How many felony charges have past U.S. presidents or presidential candidates faced and what were they?
Executive summary
Donald Trump is the only U.S. president or major presidential candidate in modern history to face and be convicted on felony charges: he was charged in four separate cases (two federal, two state) in 2023–2025 totaling roughly 88 counts across indictments, was convicted on 34 state felony counts of falsifying business records (May 30, 2024) related to hush‑money payments, and received an unconditional discharge at sentencing on January 10, 2025 [1] [2] [3] [4]. Available sources do not mention other past presidents having felony convictions while running for or holding the presidency [1] [2].
1. The Trump outlier: four indictments, 88 counts, 34 convictions
No other modern president has been criminally indicted and convicted as Trump was. Reporting and summaries count four criminal cases filed against him between June and August 2023 — two federal and two state — which together produced roughly 88 criminal counts; as of late 2025 reporting he had been found guilty on 34 counts in the New York hush‑money prosecution and many other counts had been dismissed or remained unresolved in other venues [1] [2] [3]. The New York case charged 34 counts of first‑degree falsifying business records tied to payments to Stormy Daniels and the claim that the falsifications were intended to conceal another crime [5] [4].
2. What the 34 counts were and why they became felonies
Manhattan prosecutors accused Trump of falsifying business records to conceal a payment to an adult‑film actor during the 2016 campaign; in New York falsifying business records can be elevated to a felony if done to conceal another crime, which is how the 34 counts were prosecuted as class E felonies [5] [6]. A Manhattan jury convicted him on all 34 counts on May 30, 2024 [3] [5].
3. Sentence, discharge and political consequences
Although convicted, Trump did not receive incarceration, fines or probation at sentencing: Judge Merchan issued an unconditional discharge on January 10, 2025 — a sentence that upholds the convictions while imposing no jail time or other penalties — and Trump proceeded to be sworn in for a subsequent term [4] [5] [7]. News outlets framed the conviction as historic because it marked the first time a former U.S. president was convicted of felony crimes [3] [8].
4. The broader set of prosecutions and unresolved matters
Beyond Manhattan, Trump faced two federal indictments (including a classified‑documents case) and a Georgia state racketeering/election‑interference indictment; across the four cases reporting aggregated the total counts as 88 and noted varying outcomes — convictions, dismissals, appeals, or procedural pauses — through late 2025 [1] [2] [9]. Some Georgia charges were dismissed or the case was delayed and reallocated amid prosecutorial conflicts; other federal matters saw motions about removal or pauses tied to his election status [9] [1].
5. Historical comparators and what sources say is absent
Contemporary coverage and reference guides identify Trump as unique among presidents in being indicted and convicted; available sources do not document any other U.S. president or major presidential candidate having been convicted of felony crimes while running for or holding the presidency in modern times [1] [3]. Reporting does note earlier political figures and candidates at other offices who ran while under indictment or imprisonment, but not presidents [10] [11]. If you are asking about earlier eras or obscure local figures, available sources do not mention them in relation to presidential candidates (not found in current reporting).
6. Competing perspectives and political framing
News organizations presented competing narratives: some outlets emphasized the unprecedented legal accountability represented by conviction and its civic implications [3] [1], while others and Trump’s allies framed indictments as political targeting that energized his supporters and complicated trial timing amid campaigns [4]. Legal scholars flagged unresolved constitutional and procedural questions — for example, how the DOJ treats an indicted person who becomes a sitting president — matters that remained the subject of academic analysis and litigation [12] [1].
Limitations: this account relies on the provided reporting set and summarizes its figures and timelines; available sources do not provide a comprehensive list of every historical presidential candidate at lower levels of contention outside the cited modern examples, and they do not supply definitive rulings on unresolved appeals or later judicial actions beyond late‑2025 coverage [2] [9].