Trump's Legal Cases After Returning to the White House: Status Update on Criminal and Civil Proceedings

US President Donald Trump

A Georgia judge recently dismissed the election interference case against President Donald Trump, effectively ending the last of four criminal cases that had threatened his political comeback. This dismissal came after a new prosecutor opted not to pursue the charges any further.

Following Trump's reelection, all four criminal proceedings against him—including the New York hush money conviction, federal election interference allegations, and classified documents case—have been either dropped, resolved, or set aside. Meanwhile, several significant civil lawsuits continue through appeals processes.

Trump made history as the first former US president convicted of felonies when a New York jury found him guilty in May 2024 of falsifying business records to conceal a hush money payment to an adult film actress who claimed they had a sexual encounter.

Despite facing potential jail time, Manhattan Judge Juan M. Merchan sentenced Trump to an unconditional discharge in January, maintaining the conviction but imposing no punishment. The judge acknowledged Trump's imminent presidential protections, even extending well wishes for his second term.

Trump continues efforts to overturn this conviction, with his case gaining momentum in November when a federal appeals court ordered reconsideration of keeping the case in state jurisdiction rather than federal court.

In August 2023, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis charged Trump and 18 others with illegally attempting to overturn his narrow 2020 election loss to Joe Biden in Georgia. The charges centered on Trump's January 2021 phone call to Georgia's secretary of state, efforts to replace legitimate electors, election worker harassment, and unauthorized access to election equipment.

The case stalled after revelations about Willis's relationship with the appointed prosecutor. A state appeals court removed Willis from the case in December, and the state Supreme Court declined her appeal. Pete Skandalakis, Executive Director of Georgia's Prosecuting Attorneys' Council, took over in November and ultimately decided against pursuing the case, leading to Judge Scott McAfee's dismissal order.

Special counsel Jack Smith charged Trump in August 2023 with conspiring to overturn the 2020 election results before the January 6 Capitol riot. Prosecutors alleged Trump and his allies knowingly promoted election fraud falsehoods to pressure state officials and Vice President Pence.

Smith moved to dismiss this case after Trump's 2024 election victory, citing longstanding Justice Department policy against prosecuting sitting presidents.

Smith had separately charged Trump in June 2023 with illegally retaining classified documents at Mar-a-Lago after leaving office and obstructing government efforts to retrieve them. Additional charges followed concerning Trump allegedly showing classified Pentagon documents at his New Jersey golf club. This case was also dropped following Trump's election win.

In May 2023, a federal jury determined Trump had sexually abused writer E. Jean Carroll in the mid-1990s and later defamed her, awarding her $5 million. A second jury in January 2024 granted Carroll an additional $83.3 million for defamatory statements Trump made while president. Though a federal appeals panel upheld this ruling in September, Trump has requested full appellate court reconsideration.

Trump also appealed the first jury decision, but a federal appeals court upheld it in December and declined reconsideration in June. Trump petitioned the Supreme Court in November to hear his appeal.

New York Attorney General Letitia James sued Trump in 2022, alleging systematic exaggeration of his wealth and property values. In February 2024, a New York judge ordered Trump to pay $355 million in penalties. However, an appeals court in August overturned this financial penalty while still supporting the lower court's fraud finding.

The appeals judges ruled the penalty—which had grown to $515 million with daily interest—violated constitutional protections against excessive fines. They maintained other sanctions, including temporary bans on Trump and his two eldest sons from corporate leadership positions. James filed an appeal with New York's highest court in September.