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Fact check: What happened to trumps 34 felony charges? Case dismissed?
Executive Summary
Donald Trump’s 34-count case has not been dismissed; available reports indicate a conviction and ongoing appellate activity or continued litigation rather than a final resolution. Contemporary pieces show conflicting procedural notes — a May 2025 account stating he was convicted with appellate arguments scheduled, an earlier May 2024 announcement of a 34-count conviction by the Manhattan DA, and an October 2025 item noting a not-guilty plea — but none of the provided analyses support a dismissal of all charges [1] [2] [3].
1. Why the claim “Case dismissed?” surged — procedural confusion explained
Media and public confusion around whether Trump’s 34 felony counts were dismissed stems from fast-moving courtroom developments and differing reporting windows. One analysis recounts a May 2025 report saying Trump was convicted of 34 counts and that the Second Circuit set oral arguments for June 11, which indicates active appellate review rather than dismissal [1]. A separate piece from May 2024 records a Manhattan DA announcement describing a 34-count conviction, which likewise points to prosecution success at trial rather than case termination [2]. The discrepancy in dates and procedural posture—trial verdicts, filings, and appeals—fuels misstatements that the case ended by dismissal.
2. Conflicting updates: conviction, appeal scheduling, and a later plea reported
The timeline presented in the available material shows apparent contradictions that require careful parsing. The May 2025 report asserts a past conviction with appellate briefing scheduled for June 11, signaling that the legal dispute continued on appeal rather than being closed [1]. The May 2024 DA press note also frames the matter as a 34-count conviction announced by prosecutors, reinforcing that the case progressed through guilty findings at some stage [2]. Yet a document dated October 15, 2025, records Trump pleading not guilty to 34 felony counts, which could reflect separate filings, parallel procedural postures, or reporting differences; critically, none of these materials assert an all‑counts dismissal [3].
3. What “case ongoing” means for conviction, appeal, and plea entries
When reporting indicates a conviction plus an appeal, the legal reality is that convictions remain legally effective unless overturned, vacated, or dismissed by a court. The May 2025 account that oral arguments were set in the Second Circuit implies appellate review of the convictions rather than their negation [1]. The DA’s May 2024 announcement of a 34-count conviction underscores that prosecutors obtained guilty findings at trial or by plea at that earlier point in the timeline [2]. A subsequent not-guilty plea entry in October 2025 could represent a procedural posture in a separate filing or a response to reindictment, but these elements uniformly indicate continuing litigation, not dismissal [3].
4. Assessing reliability: source dates and potential agendas in the record
The pieces span more than a year and may reflect different stages of the same litigation or separate proceedings, so date context matters. The May 2024 DA announcement likely reflects initial prosecutorial milestones [2], while the May 2025 article highlights appellate scheduling after reported convictions [1]. The October 2025 notation of a not‑guilty plea could suggest new filings or procedural repositioning [3]. Readers should note that coverage of high-profile defendants often carries organizational or political angles; treating each source as potentially biased emphasizes corroboration across distinct outlets and official court records before concluding a final disposition.
5. What unrelated coverage adds: why Comey stories don’t settle the question
Recent articles about former FBI Director James Comey seeking dismissal of his own charges are not evidence about Trump’s case despite appearing in the same news cycle; the Comey analyses describe motions to dismiss on grounds of vindictive or politically motivated prosecution and do not address the status of Trump’s 34 felony counts [4] [5] [6]. Including Comey coverage in this context risks conflating separate prosecutions and legal strategies. The presence of these unrelated stories can create noise and encourage erroneous cross-application of legal arguments, but they do not change the factual record about whether Trump’s charges were dismissed.
6. Bottom line: current record shows ongoing litigation, not dismissal
Based on the assembled material, the most defensible conclusion is that the 34-count matter was not dismissed; instead, reports describe convictions, appellate activity, and additional pleadings across 2024–2025 that indicate continued contestation in court [1] [2] [3]. No provided analysis states a final, court-ordered dismissal of all 34 counts. Any claim that the case was dismissed misstates the documents at hand, and readers should consult updated court dockets or official filings for the latest dispositive rulings because litigation posture can change with new orders, appeals, or rulings after the cited dates.