From the 1970s until he was elected president in 2016, Donald Trump and his businesses were involved in over 4,000 legal cases in United States federal and state courts, including battles with casino patrons, million-dollar real estate lawsuits, personal defamation lawsuits, and over 100 business tax disputes.[1] He has also been accused of sexual harassment and sexual assault,[2][3] with one accusation resulting in him being held civilly liable.[4]
In 2015, Trump's lawyer Alan Garten called Trump's legal entanglements "a natural part of doing business" in the U.S.[5][6] While litigation is indeed common in the real estate industry,[5] Trump has been involved in more legal cases than his fellow magnates Edward J. DeBartolo Jr., Donald Bren, Stephen M. Ross, Sam Zell, and Larry Silverstein combined. Much of the lawsuits were filed against patrons with debt to his casinos. Of all cases with a clear resolution, Trump was the victor 92 percent of the time.[7]
Numerous legal matters and investigations occurred during and after Trump's presidency, some being of historical import. Between October 2021 and July 2022 alone, the Republican National Committee paid more than US$2 million to attorneys representing Trump in his presidential, personal, and business capacities.[8] In January 2023, a federal judge fined Trump and his attorney nearly $1 million, characterizing him as "a prolific and sophisticated litigant who is repeatedly using the courts to seek revenge on political adversaries".[9]
On December 6, 2022, the parent company of Trump's many businesses, The Trump Organization, was convicted on 17 criminal charges.[10][11][12]
^ abMullins, Brody; Oberman, Jim (March 13, 2016). "Trump's Long Trail of Litigation". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on April 15, 2016. Retrieved March 14, 2016. Litigation isn't unusual for resolving business disputes or enforcing contracts, particularly in the real-estate industry. It is difficult to determine whether Mr. Trump files more lawsuits than others with similarly broad business interests. The Republican Party has long argued that excessive litigation in the U.S. increases the costs of goods and services and limits job creation. Republican leaders have pushed, in particular, for medical-malpractice changes, to reduce fraud in the asbestos-claims process and to cut down on what they see as frivolous litigation in general. Mr. Trump's political opponents have cited his pattern of litigiousness to buttress their contention that he isn't a true conservative.
^Isikoff, Michael (August 30, 2015). "How Trump could turn the presidency into a 'litigation circus'". Yahoo! Politics. Archived from the original on April 5, 2016. Retrieved August 31, 2015. He is a litigation magnet who has been the target (and the initiator) of hundreds of civil suits over the past several decades.... Indeed, Trump's penchant for litigation – and punching back against his critics in court – has shown no signs of abating while he is on the campaign trail.
^Jacobs, Shayna (December 6, 2022). "Trump Organization convicted in N.Y. criminal tax fraud trial". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 29, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2022. Two Trump Organization entities — the Trump Corporation and the Trump Payroll Corp. — were on trial. Both were found guilty on all charges.