What criminal investigations, if any, have been opened into allegations against Donald Trump and what were their outcomes?
Executive summary
Multiple criminal investigations and prosecutions have been opened into allegations against Donald Trump: across 2023 he was the subject of four major criminal cases (two federal and two state), one of which produced a historic conviction in New York in May 2024 while the others remained active and unresolved as of the latest reporting [1] [2] [3].
1. The four major 2023 criminal cases: how they began and who is leading them
In 2023 Trump became the first former U.S. president to be criminally indicted in four separate matters—two in federal court and two in state court—after investigations that stretched back years and involved multiple prosecutors and a special counsel appointment to handle classified-materials issues (PBS/FRONTLINE, [1]; Ballotpedia, [4]; Wikipedia summary, p1_s2).
2. The New York “hush-money” prosecution and its unprecedented outcome
The Manhattan prosecution charged Trump with falsifying business records tied to a $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels; that case went to trial in April 2024 and resulted in jurors convicting Trump on all 34 felony counts on May 30, 2024—the first criminal conviction of a former or sitting U.S. president (NPR, [2]; Wikipedia, p1_s2).
3. The federal classified-documents investigation and indictment
A separate federal inquiry into Trump’s handling of classified materials after leaving office led to an FBI search of Mar-a-Lago in August 2022 and a federal indictment unsealed in mid‑2023 that accuses him on multiple counts relating to retention of sensitive documents and obstruction; that federal case, brought in the Southern District of Florida and by a Justice Department special counsel in related matters, remained active following indictment (Ballotpedia, [4]; Wikipedia summary, [3]; FRONTLINE context, [5]3).
4. The Washington, D.C., Jan. 6-related indictment
In August 2023 a federal indictment in the District of Columbia charged Trump with offenses connected to efforts to overturn the 2020 election and the January 6 breach of the Capitol, including counts alleging conspiracy to defraud the United States and obstruction of an official proceeding; that prosecution was likewise ongoing and produced complex litigation over presidential immunity defenses (Wikipedia summary, [3]; Ballotpedia chronology, p1_s4).
5. The Georgia racketeering investigation and indictment
Fulton County prosecutors in Georgia opened a criminal inquiry into whether Trump and allies attempted to change the state’s 2020 results, culminating in a state indictment unsealed in August 2023 that includes racketeering-related charges against Trump and co‑defendants; the indictment and pretrial proceedings continued in state court with some counts adjusted or dismissed during the process (Ballotpedia, [4]; BBC overview, [6]; Wikipedia, p1_s2).
6. Earlier probes and investigations that concluded without charging him
Prior federal probes—most prominently Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation and an earlier Southern District of New York inquiry into related payments—produced extensive reports and, in some instances, concluded without directly charging Trump after review, with mixed findings about obstruction and coordination allegations (Cosmopolitan timeline referencing Mueller, [7]; Manhattan prosecution history noting a federal inquiry that concluded without charges in July 2019, [5]1).
7. Tally, legal posture, and political context
By spring 2024 organizations tracking the cases counted scores of criminal counts across the matters—one tally cited 88 charges across multiple cases as of March 2024—and analysts emphasized that outside of the New York conviction the other prosecutions remained active, subject to legal challenges, and consequential both legally and politically (CREW, [8]; Brennan Center analysis noting three active prosecutions and the New York conviction, [5]0). Reporting also documents that investigations have intersected with political dynamics—appointments of special counsels, prosecutorial discretion, claims of immunity, and later administration actions affecting investigations more broadly—which observers say complicate the purely legal narrative (FRONTLINE, [1]; Protect Democracy tracker on retaliatory concerns, p1_s5).
Limitations of the record: sources provided do not uniformly detail the final dispositions of the federal Jan. 6 and classified‑materials indictments or the Georgia case beyond their filing and ongoing litigation; apart from the New York guilty verdict, definitive outcomes for those cases are not documented in the supplied reporting [3] [4] [1].