What are the specific felony counts in each of Donald Trump’s four major criminal cases and current court statuses?
Executive summary
Donald Trump faces four major criminal prosecutions: a New York state hush‑money case in which he was charged with and later convicted on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records (trial concluded with sentencing developments), a federal classified‑documents case charging 37 felonies at one point that was dismissed by a federal judge and whose appeal was later dropped by prosecutors, a federal case in Washington, D.C., charging him with multiple counts tied to the effort to overturn the 2020 election that was paused while the Supreme Court addressed presidential immunity, and a Georgia state racketeering/election‑interference prosecution originally alleging 13 counts that has seen several charges reduced or struck and prosecutorial challenges that reached appellate courts [1] [2] [3] [4].
1. New York hush‑money prosecution — 34 felony counts; conviction and post‑trial posture
The Manhattan indictment charged Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree related to alleged payments to conceal damaging information during the 2016 campaign, and a jury found him guilty on all 34 counts in May 2024 [1] [5] [3]. The Manhattan District Attorney publicly announced the all‑count conviction and emphasized documentary and witness evidence presented at trial [6]. Subsequent reporting documents that sentencing took place months later and that the judge in New York granted an unconditional discharge in December, leaving Trump a convicted felon but without a custodial sentence at that time, and that appeals have been filed challenging the conviction and raising immunity arguments [7] [8].
2. Federal classified‑documents case (Mar‑a‑Lago) — 37 felony counts originally; dismissal and appellate developments
Special Counsel Jack Smith’s indictment in June 2023 charged Trump with dozens of felonies tied to retention and obstruction involving classified materials — reporting summarized that as 37 felonies — and included allegations against aides alleged to have handled documents [2]. In July 2024, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the federal indictment, ruling against Smith’s appointment and funding, and Smith appealed; the Justice Department later withdrew that appeal after Trump’s 2024 election and the special counsel’s office asked the appeals court to dismiss the appeal, effectively ending the challenge for the time being [3]. Lawfare’s chronology and CREW’s summaries track these filings and note the shifting posture of the government’s appeal [3] [2].
3. Federal election‑interference case in D.C. — multiple counts tied to Jan. 6 and certification; immunity pause and remand
The Justice Department’s Washington, D.C., indictment filed in August 2023 charged Trump on multiple federal counts for alleged efforts to obstruct the certification of the 2020 election; reporting frames this as a separate four‑count set of criminal charges in early summaries and as a sprawling set of conspiracy and obstruction counts in later superseding filings [4]. That case was paused while the Supreme Court considered presidential immunity; the high court returned the case to the district court in August 2024 for proceedings consistent with its immunity decision, meaning pretrial litigation continued after remand as lower courts applied the Court’s guidance [3]. Sources indicate the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling narrowed but did not categorically bar prosecution for unofficial acts, leaving the D.C. case alive but procedurally altered [3].
4. Georgia state prosecution — originally 13 counts; charges pared and procedural fights
Fulton County prosecutors indicted Trump in August 2023 on a 13‑count indictment alleging racketeering and other crimes tied to efforts to alter Georgia’s 2020 results, though judges later struck several counts for lack of specificity and some for constitutional reasons, trimming the effective charge list [4]. The Georgia litigation has featured aggressive defense motions and appellate skirmishing, including a December 2024 decision by the Court of Appeals of Georgia to disqualify District Attorney Fani Willis from the case, a ruling that materially changed the prosecution’s trajectory and introduced new procedural uncertainty [3]. The balance of charges and timing has therefore shifted repeatedly as legal challenges advance.
Hidden agendas and competing narratives run through coverage: prosecutors frame the indictments as accountability for alleged criminal conduct [6] [2], while defense teams and sympathetic reporting emphasize claims of political prosecution and constitutional immunities that have at times persuaded courts to narrow or dismiss charges [3] [8]. Public reporting reflects these competing frames, and appellate processes remain central to how each major case will ultimately proceed [3] [2].