Trump was found liable in civil proceedings for both sexual abuse and defamation in 2023 and defamation in 2024, while also being criminally convicted of 34 felonies related to falsifying business records, expected to be an issue during the campaign. As of December 2023, he had four criminal indictments totaling 86 felony counts and there are other lawsuits against Trump.[120] On May 30, 2024, Trump was found guilty by a jury of all 34 felony counts in The People of the State of New York v. Donald J. Trump over falsifying business records for hush money payments to pornographic film star Stormy Daniels, to ensure her silence about a sexual encounter between them, to influence the 2016 presidential election. This made Trump the first former U.S. president to be convicted of a crime in American history.[121] Trump and many Republicans have made numerous false and misleading statements regarding Trump's criminal trials, including false claims that they are "rigged" or "election interference" orchestrated by Biden and the Democratic Party, of which there is no evidence.[122][62]
Trump faces an additional 52 felony counts; 4 counts in United States of America v. Donald J. Trump for his alleged role in attempting to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election and involvement in the January 6 United States Capitol attack; 8 counts in The State of Georgia v. Donald J. Trump, et al. for his alleged attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 United States presidential election in Georgia; and 40 counts in United States of America v. Donald J. Trump, Waltine Nauta, and Carlos De Oliveira relating to his hoarding of classified documents and alleged obstruction of efforts to retrieve them.[123] In addition to his indictments, Trump was found liable on May 9, 2023, by an anonymous jury,[124] in E. Jean Carroll v. Donald J. Trump for sexual abuse/rape,[e][f] and ordered to pay a total of $88.3 million combined for damages and defamation.[130][131][132] In September 2023, Trump was found guilty of financial fraud in New York v. Trump and ordered to pay a $457 million judgement that he appealed.[133]
According to an April 2024 Reuters/Ipsos poll, the percentage of registered voters who found Trump's charges somewhat to very serious in the federal elections case was 74%, 72% in the Georgia case, 69% in the classified documents case, and 64% in the New York hush money case.[134] Nearly a quarter of Republican voters said they would not vote for Trump if found guilty of a felony by a jury.[133] Following his hush money conviction, 15% of likely Republican voters and 49% of independents stated they wanted Trump to drop out, and 54% of registered voters approved of the jury's decision.[135] Polling also found 56% of Republicans who were unchanged by the verdict, and 35% of Republicans and 18% of independents who stated they were more likely to vote for Trump.[136]
Trump was noted for attempting to delay his trials until after the November election. If he were to win the election in November, then on January 20, 2025, Trump could order a new attorney general to dismiss the federal charges he is facing, prevent the state charges from taking effect through a variety of methods, and issue a presidential self-pardon.[137][138] On July 1, 2024, the Supreme Court delivered its 6–3 decision in Trump v. United States, along ideological lines, ruling that Trump had absolute immunity for acts he committed as president within his core constitutional purview, at least presumptive immunity for official acts within the outer perimeter of his official responsibility, and no immunity for unofficial acts.[139][140][141] Thus, Trump's sentencing date for his convictions in New York was delayed from July to September 2024,[142] and then to November 26,[143] and the trial dates in Trump's other cases would likely also be delayed to review the applicability of the Supreme Court's decision.[144][145]
