Was Donald Trump formally charged with any new federal crimes in January 2026 and what are the charges?

1. Background: what federal criminal exposure Trump carried into January 2026

Federal prosecutions and indictments from 2023–2025—most prominently the classified‑documents and election‑obstruction matters pursued by Special Counsel Jack Smith—are described in the reporting as existing legal history rather than new January 2026 filings, with the earlier cases having been brought by indictment in 2023 (documents and election matters) and tracked in timelines of Trump’s indictments ^{[1] [4] [3]}.

2. What happened to those special‑counsel cases when Trump returned to the White House

Jack Smith’s offices moved to dismiss those criminal cases after Trump’s November 2024 election victory and the dismissals were approved, with reporting noting the cases were dismissed “without prejudice,” a legal posture that preserves the possibility they could be refiled later rather than foreclosing prosecutions permanently ^{[2] [1]}.

3. January 2026 reporting: no new federal indictments documented in the briefed sources

The documents and news items supplied for January 2026 focus on administration actions, litigation over executive initiatives, and Department of Justice activity generally—including White House announcements about creating a new DOJ division for national fraud enforcement and reporting about DOJ investigations of other figures—but none of the provided items reports that Trump himself was newly charged in federal court in January 2026 ^{[5] [6] [7] [8]}.

4. Signals that prosecutions could be revisited — explained, not asserted

Reporting cited here explains why a re‑filing remains legally possible: the special‑counsel dismissals were “without prejudice” and Smith’s final report said prosecutors believed they had sufficient evidence—points observers rely on when predicting future indictments—but those are descriptions of precedent and prosecutorial authority, not evidence that any new charging decision was made in January 2026 ^{[2] [1]}.

5. Broader context: DOJ activity and political dynamics in January 2026

January coverage in these sources shows an active Justice Department under the incoming administration, aggressive use of subpoenas and investigations in politically sensitive areas (including actions involving the Federal Reserve) and the launch of initiatives such as a national fraud enforcement division, signaling heightened enforcement priorities and political friction that commentators warn could intersect with prosecutions—but the existence of institutional activity is not the same as a new criminal charging instrument against the President ^{[5] [6] [7]}.

6. Competing narratives and why they matter

Some outlets and trackers emphasize that the earlier indictments remain a live political issue and that legal teams, special counsels, or U.S. attorneys could seek to refile or open new matters once statutory or policy hurdles change; other observers emphasize the legal and practical limits on recharging a sitting President or timing constraints like statutes of limitations—both views are visible in the reporting and neither is contradicted by the absence of a new January 2026 indictment in these sources ^{[2] [1] [9]}.

7. Bottom line

Based on the documents and reporting provided, there is no documented, formal new federal criminal charging of Donald Trump in January 2026; the published items instead recount prior indictments, dismissals without prejudice, and ongoing DOJ and political activity that could bear on future decisions, but they do not report a fresh federal indictment in that month ^{[2] [1] [5] [6]}.