Since his re-election, Donald Trump's legal future has become clearer. After successfully postponing most of his trials, two federal criminal cases were dismissed. In civil proceedings, however, he remains liable for hundreds of millions of dollars in damages.
Hidden payments to porn star Stormy Daniels, assault on the Capitol, electoral and financial fraud… A look back at the various legal cases of the 47th President of the United States.
► Sexual assault and defamation against Elizabeth Jean Caroll
Republican billionaire Donald Trump was ordered by a civil court in New York to pay five million dollars in damages to author Elizabeth Jean Carroll for sexual assault and defamation. A verdict confirmed on appeal Monday December 30.
Elizabeth Jean Carroll filed a complaint in 2019 against Trump, accusing him of raping her in a New York department store in the 1990s.
He was also ordered in January 2024 to compensate the author to the tune of $83.3 million regarding another complaint for defamatory comments regarding the trial. He also appealed against this conviction
► Payment from porn star Stormy Daniels
This is Donald Trump's only criminal conviction. In May 2024, he was convicted of “orchestrated” a series of payments intended to conceal his intimate relationship with porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election. These payments were made through the account of his company, the Trump Organization.
The announcement of his sentence was initially postponed until September, after the Supreme Court granted him partial immunity last July. It was then postponed until the end of the year, so as not to disrupt the presidential election. Now that he has been elected, no new date has been set, because it is very difficult to condemn a sitting president.
At the beginning of December, the New York courts rejected the request to annul his conviction and suggested freezing the procedure until the end of his second term, in January 2029.
► Voter fraud in Georgia
In August 2023, Donald Trump and eighteen others, including Rudolph Giuliani the former mayor of New York, were indicted for attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in the swing state of Georgia. .
Among the 41 charges, there are acts of “false statements”, “pressure on witnesses” et “criminal association”. These charges are based in particular on a phone call from Trump in January 2021, where he asked the Georgia secretary of state to “find 11,780 votes”.
His victory in the presidential election combined with the numerous procedures launched by his lawyers makes possible prosecution uncertain. However, if the trial goes ahead and he is convicted, he will not be able to pardon himself or even have the prosecution dropped by the prosecutor's office since it is a court-level case. State of Georgia, over which the federal state has no authority in this matter.
► Assault of January 6, 2021 against the Capitol
Prosecutions relating to the January 6, 2021 assault on the Capitol were dismissed on November 25, 2024 at the request of Special Prosecutor Jack Smith. The move follows Trump-appointed Supreme Court Justice Aileen Cannon granting him partial immunity in July.
It is one of the most important legal cases involving a US president since the Watergate scandal in 1974. Donald Trump, still in office at the time, is accused of trying to overturn the results of the election 2020 presidential election by spreading false information.
► Concealment of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago
In this case, special prosecutor Jack Smith also requested that the charges be dropped on November 25, 2024 after his re-election. The investigation focused on Trump's illegal handling of classified documents after he left the White House in January 2021.
The trial, scheduled for May 2024, was postponed due to defense appeals. In July, Judge Aileen Cannon overturned the criminal charges, citing the unconstitutionality of the special prosecutor's appointment.
► Convicted with his sons of financial fraud
His real estate group was also targeted by a lawsuit. In February, Donald Trump and his two sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, were convicted of financial fraud through the Trump Organization.
They were accused of inflating the value of the company's buildings, golf courses and hotels to obtain better loan and insurance conditions. The value of the triplex at the top of Trump Tower in New York, for example, was overvalued by 200 million dollars (around 193 million euros).
In this civil case, Donald Trump was fined $355 million (around 342 million euros), and banned from holding a management position in a New York company for three years. The president-elect appealed this decision, and posted a guarantee of 175 million dollars (around 168 million euros) to avoid judicial seizures while awaiting his new trial.
