The Trump Cases:
What the record actually shows

Falsifying Business Records — New York State

A Manhattan jury convicted on all 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree, relating to reimbursements for a hush-money payment. Sentenced 10 January 2025 to an unconditional discharge — no jail, no fine, no probation. The conviction stands and is under appeal; in August 2026 a federal judge rejected an attempt to move the case to federal court.

Note on labelling: lists often file this under “campaign finance violations.” The conviction was for falsifying business records. The campaign-finance element was the underlying-crime theory, not the charge.

Business Fraud — New York Attorney General

Liability under New York Executive Law §63(12) — repeatedly submitting deceptive financial statements to banks and insurers — was upheld by the Appellate Division, First Department. The same ruling struck down the roughly $527 million penalty as an excessive fine under the Eighth Amendment.

Two corrections to the usual framing: this was not a criminal case, and there was no tax fraud finding. Lists that label it “tax fraud” are naming a crime no court found.

Classified Documents — Federal (S.D. Fla.)

Indicted June 2023 over retention of national-defence records and alleged obstruction of their return. Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the case in July 2024, ruling the special counsel had been unlawfully appointed. The appeal was abandoned in November 2024. The dismissal turned on who brought the case, not on what the documents were.

Federal Election Case — District of Columbia

Indicted August 2023 on conspiracy charges relating to the 2020 election. Dropped after the 2024 election under longstanding Justice Department policy against prosecuting a sitting president. No court assessed the evidence.

Georgia RICO — Fulton County

Indicted August 2023 under Georgia's racketeering statute. The elected district attorney was disqualified over a conflict of interest, and the replacement prosecutor dropped the charges against all remaining defendants in November 2025. The case ended over who was prosecuting it.

Obstruction of Justice

The Mueller Report examined multiple episodes of possible obstruction and pointedly declined to reach a judgment. Its own words: while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.

This is the item that most often breaks these lists. Citing Mueller as proof of obstruction cites a document for the opposite of what it says.

Self-Dealing & Use of Office

Government Accountability Office reporting and press investigations documented public money spent at Trump-owned properties during his first term. That is a documented expenditure record. It was never charged as a crime, and “abuse of office” is not itself a federal offence.

Emoluments Clause

Lawsuits alleging unconstitutional acceptance of foreign and domestic payments reached the Supreme Court, which dismissed them as moot once he left office and vacated the lower-court rulings. No court ever decided whether a violation occurred — and the vacatur means the earlier rulings carry no precedential weight.

Witness Tampering

Raised in court filings and congressional commentary. No charge was brought and no court made a finding. On the public record this remains an allegation.

Public Falsehoods

The Washington Post Fact Checker catalogued 30,573 false or misleading claims across four years in office. That is a documented record and a legitimate thing to cite — but making false statements to the public is not the federal crime of false statements, which concerns lying to federal investigators or agencies.