Personal and business legal affairs of Donald Trump
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Business and personal 45th and 47th President of the United States Incumbent Tenure
Impeachments Legal proceedings |
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From 1973 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. He has also been accused of sexual harassment and sexual assault, with one accusation resulting in him being held civilly liable.
In 2015, Trump's lawyer Alan Garten called Trump's legal entanglements "a natural part of doing business" in the U.S. While litigation is indeed common in the real estate industry, 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. Many of the lawsuits were filed against patrons with debt to his casinos. Of all cases with a clear resolution, Trump was the victor 92 percent of the time.
Numerous legal matters and investigations occurred during and after Trump's first presidency, some being of historical importance. 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. 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".
On December 6, 2022, the parent company of Trump's many businesses, the Trump Organization, was convicted on 17 criminal charges.
Trump has been found liable for sexual abuse and defamation and is appealing an order to pay more than $80 million in damages to the victim, E. Jean Carroll. Trump, together with his associates, has also been found liable for fraud regarding overvaluation of the Trump Organization and Trump's net worth, and is appealing a $364 million fine plus $100 million interest. In 2024, Trump was convicted on numerous counts of falsifying business records related to hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, although his sentencing was indefinitely postponed following his second election to the presidency.
In 2024, before Trump's election, a judge dismissed the federal charges relating to Trump's handling of classified documents. After his election, the special counsel decided to abandon the federal charges related to the 2020 election, citing the Justice Department policy of not prosecuting sitting presidents.