By Conor Shaw, J.D.
Deputy Policy Director and Senior Advisor
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW)
As of September 2022, Donald Trump has been credibly accused of committing at least 55 criminal offenses since he launched his campaign for president in 2015. That total only reflects allegations relating to his time in or running for office and omits, for instance, Trump’s criminal exposure for fraudulent business dealings.
The seven offenses we have added since we published the first version of this table in March 2022 include three criminal offenses relating to the investigation of election fraud and related crimes in Fulton County, Georgia; one offense relating to potential wire fraud stemming from fraudulent representations made to solicit PAC contributions after the 2020 election; and three offenses relating to Trump’s unlawful possession of government records at Mar-a-Lago after leaving office. The updated tracker likely understates Trump’s legal exposure because the high volume of sensitive records discovered at Mar-A-Lago suggests that he could be indicted for multiple counts of willfully retaining without authorization government records containing national defense information, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 793(e)), even though it is only listed once on CREW’s tracker.
Federal and state prosecutors are at an important crossroads with respect to accountability for the former president. On the one hand, the deadline has already passed or will soon pass for charges relating to several extremely serious offenses. That includes offenses relating to Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign as well as his obstruction of the FBI’s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election and the subsequent special counsel investigation. The investigation of both matters was terminated by the Department of Justice at the direction of former Attorney General Bill Barr. While there is substantial evidence that Trump committed several felonies, he is unlikely to face consequences for that conduct.