The very peculiar relationship with the courts and justice seems to be one of Donald Trump’s distinctive features.
He just entered the books as the only former U.S. president to be convicted of a criminal offense after a New York jury found him guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records related to under-the-table payments to a porn actress to maintain her silence in the 2016 elections.
To this process, which was pending a sentence by Judge Juan Merchán on July 11, three more trials would have to be added.
The first, in Washington DC, accuses him of trying to overturn the results of the 2020 elections. Here he faces a total of four charges: conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights for “oppressing, threatening and intimidating” people in their right to vote in an election.
The second, in Miami, is related to classified and secret documents that he took to his Palm Beach mansion when leaving the White House. Here he has 40 charges under the Espionage Act. He is also charged with making false statements and participating in a conspiracy to obstruct justice. In this process, two of his employees from Mar-a-Lago are involved.
In the third, in Fulton County, Georgia, he has been accused, along with 18 subrogates, of violating the state’s organized crime law by conspiring to reverse his 2020 election defeat.
Currently, all three are frozen, for different reasons and in different judicial instances.
But Trump has also been through three civil trials. In 2023 he was found guilty of sexual abuse (E. Jean Carroll), defamation (E. Jean Carroll), and financial fraud in 2024.
In closing, he is the only president of the United States who has been impeached twice. In 2019-20 for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, and in 2021 for incitement to insurrection. The Republican-majority Senate acquitted him in both cases.
The list of his subordinates who have been convicted of various crimes is not an isolated or fortuitous event. The following are among the most notorious.
Paul Manafort. He chaired Trump’s campaign in 2016. He was indicted in October 2017 and in February 2018 reached a plea agreement on charges of conspiracy and lying to investigators.
In August 2018, a jury found him guilty of tax and bank fraud. He also pleaded guilty a month later to charges related to money laundering, witness tampering, and lobbying violations.
He received a prison sentence of 7 and a half years. In May 2020 he was released to serve the remainder of his sentence at his home. Trump pardoned him in December 2020, less than a month before his term in the White House ended.
George Papadopoulos. In 2016 he served as an advisor to Trump’s presidential campaign. In 2017 he pleaded guilty to lying to FBI agents about his communications with individuals who claimed to have ties to Russian officials. In 2018, he served twelve days in federal prison and was placed on 12 months of supervised release.
Michael Flynn. The retired Army lieutenant general served as national security advisor during Trump’s 2016 campaign. He was then selected to serve as his national security advisor but was fired less than a month after taking that position after it was revealed that he lied about contacts with Russian officials.
In December 2017 he agreed to plead guilty to making false statements to the FBI. He later withdrew the guilty plea and Trump’s former attorney general, William Barr, ordered the Justice Department in May 2020 to drop all charges against him. Trump granted him a pardon in November 2020.
Rick Gates. Manafort’s former business partner, who was vice president of Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, pleaded guilty in 2018 to conspiracy and lying to investigators in the Russia investigation. In 2019 he was sentenced to 45 days in jail. He testified as a prosecution witness in Manafort’s trial.
Michael Cohen. From 2006 to 2018 he worked as Trump’s lawyer and as vice president of the Trump Organization. In August 2018 he pleaded guilty to eight charges, including campaign finance violations, tax fraud, and bank fraud.
The charges were also related to payments of hush money to two women who said they had sexual encounters with Trump before the 2016 election.
In December 2018 he received a three-year prison sentence but was released to serve the remainder at his home during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Roger Stone. Former advisor and confidant of Donald Trump. Charged and arrested in January 2019 on seven charges, including lying to Congress, obstruction of an official proceeding, and witness tampering. All related to special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
In February 2020 he was found guilty and sentenced to more than three years in prison. Trump commuted his sentence before he had to report to prison in July of that year. He later pardoned him in December 2020.
Elliott Broidy. He raised funds for Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and served on his inaugural committee. He pleaded guilty in October 2020 to carrying out a secret lobbying campaign in exchange for millions of dollars. Trump pardoned him in January 2021, just before leaving office.
Steve Banon. Executive director of Trump’s 2016 campaign and then chief White House strategist for much of 2017. He was found guilty by a Grand Jury of contempt of Congress for his refusal to comply with a subpoena to appear before the House Committee investigating the January 6, 2021 riot at the United States Capitol.
He was indicted in August 2020 for defrauding donors of a crowdfunding campaign to help build Trump’s promised wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. On January 20, 2021, Trump pardoned him and prevented him from facing possible conviction.
Allen Weisselberg. Long-time Trump Organization’s chief financial officer, he pleaded guilty in 2022 to 15 criminal charges, including grand theft, criminal tax fraud, and falsifying business records. In January 2023, he began serving a five-month prison sentence. but he was released in April. A February 2024 ruling resulted in a permanent ban from performing financial control functions for any New York corporation or business. He was also prohibited from serving as a director or officer of any New York corporation or business for three years. He pleaded guilty to perjury. He was sentenced to another five months in prison.
Peter Navarro. Assistant to the President and Director of Trade and Manufacturing Policy. In February 2022 he was summoned twice by Congress. One required him to submit documents to the House Select Committee about the Jan. 6 attack; the other to testify before the Committee. He refused to comply with both and was referred to the Department of Justice. On June 2, 2022, a Grand Jury indicted him on two counts of contempt of Congress. On September 7, 2023 he was convicted of both. On January 25, 2024, he was sentenced to four months in prison and fined $9,500. He is serving his sentence at the Federal Correctional Institute in Miami.
Additionally, more than 1,000 people have been charged for their participation in the attack on the Capitol. The most serious charge has been seditious conspiracy, a crime that involves the attempt to “overthrow, suffocate or destroy by force the government of the United States.”
So far, around 570 of the assailants have pleaded guilty. 78 have been convicted after a trial, including:
Stewart Rhodes, leader of the far-right group Oath Keepers. Sentenced to 18 years in prison for seditious conspiracy and other crimes.
Enrique Tarrío, leader of the far-right group Proud Boys. Sentenced to 22 years for the same crimes.
On the other hand, several co-defendants in the criminal trial opened against Trump in Fulton County, Georgia, have pleaded guilty after a negotiation with prosecutors:
Scott Hall, bail bondsman (September 29, 2023). Conspiracy to commit intentional interference with the performance of election duties (5 misdemeanor counts). Five years of probation, a $5,000 fine, 200 hours of community service, a public apology to the state of Georgia, and testifying truthfully in future trials.
Sidney Powell, Attorney at Law (October 19, 2023). Conspiracy to commit intentional interference with the performance of election duties (6 misdemeanors). Six years of probation, a $6,000 fine, a public apology to the state of Georgia, and to testify truthfully in future trials.
Kenneth Chesebro, Attorney at Law (October 20, 2023). Conspiracy to commit presentation of false documents (1 felony count). Five years of probation, a $5,000 fine, 100 hours of community service, a public apology to the state of Georgia, and testifying truthfully in future trials.
Jenna Ellis, Attorney at Law (October 24, 2023). Aiding and abetting false statements and writings (1 felony count). Five years of probation, a $5,000 fine, 100 hours of community service, a public apology to the state of Georgia, and testifying truthfully in future trials.
Author
Alfredo Prieto
