S. v. Trump, S.D. Fla., indictment unsealed June 9 2023
May 9, 2023
Found liable for sexual abuse and defamation
A federal jury in New York found him liable for sexually abusing E. Jean Carroll and for defaming her, and awarded $5 million. The Supreme Court declined to hear his appeal on June 29, 2026, and that finding now stands. A separate defamation judgment of $83.3 million remains under appeal.
Source: Carroll v. Trump, S.D.N.Y.; cert. denied June 29 2026
Aug 8, 2022
The documents kept at Mar-a-Lago
The National Archives recovered fifteen boxes of presidential records improperly taken to Mar-a-Lago in early 2022. In June that year his attorney certified that everything classified had been returned. On August 8, 2022 the FBI searched the property and found more than a hundred further documents bearing classification markings, kept in a storage room that could be opened with a coat hanger.
Source: ABC News, timeline of the documents investigation
Jan 13, 2021
Impeached for incitement of insurrection
The House adopted H.Res. 24 one week after the attack, charging incitement of insurrection — the only president impeached twice. The Senate voted 57 to 43 to convict, ten short of the two-thirds required, and he was acquitted on February 13, 2021. Seven Republican senators voted to convict.
Source: H.Res. 24, 117th Congress; Senate judgment of acquittal
Jan 2, 2021
The Georgia call
Asked the Secretary of State of Georgia to find 11,780 votes, one more than the margin by which he had lost the state. The call was recorded by both parties.
Source: Full audio recording and transcript
Dec 18, 2019
Impeached for abuse of power
The House adopted H.Res. 755, charging abuse of power and obstruction of Congress over the withholding of security assistance to Ukraine while its president was pressed for an investigation of a political rival. The Senate acquitted him in February 2020.
Source: H.Res. 755, 116th Congress
Jan 6, 2021
Incitement of the Capitol attack
Told a crowd to fight like hell and march on the Capitol, then waited 187 minutes before asking them to leave. 140 officers were injured.
Source: House Select Committee final report
May 30, 2024
Thirty-four felony convictions
Convicted by a unanimous jury on all counts of falsifying business records in the first degree.
Source: New York State trial record
Jan 20, 2025
Clemency for the insurrection
Pardoned or commuted roughly 1,500 sentences arising from the attack, including convictions for seditious conspiracy and assault on police.
Source: Executive clemency orders
Receipts
01
House Select Committee on January 6 — final report and appendices
02
Georgia Secretary of State — recording of the January 2, 2021 call
03
People v. Trump — verdict sheet and trial transcript
04
Federal Register — executive clemency actions, January 2025
05
Al Jazeera, June 29 2026
Our copy
06
State of Georgia v. Trump et al., Fulton County Superior Court, dismissed November 26 2025
Our copy
07
Al Jazeera, August 21 2025
Our copy
08
Proclamation 10887, 90 Fed. Reg. 8331 (Jan. 29, 2025); FR Doc. 2025-01950
09
United States v. Trump, D.D.C., dismissed without prejudice November 26 2024
Our copy
10
U.S. v. Trump, S.D. Fla., order of July 15 2024
Our copy
11
Trump v. United States, 603 U.S. 593 (2024)
Our copy
12
Trump v. United States, 603 U.S. 593 (2024)
Our copy
13
People of the State of New York v. Trump, verdict of May 30 2024
Our copy
14
PBS NewsHour, February 16 2024
Our copy
15
N.D. Ga., September 8 2023
16
U.S. v. Trump, S.D. Fla., indictment unsealed June 9 2023
Our copy
17
ABC News, timeline of the documents investigation
Our copy
18
H.R. Rep. No. 117-663 (2022)
Our copy
19
Eastman v. Thompson, No. 8:22-cv-00099 (C.D. Cal. Mar. 28, 2022)
20
Testimony and agency statements before the Select Committee
Our copy
21
U.S. Senate Roll Call Vote No. 59, 117th Cong., 1st Sess. (Feb. 13, 2021)
Our copy
22
H.Res. 24, 117th Cong. (2021)
23
H.Res. 24, 117th Cong. (2021)
24
Final Report of the Select Committee, ch. 7 (the Ellipse address, January 6 2021)
Our copy
25
Recording of the call of January 2, 2021; transcript in the Select Committee final report, ch. 2
Our copy
26
H.Res. 755, 116th Cong. (2019)
27
H.Res. 755, 116th Cong. (2019)
28
DHS OIG-18-84
Our copy
29
Attorney General memorandum, April 6, 2018
Our copy
30
Exec. Order No. 13769, 82 Fed. Reg. 8977 (Feb. 1, 2017)