The Record

Examining the Record

An exhaustive, documented accounting — every entry linked to its source, so the record is clear.

This is the record — a documented account of five decades of Donald Trump's conduct, from the 1973 housing-discrimination suit to the second term unfolding now. It is not opinion. Every entry below links to its source. Read one and you have an anecdote; read them together and you have a pattern.

183 documented entries — and counting.

Origins: Business, Discrimination & Scandal (1973–2014)

Racial discrimination

1973: The U.S. Department of Justice sued Trump Management Inc., Fred Trump and Donald Trump for racial discrimination against Black rental applicants in New York; the company used coded markings to flag minority applications and steered Black renters away from buildings. The case settled in 1975 without an admission of guilt, requiring nondiscriminatory practices. NPR
1973: Court records in United States v. Fred C. Trump, Donald Trump, and Trump Management, Inc. (E.D.N.Y.) document the federal Fair Housing Act allegations and the 1975 consent decree. Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse
1989: Trump paid roughly $85,000 for full-page ads in four New York newspapers headlined "BRING BACK THE DEATH PENALTY" after the arrest of five Black and Latino teenagers in the Central Park jogger case. The five were exonerated in 2002; Trump has never apologized. PolitiFact
1989: Coverage of the Central Park Five case details Trump's role and his refusal to retract his calls for execution even after the convictions were vacated. TIME
1991: New Jersey's Casino Control Commission fined Trump Plaza $200,000 after managers removed Black and female dealers from tables to accommodate mob-linked high roller Robert LiButti. UPI
1992: Trump Plaza lost its appeal of the $200,000 discrimination penalty tied to the LiButti episode. UPI
1991: Reporting on the LiButti affair documents how Trump Plaza catered to a gambler known for racist tirades by keeping Black employees away from his games. Slate

Bankruptcies and the Atlantic City casinos

1991: The $1 billion, junk-bond-financed Trump Taj Mahal filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy roughly a year after opening; Trump gave up half his stake to lenders. PolitiFact
1992: Trump Plaza Hotel and Trump's Castle (and related corporate vehicles) entered Chapter 11 restructurings as his Atlantic City debt mounted. Seattle Times
2004: Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts filed for Chapter 11, the third of the corporate bankruptcies tied to Trump's casino businesses. PolitiFact
2009: Trump Entertainment Resorts filed for Chapter 11, the fourth corporate casino bankruptcy; Trump resigned from the board and his ownership stake was sharply reduced. PolitiFact
1991: Trump's Castle was assessed a $30,000 penalty after Fred Trump bought $3.35 million in casino chips without gambling them — an illegal loan under state gaming rules — to help Donald meet a bond payment. UPI
2015: FinCEN fined the Trump Taj Mahal $10 million for willful and repeated violations of the Bank Secrecy Act's anti-money-laundering rules — at the time a record civil penalty against a casino. The Taj had a record of similar violations dating to its early years. FinCEN.gov
1998: FinCEN had earlier assessed a $477,700 civil penalty against the Trump Taj Mahal for currency-transaction reporting violations. FinCEN.gov

Fraud, self-dealing and failed ventures

2016: Trump agreed to a $25 million settlement of fraud claims over Trump University, which charged students up to $35,000 for real-estate "secrets" from instructors Trump claimed to have hand-picked. The deal resolved two California class actions and a suit by the New York attorney general. NBC News
2018: A federal judge finalized the $25 million Trump University settlement, calling the recipients victims of fraud. ABC News
2018: The New York attorney general's office continued litigation that forced the Trump Foundation to dissolve under court supervision amid allegations of self-dealing and use of charity funds for Trump's business and political purposes. Wikipedia
2019: A New York court ordered Trump to pay $2 million for misusing Trump Foundation funds, including using charity money to benefit his 2016 campaign; he admitted the misuse as part of the settlement. NPR
2019: Coverage of the $2 million judgment details the foundation's shutdown and required distribution of remaining assets to charity. CNBC
2018: Investors sued Trump and his three eldest children, alleging they were paid secretly to promote ACN, a multi-level-marketing video-phone company, while presenting the endorsement as independent. NBC News
2009: Background on ACN and Trump's paid promotion of the multi-level-marketing firm. Wikipedia
2006: Trump Mortgage launched with predictions it would become the nation's top home lender; it folded about 18 months later as the housing market turned. Wikipedia
2007: Trump Steaks, sold through The Sharper Image and QVC, was pulled within about two months after almost no sales. NBC News
2006: Trump Vodka, launched with predictions of mass popularity, failed to gain a market and was effectively defunct by around 2011. Wikipedia
2005–2016: A broader survey of Trump-branded business failures — including the casinos, the mortgage company, the steaks and the vodka. TIME

Labor, tenants and mob/contractor ties

1980: About 200 undocumented Polish laborers — the "Polish Brigade" — demolished the Bonwit Teller building to clear the site for Trump Tower, working long shifts for low or withheld pay and without proper safety gear. TIME
1998: Trump quietly paid about $1.4 million to settle a long-running class action alleging he had stiffed a union pension fund by using the undocumented Polish demolition crew; the settlement stayed sealed for nearly two decades. TIME
1980s: At 100 Central Park South, Trump sought to force out rent-regulated tenants — cutting services, withholding repairs, and offering vacant units to homeless people — to clear the building for redevelopment; most tenants stayed and he ultimately settled. CNN
1980s: Trump relied on contractors and a concrete supply controlled by figures tied to the Genovese and Gambino crime families, and was represented for years by attorney Roy Cohn, who also represented mob clients. The Marshall Project
1980s: Further documentation of Trump's business dealings with mob-connected contractors and associates during his New York and Atlantic City projects. City & State New York

Personal conduct and "birtherism"

2011: While weighing a presidential run, Trump became the most prominent promoter of the false "birther" claim that President Obama was not born in the United States, pressing for release of Obama's long-form birth certificate. FactCheck.org
2011–2016: Trump continued promoting birther claims long after Obama released his long-form certificate in April 2011, only acknowledging in 2016 that Obama was born in the U.S. CNN
2012: After the certificate's release, Trump kept the birther theory alive, including tweeting that an "extremely credible source" called the document "a fraud." NBC News
2004–2006: In recorded appearances on Howard Stern's radio show, Trump agreed his daughter Ivanka could be called "a piece of ass," rated women numerically on their looks, and made graphic remarks about women. CNN

The 2016 Campaign & Election

Campaign launch & defining rhetoric

June 16, 2015: In his Trump Tower campaign launch speech, Trump said Mexico was sending people who bring drugs and crime and "are rapists," adding "and some, I assume, are good people." Wikipedia
2015–2016: Throughout the campaign Trump promised to build a wall on the southern border and repeatedly insisted Mexico would pay for it. Wikipedia
September 16, 2016: After years as a leading promoter of the false "birther" conspiracy that President Obama was not born in the United States, Trump conceded "President Barack Obama was born in the United States, period," and falsely blamed Hillary Clinton for starting the rumor. NPR
2011–2016: Trump had spent years pushing the racist "birther" movement questioning the citizenship of the first Black U.S. president. Wikipedia

Religious and ethnic targeting

December 7, 2015: Trump called for "a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States," a proposal widely condemned as religious discrimination. NPR
December 2015: The proposed Muslim ban drew bipartisan and international condemnation and later evolved into the 2017 travel-ban executive order. BBC
June 2016: Trump claimed U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel, born in Indiana, could not be impartial in the Trump University case because of his "Mexican heritage." NPR
June 2016: Fact-checkers and members of both parties, including House Speaker Paul Ryan, called Trump's attack on Judge Curiel the "textbook definition of a racist comment." PolitiFact
July 2016: After Gold Star father Khizr Khan said at the DNC that Trump had "sacrificed nothing," Trump responded by suggesting Khan's wife Ghazala was silent and claiming he had "made a lot of sacrifices." NBC News
2016: Khizr and Ghazala Khan are the parents of U.S. Army Capt. Humayun Khan, who was killed in Iraq in 2004; Trump's attacks on the family drew bipartisan rebuke. Wikipedia

Mockery, insults, and disparagement

July 18, 2015: Trump said of Sen. John McCain, a Navy pilot held as a POW for over five years in Vietnam, "He's not a war hero... I like people who weren't captured." CBS News
November 24, 2015: At a South Carolina rally, Trump made jerky arm gestures while mocking New York Times reporter Serge Kovaleski, who has a congenital condition (arthrogryposis) limiting movement in his arm. PBS
2015: Serge Kovaleski is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter whose condition Trump appeared to imitate; Trump denied any mockery. Wikipedia
August 2015: After Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly questioned him at the first GOP debate, Trump said she had "blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever." Wikipedia

Encouraging violence & threatening rhetoric

2016: At rallies Trump repeatedly encouraged supporters to confront protesters, telling crowds to "knock the crap out of" hecklers and offering to pay legal fees. Snopes
2016: Trump's handling of protesters at rallies — including saying he'd like to "punch him in the face" — drew widespread coverage and criticism. BBC
August 9, 2016: At a North Carolina rally Trump suggested "the Second Amendment people" could act if Clinton appointed judges, a remark widely interpreted as alluding to violence against his opponent. NPR
August 2016: Fact-checkers documented the exact wording and context of the "Second Amendment people" comment, which the campaign claimed referred to voter unity. PolitiFact

The Access Hollywood tape & assault allegations

October 7, 2016: A 2005 "Access Hollywood" recording surfaced in which Trump boasted that as a star he could grab women "by the pussy" without consent. Wikipedia
October 2016: Trump dismissed the recorded remarks as "locker room talk"; the tape prompted numerous Republicans to withdraw endorsements weeks before the election. BBC
October–November 2016: In the weeks after the tape, more than a dozen women came forward publicly accusing Trump of sexual assault or harassment; he denied all allegations. Wikipedia

Trump University & financial transparency

November 18, 2016: Days after winning the election, Trump agreed to a $25 million settlement of fraud lawsuits over Trump University, brought by students who paid up to $35,000 for real-estate seminars; he had vowed during the campaign never to settle. NPR
2015–2016: Breaking with decades of precedent, Trump refused to release his tax returns, citing an ongoing IRS audit; he never released them as a candidate. Wikipedia

Foreign-policy norm breaks & Russia

July 27, 2016: At a Florida news conference Trump publicly urged a foreign adversary to find his opponent's emails: "Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing." NPR
July 2016: A later Mueller indictment found that Russian operatives targeted Clinton-linked email accounts "on or around" the same day Trump made the "Russia, if you're listening" remark. PBS
2016: U.S. intelligence agencies concluded Russia interfered in the 2016 election to help Trump; the campaign's contacts with Russia became the subject of extensive investigation. Wikipedia
July 2016: In a New York Times interview Trump suggested the U.S. might not automatically defend NATO allies against Russian attack unless they had "fulfilled their obligations," unsettling the alliance. NPR

The First Term — 2017

Truth, the Press, and "Alternative Facts"

Jan. 21, 2017: On his first full day, press secretary Sean Spicer declared the inauguration drew "the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration — period," a claim contradicted by photos and transit data. PolitiFact
Jan. 22, 2017: Defending Spicer on "Meet the Press," counselor Kellyanne Conway said he had offered "alternative facts," prompting host Chuck Todd to reply that "alternative facts are not facts; they're falsehoods." PolitiFact
Feb. 17, 2017: Trump tweeted that the news media — naming the NYT, NBC, CNN, ABC, and CBS — "is the enemy of the American people," a phrase he repeated throughout his presidency. Wikipedia

The Travel Bans and the Courts

Jan. 27, 2017: Trump signed Executive Order 13769 barring entry from seven majority-Muslim countries and suspending the refugee program, sparking chaos at airports and nationwide protests. Wikipedia
Jan. 30, 2017: Acting Attorney General Sally Yates ordered the Justice Department not to defend the ban, questioning its lawfulness; Trump fired her hours later, with the White House saying she had "betrayed" the DOJ. NPR
Dec. 4, 2017: After lower courts repeatedly blocked successive versions, the Supreme Court allowed the third travel ban to take full effect while litigation continued, over dissents from Justices Ginsburg and Sotomayor. NPR

Firings, Pardons, and the Russia Investigation

May 9, 2017: Trump fired FBI Director James Comey, who was overseeing the investigation into Russian election interference and possible Trump-campaign ties. NPR
May 11, 2017: Contradicting his own staff's stated rationale, Trump told NBC News he had "this Russia thing" in mind when he decided to fire Comey. NPR
Aug. 25, 2017: Trump issued his first pardon — to former Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio, who had been convicted of criminal contempt for defying a court order to stop racially profiling Latinos — before Arpaio was even sentenced. Wikipedia
Aug. 28, 2017: Legal scholars noted the Arpaio pardon was unusual in pardoning defiance of a federal court's own order, raising rule-of-law concerns. NPR

Charlottesville and Race

Aug. 12, 2017: After a white-nationalist "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville turned deadly, Trump condemned violence "on many sides," declining to single out the white supremacists. NPR
Aug. 15, 2017: At Trump Tower, Trump said there was "blame on both sides" and that there were "very fine people on both sides" of the rally. NPR
Jan. 11, 2018: In a bipartisan immigration meeting, Trump asked why the U.S. should accept immigrants from "shithole countries" such as Haiti and African nations, suggesting more from places like Norway; he later disputed the wording, but Sen. Dick Durbin confirmed it. NPR

The NFL and the National Anthem

Sept. 22, 2017: At an Alabama rally, Trump said NFL owners should fire any player who kneels during the anthem — "Get that son of a bitch off the field." NPR
Sept. 24, 2017: Hundreds of players, coaches, and owners knelt or linked arms in response across the league; Trump defended his attacks in the following days. NPR

Policy by Decree: Climate, the Military, and Disaster

June 1, 2017: Trump announced the U.S. would withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, making it the only nation to reject the accord. NPR
July 26, 2017: In a series of tweets, Trump declared transgender individuals would not be allowed "to serve in any capacity" in the military, blindsiding the Pentagon; the policy drew immediate legal challenges. NPR
Sept. 2017: Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico; the federal response was widely criticized as slow and inadequate, and a later study tied thousands of excess deaths to the storm and aftermath. Wikipedia
Oct. 3, 2017: Visiting storm-ravaged Puerto Rico, Trump tossed rolls of paper towels into a crowd of survivors, an image critics called tone-deaf. CNN
2018 (re: 2017 response): Trump called the Puerto Rico response "an incredible, unsung success" even as the official death toll was revised to roughly 3,000. NPR

Ethics and Emoluments

Jan. 23, 2017: The watchdog group CREW sued Trump days into his term, alleging that foreign-government payments to his businesses (notably the Trump International Hotel in D.C.) violated the Constitution's Emoluments Clause. NPR
Dec. 21, 2017: A federal judge dismissed the CREW emoluments suit on standing grounds, ruling the question was one for Congress; the plaintiffs vowed to appeal. NPR

The First Term — 2018–2019

Immigration and "Zero Tolerance"

2018: The administration's "zero tolerance" border policy led to the systematic separation of thousands of migrant children from their parents, with no system in place to reunify them. NPR
2018: Amid national outcry, Trump signed an executive order on June 20 halting the separations; a federal judge later ordered families reunited, and many remained separated for months. Wikipedia
2018: Trump triggered the longest government shutdown in U.S. history (35 days, beginning December 22) in a standoff over border-wall funding. Wikipedia

Foreign Policy: Putin, Saudi Arabia, Iran

2018: At the Helsinki summit on July 16, Trump publicly sided with Vladimir Putin over U.S. intelligence agencies on Russian election interference, saying he saw no reason it "would be" Russia. BBC
2018: A day after Helsinki, Trump claimed he had "misspoken" and meant to say "wouldn't" instead of "would," reversing his remarks under bipartisan criticism. Wikipedia
2018: After the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Trump issued a statement standing by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman despite the CIA's assessment that the prince ordered the killing. Wikipedia
2018: On May 8, Trump withdrew the United States from the Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA) and reimposed sanctions, breaking with European allies who urged the U.S. to stay. Wikipedia
2018: Trump imposed sweeping tariffs on steel, aluminum, and Chinese goods, escalating a trade war that drew retaliatory tariffs against U.S. exports. Wikipedia

The Mueller Investigation and Russia

2019: Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report, released April 18, documented numerous links between the Trump campaign and Russia and detailed multiple episodes in which Trump sought to impede the investigation. Wikipedia
2019: The report examined at least ten potential acts of obstruction and stated it "does not exonerate" Trump, while declining to reach a prosecutorial judgment on a sitting president. CNN
2017–2018: Trump fired FBI Director James Comey amid the Russia probe, then said in an interview he had "this Russia thing" in mind, fueling the obstruction inquiry. Wikipedia
2018: Former campaign chairman Paul Manafort was convicted of financial fraud and later pleaded guilty to additional charges in cases stemming from the Mueller probe. Wikipedia
2019: Longtime adviser Roger Stone was convicted on seven counts including witness tampering and lying to Congress about WikiLeaks contacts. Wikipedia
2017–2018: Former national security adviser Michael Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about contacts with Russia's ambassador. Wikipedia

Hush Money and Michael Cohen

2018: Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to campaign-finance violations, saying he made hush-money payments to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal at Trump's direction to influence the 2016 election. Wikipedia
2018: Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison; prosecutors said the payments were made "in coordination with and at the direction of" the candidate, referred to in filings as "Individual-1." Wikipedia

The Ukraine Campaign and First Impeachment

2019: Trump pressed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a July 25 call to "do us a favor" and investigate Joe Biden, while nearly $400 million in approved military aid was withheld. Wikipedia
2019: A whistleblower complaint about the call triggered a House impeachment inquiry; Trump repeatedly called the conversation a "perfect call." Wikipedia
2019: EU Ambassador Gordon Sondland testified there was a "quid pro quo" tying a White House meeting to the announced investigations. Wikipedia
2019: On December 18, the House of Representatives impeached Trump on two articles, abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, his first impeachment. Wikipedia

Norms, Rhetoric, and the Judiciary

2018: In a White House meeting on immigration, Trump reportedly asked why the U.S. should accept immigrants from "shithole countries," singling out African nations and Haiti. NPR
2018: Trump publicly attacked the judiciary, prompting a rare rebuke from Chief Justice John Roberts, who said there are no "Obama judges or Trump judges." Wikipedia
2018: Trump's Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed after contentious hearings over sexual-assault allegations, which he denied. Wikipedia
2019: Reporting revealed Trump overruled aides to grant son-in-law Jared Kushner a top-secret security clearance over the objections of career intelligence and security officials. Wikipedia

The First Term — 2020 to January 6, 2021

COVID-19: Downplaying a Pandemic

Feb. 27, 2020: As the virus spread, Trump predicted it would vanish: "It's going to disappear. One day — it's like a miracle — it will disappear." U.S. deaths would surpass 400,000 before he left office. PolitiFact
2020: Trump repeatedly minimized the threat in public — comparing COVID to the flu and predicting case counts near zero — across dozens of statements through the year. NPR
Sept. 9, 2020: Recordings released by journalist Bob Woodward showed Trump privately told him in February the virus was "deadly stuff," then admitted: "I wanted to always play it down." NPR

COVID-19: Junk Science and Mixed Messages

Apr. 23, 2020: At a White House briefing Trump mused about injecting disinfectant to fight the virus ("a cleaning"). The maker of Lysol and public-health officials urged people not to ingest disinfectants. NPR
Apr. 24, 2020: New York City Poison Control reported an uptick in calls about disinfectant exposure in the day after Trump's remarks. NPR
2020: Trump repeatedly promoted hydroxychloroquine as a COVID treatment despite lack of proof; the FDA later revoked its emergency authorization, citing no benefit and potential harm. NPR
June 20, 2020: At a Tulsa rally Trump used the term "kung flu" for the virus; the White House defended the language. Such "China virus" framing was linked by advocates to a rise in anti-Asian harassment. NPR

COVID-19: Undermining the Experts and the Vaccine

Oct. 19, 2020: On a campaign call Trump disparaged infectious-disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci as "a disaster" and complained about "Fauci and these idiots." NPR
Nov. 2, 2020: Responding to a rally crowd chanting "Fire Fauci," Trump suggested he would do so after the election. NPR
Sept. 16, 2020: Trump publicly contradicted CDC Director Robert Redfield on the vaccine timeline and on the value of masks, saying Redfield was "confused." NPR
Sept. 23, 2020: Trump accused the FDA of playing politics over stricter vaccine-safety guidelines, framing the two-month follow-up standard as a "political move" to delay a vaccine past Election Day. NPR

Lafayette Square and the Bible Photo-Op

June 1, 2020: Amid George Floyd protests, law enforcement forcibly cleared peaceful demonstrators from Lafayette Square so Trump could walk to St. John's Episcopal Church and pose holding a Bible. NPR
June 2, 2020: Clergy condemned the unannounced visit; the Episcopal bishop of Washington said Trump did not pray and used the church and Bible "as a backdrop." NPR
June 9, 2021: An Interior Department inspector-general report found Park Police had cleared the square to install fencing, not specifically for the photo-op — but documented the use of force against protesters that day. NPR

The "Big Lie" and Pressure to Overturn 2020

Nov. 2020–Jan. 2021: After losing the election, Trump falsely claimed it was "stolen" through fraud; dozens of his campaign's lawsuits were rejected by courts, and officials found no fraud sufficient to change the outcome. Wikipedia
Jan. 2, 2021: In a recorded call, Trump pressured Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to "find 11,780 votes" — one more than Biden's margin — to reverse the state's result. NPR
Dec. 14, 2020: In seven states Trump lost — Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — pro-Trump "fake electors" signed certificates falsely claiming he had won, part of a plan to disrupt the Jan. 6 certification. NPR
2020–2021: The fake-elector scheme later drew federal and multi-state criminal scrutiny, with charges filed against participants in several states. Wikipedia

January 6 and the Second Impeachment

Jan. 6, 2021: At a rally near the White House, Trump told supporters to march to the Capitol and "fight like hell," repeating "fight"/"fighting" some 20 times before the crowd breached the building. NPR
Jan. 6, 2021: A mob stormed the U.S. Capitol to stop the certification of Biden's victory; the attack left multiple people dead, injured scores of police, and forced lawmakers into hiding. Wikipedia
Jan. 13, 2021: The House impeached Trump a second time, 232–197, for "incitement of insurrection," making him the first U.S. president impeached twice. NPR
Jan. 13, 2021: Ten House Republicans, led by Rep. Liz Cheney, crossed party lines to vote for impeachment — the most bipartisan presidential impeachment in U.S. history. NPR
Jan. 11, 2021: The single article of impeachment charged that Trump "gravely endangered the security of the United States" by inciting the Capitol attack. NPR
2020–2021: Trump refused to concede and skipped Biden's inauguration, breaking with the long-standing norm of a peaceful, cooperative transfer of power. Wikipedia

Indictments, Convictions & Civil Liability (2021–2024)

The Manhattan Hush-Money Case: First Convicted U.S. President

March 30, 2023: A Manhattan grand jury indicted Trump on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, making him the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges; he was arraigned April 4 and pleaded not guilty. NPR
May 30, 2024: A New York jury found Trump guilty on all 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to conceal a $130,000 hush-money payment to Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election — the first criminal conviction of a U.S. president. NPR
Jan. 10, 2025: Justice Juan Merchan sentenced Trump to an "unconditional discharge" — no jail, fine, or probation — leaving the felony conviction in place days before his second inauguration. PBS

The Federal Classified-Documents (Mar-a-Lago) Case

June 8, 2023: Special Counsel Jack Smith charged Trump with 37 federal felony counts — including willful retention of national-defense information and obstruction — over classified documents kept at Mar-a-Lago after he left office; he pleaded not guilty June 13. NPR
July 27, 2023: A superseding indictment added counts, bringing the total to 40, and added new allegations that Trump tried to have Mar-a-Lago security footage deleted. NPR
July 15, 2024: U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the case, ruling that Smith's appointment as special counsel was unconstitutional under the Appointments Clause. NPR
Aug. 26, 2024: The Justice Department, through Smith, appealed Cannon's dismissal to the 11th Circuit; the case remained unresolved at the appellate level as of 2024. NPR

The Federal Jan. 6 / Election-Interference Case

Aug. 1, 2023: Special Counsel Jack Smith indicted Trump on four federal felony counts — including conspiracy to defraud the United States and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding — for efforts to overturn the 2020 election; he pleaded not guilty Aug. 3. NPR
Aug. 3, 2023: Trump was arraigned in federal court in Washington, D.C., and pleaded not guilty to all four charges in the election-interference case. NPR
July 1, 2024: In Trump v. United States, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that former presidents have absolute immunity for "core" official acts and presumptive immunity for other official acts, sending the case back to the trial court and delaying it past the election. NPR

The Georgia RICO Election Case

Aug. 14, 2023: A Fulton County, Ga., grand jury indicted Trump and 18 co-defendants under the state RICO Act over efforts to overturn Georgia's 2020 results; Trump faced 13 felony counts. NPR
Aug. 2023: The 41-count indictment named 19 defendants as a "criminal enterprise," including Rudy Giuliani and Mark Meadows, and listed 161 alleged predicate acts; Trump surrendered at the Fulton County jail and a mug shot was taken. NPR

Civil Liability: E. Jean Carroll and the New York Fraud Judgment

May 9, 2023: A federal jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming writer E. Jean Carroll, awarding her about $5 million in damages. NPR
Jan. 26, 2024: A second federal jury ordered Trump to pay Carroll $83.3 million for continuing to defame her, bringing the combined Carroll judgments to roughly $88 million. NPR
Feb. 16, 2024: Judge Arthur Engoron ordered Trump and his companies to pay about $355 million (over $450 million with interest) in New York's civil fraud case for years of inflating asset values to deceive banks and insurers. NPR
Feb. 27, 2024: Trump appealed the roughly $454 million civil-fraud judgment; he later posted a reduced $175 million bond to halt collection while the appeal proceeded. NPR

Trump Organization Conviction, Jan. 6 Referrals & Disqualification Litigation

Dec. 6, 2022: The Trump Organization was convicted on all 17 counts of criminal tax fraud and falsifying business records in a scheme run by top executives; it was fined $1.6 million in January 2023. NPR
Dec. 19, 2022: The House Jan. 6 committee referred Trump to the DOJ for criminal prosecution on four charges — the first such congressional referral of a former president — and its final report detailed his role in the Capitol attack. NPR
March 4, 2024: A unanimous Supreme Court, in Trump v. Anderson, reversed Colorado's removal of Trump from the ballot under the 14th Amendment's insurrection clause, holding that states cannot enforce Section 3 against federal candidates. NPR

The Second Term (2025–2026)

Defying the Courts & the Rule of Law

Jan. 20, 2025: On his first day back in office, Trump granted clemency to roughly 1,500 people charged in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack — full pardons for most, commutations for Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and others, plus dismissal of pending cases. NPR
March 2025: The administration invoked the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador's CECOT prison; planes were not turned around despite Judge James Boasberg's verbal order to return them. CNN
2025: Boasberg found "probable cause" to hold administration officials in criminal contempt for "willful disregard" of his March 15 order; the contempt inquiry continued after appellate review. CNN
Dec. 22, 2025: Boasberg ruled the U.S. denied due process to the Venezuelan men deported under the Alien Enemies Act. NPR
April 10, 2025: The Supreme Court unanimously upheld an order directing the administration to "facilitate" the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man the government admitted it wrongly deported to El Salvador in violation of a withholding order. NPR

Targeting Critics, the Press, Lawyers & Universities

Feb. 2025: The White House barred The Associated Press from the Oval Office and Air Force One over its refusal to adopt "Gulf of America"; a federal judge ruled the exclusion unconstitutional, though an appeals panel later sided with the White House. NPR
2025: Trump issued executive orders punishing law firms (Perkins Coie, Jenner & Block, WilmerHale, Susman Godfrey) by stripping clearances and contracts; all four firms that sued won permanent injunctions striking the orders as unconstitutional. NPR
May 2, 2025: A federal judge permanently blocked the order against Perkins Coie, finding it violated First Amendment speech and association rights and was unlawful retaliation. CNN
2025: The administration canceled more than $2.6 billion in Harvard research grants and moved to bar the university from enrolling international students; Harvard sued. NPR
March 2025: ICE detained Columbia graduate Mahmoud Khalil and Tufts doctoral student Rümeysa Öztürk, lawful visa holders, over pro-Palestinian speech; courts ordered Öztürk released, and unsealed records showed they were targeted for protected speech. CBS News
Nov. 24, 2025: A federal judge dismissed the indictments of James Comey and Letitia James — prosecutions Trump had publicly demanded — finding the prosecutor he installed, Lindsey Halligan, was unlawfully appointed. NBC News

Dismantling Oversight & the Civil Service (DOGE / Musk)

Jan. 24, 2025: Trump fired inspectors general at roughly 17 agencies in a late-night purge without the 30-day notice and cause Congress requires by law; several IGs sued. NPR
Feb. 2025: Elon Musk's DOGE moved to dismantle USAID, slashing a roughly 10,000-person agency toward a few hundred; courts intervened over leave and access. NPR
Feb. 8, 2025: A federal judge temporarily blocked DOGE from accessing the Treasury Department's central payment system holding the financial data of millions of Americans, citing risk of "irreparable harm." NPR
June 6, 2025: A 6-3 Supreme Court allowed DOGE to access sensitive Social Security Administration records while litigation continued, over a dissent warning of Privacy Act risks. NPR
2025: Trump revived "Schedule F" (renamed Schedule Policy/Career) to strip civil-service protections from tens of thousands of federal workers. NPR
April 8, 2025: The Supreme Court let the administration proceed with firing thousands of probationary federal employees after lower courts had ordered some reinstated. NPR

Economy: Tariffs, Markets & the Credit Downgrade

April 2, 2025: Trump announced sweeping "Liberation Day" tariffs — a 10% universal duty plus steep country-specific rates — under emergency-powers authority. Wikipedia
April 2025: U.S. markets plunged on the tariff news (a roughly 12% drop in the total-market index over a week, the steepest since the COVID crash) before a partial pause; global markets sold off in tandem. Wikipedia
May 16, 2025: Moody's downgraded the U.S. from its top Aaa rating to Aa1, the last of the three major agencies to strip the U.S. of a perfect rating, citing rising debt and deficits. CBS News
Feb. 20, 2026: In Learning Resources v. Trump / Trump v. V.O.S. Selections, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that the IEEPA does not authorize the president to impose the tariffs, invalidating the emergency-powers tariff regime. Wikipedia

Citizenship, Immigration Enforcement & Military Force

Jan. 20, 2025: Trump signed an executive order to deny birthright citizenship to U.S.-born children of parents lacking citizenship or green cards; every court to consider it struck it down and it never took effect. PBS
Dec. 5, 2025: The Supreme Court agreed to hear the birthright-citizenship challenge; at April 2026 argument a majority appeared skeptical of the administration's position. SCOTUSblog
2025: Trump federalized National Guard troops for Los Angeles; a federal judge ruled the deployment violated the Posse Comitatus Act before the 9th Circuit intervened. CBS News
Nov. 7, 2025: A federal judge permanently blocked the deployment of National Guard troops to Portland, finding no rebellion or inability to execute the laws justified federalization. CBS News
Sept. 2025–2026: The U.S. military repeatedly struck alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean and Pacific, killing more than 100 people without trial; Venezuela accused the U.S. of an "undeclared war." NPR
June 17, 2025: Amid the Israel-Iran war and ahead of U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, Trump demanded Iran's "unconditional surrender" and said the U.S. knew where Supreme Leader Khamenei was hiding but would not kill him "at least not for now." CNBC

Public Health, Environment & Self-Dealing

Sept. 22, 2025: Trump and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced an unproven link between Tylenol (acetaminophen) use in pregnancy and autism, warning doctors against it; major medical groups said the evidence does not support the claim. CBS News
July 29, 2025: The EPA, under Administrator Lee Zeldin, proposed repealing the "endangerment finding" — the legal basis for federal greenhouse-gas regulation under the Clean Air Act; Trump called it the "single largest deregulatory action in American history." CBS News
May 2025: The administration moved to accept a roughly $400 million Boeing 747-8 from Qatar for use as Air Force One; ethics experts and lawmakers warned it violated the Constitution's Foreign Emoluments Clause. NPR
May 22, 2025: Trump hosted a private dinner for the top holders of his $TRUMP meme coin — buyers who collectively spent roughly $148 million on the token — drawing ethics and conflict-of-interest objections. NPR
Oct. 23, 2025: Trump pardoned Binance founder Changpeng "CZ" Zhao, who had pleaded guilty to anti-money-laundering violations; Binance had ties to the Trump family's crypto ventures. CNN
July 2025: An unsigned DOJ-FBI memo declared there was no Jeffrey Epstein "client list" and no further files would be released, after officials had promised transparency, triggering bipartisan backlash and, eventually, the Epstein Files Transparency Act. NPR

Conclusion: A Pattern, Not an Accident

Read in isolation, any single entry here might be waved away — a gaffe, a one-off, a misunderstanding, a witch hunt. Read together, across five decades and 183 documented episodes, the excuses run out. The same instincts repeat in the real-estate office, on the campaign trail, in the Oval Office, in the courtroom, and again in this second term: contempt for the rule of law, for the truth, for expertise, and for anyone who can be used and then discarded.

This page editorializes in exactly one place — its conclusion. Everything above is sourced and linked; you can check it yourself. We hope you do. Because the antidote to all of this was never going to be outrage. It was always going to be a clear-eyed look at the documented facts, and the simple, stubborn refusal to pretend they are normal.

The record is clear.