Democrats in the House of Representatives have circulated a draft of a new article of impeachment against President Trump charging him with “incitement of insurrection” for his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol during congressional vote counting. (Jurist)

Democrats in the US House of Representatives formally introduced a resolution for the impeachment of Donald Trump Jan. 11.

Article I of the resolution, titled "Incitement of Insurrection," states that "the Constitution provides that the House of Representatives 'shall have the sole Power of Impeachment’ and that the President ‘shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.'" The article further states that "section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution prohibits any person who has 'engaged in insurrection or rebellion against' the United States from 'hold[ing] any office … under the United States.'"

Wherefore, Donald John Trump, by such conduct, has demonstrated that he will remain a threat to national security, democracy, and the Constitution if allowed to remain in office, and has acted in a manner grossly incompatible with self-governance and the rule of law. Donald John Trump thus warrants impeachment and trial, removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States.

The House is expected to vote on the resolution this week. (Jurist)

Trump was first impeached just over a year ago.

The Insurrection Act is trending on Twitter and Google search following last week’s riot at the Capitol. The act allows the president to deploy federal troops or the federalized National Guard on US soil in specific instances.

While Trump threatened to use it this summer against Black Lives Matter protests in Washington, the act was last invoked in 1992 to quell the Los Angeles riots.

The act was amended in 2006 to expand the instances in which the president may invoke the law beyond actual insurrection after the federal government's response to Hurricane Katrina a year earlier was criticized, according to NPR. The change authorizes "the President to employ the armed forces during a natural disaster or terrorist attack." (USA Today, KTLA, Newsweek)

House Republicans blocked a resolution Jan. 11 calling on Vice President Mike Pence to begin 25th Amendment proceedings to remove President Donald Trump from office. Majority Leader Steny Hoyer introduced the Unanimous Consent resolution, accusing Trump of inciting the Jan. 6 riot that temporarily halted the counting of electoral votes, resulted in the deaths of five people, and caused damage to the US Capitol building. (Jurist)

The US House of Representatives passed a resolution Jan. 12 calling for Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th amendment and remove President Trump from office. The passage has no binding legal effect and is considered symbolic, particularly as Pence had rejected informal calls for use of the 25th amendment prior to the House vote. (Jurist)

The US House Judiciary Committee released a report Jan. 12 detailing the case for impeachment of President Trump for high crimes and misdemeanors relating to the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol. The report links Trump's "prolonged effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and maintain his grip on power" to the violent attack. The committee finds that Trump presents an "imminent threat to our security and democracy if he remains in or holds any future office."

In the months following the November election, Trump "took aggressive steps to overturn its outcome and undermine public confidence in the election results." The president and his allies filed 62 separate lawsuits in federal and state courts contesting the election, "not to identify legitimate concerns, but to undermine confidence in the results of the election, spread dangerous disinformation, and stoke false and wild conspiracy theories."

The report quotes a Jan. 2 phone call between Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in which Trump urged Raffensperger to "find" the votes to overturn the state’s results and threatened him with criminal penalties if he failed to do so.

The report also notes that Trump made public statements claiming election fraud that had already been rejected by the Department of Justice. He called on supporters to "[c]ome to D.C. January 6th to 'StopTheSteal'" and confirmed his own presence by tweeting, "I will be there! Historic Day."

The report details that on the morning of the rally, Trump tweeted 12 times claiming the election was "rigged" and called on supporters to "fight" and "be strong." He directed the crowd's attention to Vice President Mike Pence, claiming Pence had the authority to overturn the election results. At the rally, Rudy Giuliani repeated false claims of election fraud and urged the crowd to "trial by combat." When the president addressed the crowd, he suggested they should "fight much harder" to "stop the steal" and "take back our country" at the Capitol. He called out his vice president and specific legislators saying, "We've got to get rid of the weak congresspeople, the ones that aren't any good." He then told the crowd, "We're going to walk down to the Capitol." After the speech, thousands of attendees marched down Pennsylvania Ave. towards the Capitol.

The insurrectionists who attacked the Capitol made it clear they believed the president directed them to do so. The mob erected a gallows and left threatening messages, and police recovered multiple guns, components to make a "Molotov cocktail" explosive device and pipe bombs. Five people died and more than 50 police officers were injured.

Even after the mob entered the Capitol, the president continued to affirm the insurrection’s mission by attacking Pence in a tweet: "Mike Pence didn't have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify. USA demands the truth!" A later video shows the insurrectionists chanting, "Hang Mike Pence!" Trump has shown no remorse, and rather than condemning the violence, has "justified his supporters' actions and reiterated his lies about the election." (Jurist)

The US Supreme Court refused Jan. 11 to expedite the remaining Donald Trump campaign election challenges in an order unaccompanied by further comment or explanation. The justices’ refusal to consider the petitions before President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration may render the claims moot.

The Trump campaign sought to expedite eight separate petitions over the election results in Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Along with these petitions that the court refused to expedite, there are also two other election challenge petitions out of Pennsylvania. The court may take up these Pennsylvania petitions to determine the challenge of absentee voting in future Pennsylvania elections.

Though the court refused to expedite the remaining Trump campaign election challenges, it still reserves the right to hear the challenges in the future. However, such a hearing would not impact the 2020 presidential election. The justices will likely not even decide whether they will hear the claims until February.

The court's refusal to expedite the Trump campaign's claims effectively marks the end of Trump campaign’s electoral legal challenges. (Jurist)

The US Joint Chiefs of Staff authored an unusual message to the military Tuesday condemning the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol.

In their message, the Joint Chiefs noted that the actions inside the Capitol building were "inconsistent with the rule of law." Additionally, they reminded service members that it is their duty to "support and defend the Constitution." The Joint Chiefs also stated that president-elect Joe Biden will be inaugurated on Jan. 20 and become the 46th president.

The American people have trusted the Armed forces of the United States to protect them and our Constitution for almost 250 years. As we have done throughout our history, the U.S. military will obey lawful orders from civilian leadership, support civil authorities to protect lives and property, ensure public safety in accordance with the law, and remain fully committed to protecting and defending the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. The violent riot in Washington, D.C on January 6, 2021 was a direct assault on the U.S. Congress, the Capitol building and our Constitutional process.

At least 20,000 National Guard members are expected to be deployed for Biden’s inauguration next week. (Jurist)

More than 70 individuals have already been charged in last week's seizure of the US Capitol, officials from the FBI and Department of Justice said in a joint briefing Jan. 30. (Jurist)  Acting US Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen also issued his first statement about the seizure, promising a swift response to further acts of violence. (Jurist)

Far-right media personality Tim Gionet, who goes by the handle "Baked Alaska," was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Houston, Tex., charged with participating in the violent riot on Capitol Hill on Jan. 6. According to a sworn statement filed by an FBI agent, Gionet livestreamed a 27-minute video from the Capitol. The affidavit quotes incendiary comments from Gionet on the video, including, "We are in the Capitol Building. 1776 will commence again" and "America First is inevitable." (Reuters)

Fervent Trump supporter and My Pillow CEO Michael Lindell was pictured Jan. 15 entering the White House with a document that seemed to outline a path to declaring martial law along with potential personnel changes atop the US national security structure.

The multi-page document was mostly obscured, but the picture tweeted out by a Washington Post photographer included phrases like "… martial law if necessary upon the first hint of any..." and "Move Kash Patel to CIA Acting." The partial title gleaned from the photograph was "… Be Taken Immediately To Save The..."

A close-up of the document suggests it also appears to reference invoking the Insurrection "Act now as a result of the assault on the..."

Patel is a staunch White House loyalist who "previously worked for Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA), the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, and as a staffer played a key role in helping Republicans discredit the Russia probe."

If nothing else, the sighting proves that Trump’s coup scheming continues—to what end, we don't know. (Daily Kos)

A group of independent UN experts released a statement Jan. 18 condemning the violent riots on Capitol Hill that were intended to disrupt the formal counting of the electoral votes 12 days earlier. The group, including 24 human rights experts and Special Rapporteurs who are unaffiliated with any government or organization, called the most recent attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election "shocking and incendiary." (Jurist)

Joseph Randall Biggs, leader of the far-right organization Proud Boys, was arrested in Orlando, Fla, Jan. 20 in connection with the attack on the US Capitol. According to an FBI affidavit, Biggs has been documented as at the Capitol during the riot. The affidavit includes images where the individual identified as Biggs is seen. The video, posted on Parler social media site, shows Biggs and others entering the Capitol at which point an unknown person asks, "Hey Biggs, what do you gotta say?" to which Biggs responds by lowering his mask and stating "This is awesome!" (Jurist)

Dominion Voting Systems on Jan. 25 brought suit against Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani for defamation following his post-election statements regarding their voting machines. The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, alleges that Giuliani's defamatory statements gave rise to more than $650 million in damages. The company seeks a total of $1.3 billion, including punitive damages.

The complaint exhaustively covers statements by Giuliani after the 2020 election, especially focusing on Giuliani's repeated claim that Dominion Voting Systems is a front for a Venezuelan company called Smartmatic. Moreover, Giuliani claimed that Smartmatic had close ties to deceased Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez and investor George Soros. Soros is a popular figure in right-wing conspiracy theories. (Jurist)

Smartmatic is indeed based in Venezuela, and has been contracted by the Venezuelan government, but its polling results have demonstrated independence from the ruling regime. The only link between Smartmatic and Dominion appears to be a now-defunct company called Sequoia Voting Systems. Sequoia was acquired by Smartmatic in 2005 and two years later divested to managers with US citizenship. In 2010, many of its assets were acquired by Dominion.  

The Supreme Court on Jan. 25 closed the door on two separate emoluments cases alleging that former president Donald Trump violated the Constitution by financially benefiting from his properties in New York and Washington while in political office. 

The court, in a series of short orders, found the cases to be moot now that Trump is no longer president. The court ordered the judgments vacated and remanded with instructions to dismiss. In declining to hear the cases, the court indicated it would not rule on the three emoluments clauses found within the Constitution; an area of law rarely examined at the appellate level. (Jurist)

The Department of Homeland Security has issued a national terrorism advisory warning, citing a "heightened threat environment across the US" after the deadly Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol. In the alert, the DHS said that a National Terrorism Advisory System bulletin would be in effect until April 30, believing that the threat would "persist in the weeks following the successful Presidential inauguration." (NBC)

The US Department of Justice (DoJ) indicted three members of Oath Keepers, identified as a far-right militia organization, on Jan. 27 for conspiring to storm the Capitol in an attempt to obstruct Congress as it certified the vote of the US Electoral College.

Jessica Watkins, Donovan Crowl and Thomas Caldwell were charged with conspiracy, obstruction of an official proceeding, destruction of government property, and entering restricted buildings and grounds. According to charging documents, the three conspired as early as November of last year to "commit an offense against the United States" and hinder Congress' certification process. Congressional obstruction charges carry a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.

The Oath Keepers is a "large but loosely organized" collection of paramilitary groups with an explicit focus on recruiting current and former military, law enforcement and first responder personnel. Watkins and Crowl are both dues-paying members of an Oath Keepers grouping and allegedly colluded with Caldwell on social media to "forcibly enter the Capitol and disrupt the Congressional proceeding occurring that day."

A DoJ press release detailed the communications between the three, noting that "The exchanges vary in topics from a call to action to logistics, including lodging options, coordinating calls to discuss the plan, and joining forces with other Oath Keeper chapters."

Further, the three documented their participation in the storming and updated their whereabouts in and around the Capitol on social media. Watkins posted a picture of herself with Crowl on her Parler account captioned "Me before forcing entry into the Capitol Building. #stopthesteal2 #stormthecapitol #oathkeepers #ohiomilitia." Watkins and Crowl then "joined with a line of individuals wearing Oath Keepers clothing, patches, and insignia, and some of whom also were wearing battle gear." (Jurist)

The US Department of Justice indicted two Proud Boys members Jan. 29 for conspiring to obstruct law enforcement and other charges for their acts connected to the Jan. 6 insurrection at the US Capitol.

Proud Boys are a far-right nationalist organization, self-described as "Western Chauvinists." The two members indicted are Dominic Pezzola and William Pepe. They each allegedly own tactical vests with the Proud Boys logo and have previously been present at Proud Boys gatherings and protests.

The conspiracy charge alleges that Pezzola and Pepe removed metal barricades in front of the Capitol, which were intended to control access. In addition to conspiracy to obstruct law enforcement, Pezzola and Pepe are also charged with "civil disorder; unlawfully entering restricted buildings or grounds; and disorderly and disruptive conduct in restricted buildings or grounds."

Pezzola allegedly ripped away a riot shield from a Capitol Police officer and used it to break a window of the Capitol building. Pro-Trump rioters proceeded to enter the building through the broken window. Pezzola is also charged with "obstructing an official proceeding; additional counts of civil disorder and aiding and abetting civil disorder; robbery of personal property of the United States; assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers; destruction of government property; and engaging in physical violence in a restricted buildings or grounds."

The US Attorney's Office for the District Court of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division's Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting this case. (Jurist)

The US Department of Justice unsealed an affidavit on Feb. 11 charging five individuals associated with the Proud Boys with conspiracy in connection to the insurrection in Washington, DC on Jan. 6. (Jurist)

The US Senate on Feb. 13 voted 57-43 to acquit former President Donald Trump on an impeachment charge stemming from the deadly Capitol insurrection in early January.

All 50 Senate Democrats and seven Republicans voted to convict Trump for high crimes and misdemeanors in his "incitement of insurrection." But the final vote was short by 10 guilty votes needed for a two-thirds majority to bar Trump from holding public office again. Except for Senators Romney (R-UT) and Murkowski (R-AK), the five Republican senators who voted guilty are either retiring after their current term or are not up for re-election until 2026.

The acquittal allows Trump, the only president in US history to be impeached twice, to potentially run for office again in 2024.

In a 56-44 vote on Feb. 9, the Senate voted that a former president can be subject to impeachment proceedings for acts committed while president. All six Republican Senators who voted that this impeachment trial was constitutional also voted to find Trump guilty. (Jurist)

Bennie Thompson (D-MS), chair of the US House Homeland Security Committee, filed a lawsuit against former president Donald Trump, Rudy Guiliani, the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers, alleging a conspiracy between the parties to prevent members of Congress from discharging their official duties.

The lawsuit, which Thompson filed as a private citizen rather than in an official capacity, states that "[t]he Defendants conspired to prevent, by force, intimidation and threats, the Plaintiff, as a Member of Congress, from discharging his official duties to approve the count of votes cast by members of the Electoral College following the presidential election held in November 2020." Thompson alleges that the defendants violated 42 USC § 1985(1), the Ku Klux Klan Act. (Jurist)

A federal grand jury on Feb. 19 indicted six new members of the Oath Keepers, a right-wing extremist group, for conspiring to prevent Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory.

The six members were arrested earlier this week and were included as co-defendants in a superseding indictment alleging that the individuals joined in a military-style formation, marched up the Capitol steps, breached the door, and stormed the building on Jan. 6, 2021.

All six members were charged with conspiring to commit an offense against the United States under Title 18, section 371 of the United States Code and for violating 18 USC §1512(c)2 by obstructing, influencing, and impeding an official proceeding. Further charges included one count of “depredation” against federal government property in violation of 18 USC §1361; and unlawful entry, disorderly conduct, and violent conduct on government grounds in violation of 18 USC §1752(a).

The superseding indictment alleges that extremist group leader Kelly Meggs wrote in a Facebook message in late December,

Trump said It’s gonna be wild!!!!!!! It’s gonna be wild!!!!!!! He wants us to make it WILD that’s what he’s saying. He called us all to the Capitol and wants us to make it wild!!! Sir Yes Sir!!! Gentlemen we are heading to DC pack your s***!!

The indictment further alleges that Meggs made prior statements that the group need not be armed for the attack because members would be prepared with "heavy QRF 10 Min out" at the Capitol. QRF is a military and law enforcement term that stands for "quick reaction force" and refers to an armed unit prepared to rapidly respond to emergency situations.

The United States Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia is currently handling the case along with the Counterterrorism Section of the DoJ National Security Division and the US Attorney's Offices in Florida, North Carolina, and Ohio. The FBI is continuing to investigate the cases. (Jurist)

The Department of Justice stated March 12 that it expects to charge at least 100 additional suspects in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, explaining that the investigation into the attack is one of the largest the department has conducted. Approximately 300 suspects have already been charged in the Capitol attack, and the investigation is ongoing. To address the growing number of defendants and the significant amount of evidence, the DoJ is seeking 60-day extensions in a series of cases under the Speedy Trial Act. (Jurist)

Two Capitol police officers have filed suit against former president Donald Trump in connection with the attack on the US Capitol on January 6. (Jurist)

A member of the Oath Keepers militia and heavy metal guitarist on April 16 became the first defendant to plead guilty to federal charges in connection with the US Capitol riot on Jan. 6. Jon Ryan Schaffer, who originally faced six charges, entered into a plea deal where he agreed to fully cooperate with investigations. Schaffer admitted to unlawfully entering the US Capitol "wearing a tactical vest and with bear spray, with the purpose of influencing, affecting, and retaliating against the conduct of government by stopping or delaying the Congressional proceeding by intimidation or coercion." (Jurist)

The US Department of Justice announced the arrest of Marine Corps major Christopher Warnagiris for crimes related to his involvement in the Jan. 6 siege on the US Capitol. Warnagiris is the first active-duty military member that has been arrested for crimes perpetrated during that attack. (Jurist)

The US House of Representatives voted May 19 to send a bill to the Senate to create a commission to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol. The legislation would establish a 10-member commission to make recommendations by the end of this year about securing the Capitol and determine ways to prevent another insurrection of this kind.

The bill, HR 3233, the National Commission to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the United States Capitol Complex Act, was passed by a 252-175 vote, with 227 Democrats and 35 Republicans voting in favor and two Democrats and one Republican not voting. (Jurist)

Federal prosecutors filed a motion June 1 to dismiss a criminal case against Christopher Kelly, a New York man accused of participating in the Capitol riot on Jan. 6. The Department of Justice (DoJ) has charged more than 450 people for participating in the riot, and Kelly’s case is the first the DoJ has moved to dismiss. (Jurist)

Paul Hodgkins of Tampa became the second person charged in connection with the storming of the Capitol to plead guilty June 2.

Hodgkins originally faced charges for five offenses including disorderly conduct and entering a restricted building. However, he pleaded guilty to the lone offense of obstruction of an official proceeding. US District Judge Randolph Moss accepted the guilty plea, which provided that the prosecution drop the other charges against Hodgkins.

Hodgkins participated in the attack on the Capitol by entering the Senate Chamber, where he waved a pro-Trump flag and took a selfie while wearing a "Trump 2020" shirt. The selfie was later used to identify him as one of the participants in the attacks. He walked to the Senate well, where he joined other rioters in cheering, yelling and praying. (Jurist)

The highest-ranking US officer, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, and other top military leaders made informal plans to stop a coup by former President Donald Trump and his allies in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election, according to excerpts from a new book.

I Alone Can Fix It, written by Washington Post reporters Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker, describes how Milley and others feared Trump might take unconstitutional actions should he lose. CNN first reported on this excerpt.

"This is a Reichstag moment," Milley told his deputies in the days before Jan. 6, a reference to the 1933 burning of the German parliament that helped usher in the Nazi regime in Germany, Leonnig and Rucker write. "The gospel of the Führer."

"They may try, but they're not going to f****** succeed," Milley told his officers, according to Leonnig and Rucker. "You can't do this without the military. You can't do this without the CIA and the FBI. We're the guys with the guns."

Trump responded in a statement released by his private office: "I never threatened, or spoke about, to anyone, a coup of our Government. So ridiculous! Sorry to inform you, but an Election is my form of 'coup,' and if I was going to do a coup, one of the last people I would want to do it with is General Mark Milley." (USA Today)

Paul Hodgkins of Tampa, Florida, became the first felon July 19 to be sentenced for his role in the storming of the US Capitol in January. He was sentenced to eight months in prison and ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution for building damage.

On Jan. 6, Hodgkins entered the Senate chamber, where he waved a pro-Trump flag and took a selfie while wearing a "Trump 2020" shirt. That selfie was later used to identify him as one of the participants in the attacks. On June 2, he became the second person charged in connection with the storming of the Capitol to plead guilty.

Judge Randolph Moss of the US District Court for the District of Columbia noted that "although Mr. Hodgekins was only one member of a larger mob, he actively and intentionally participated in an event that threatened not only the security of the Capitol but democracy itself." The damage caused by the rioters "will persist in this country for several decades." (Jurist)

Seven Capitol Police officers are suing Donald Trump, his campaign, his associate Roger Stone, and members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, alleging that "their unlawful efforts culminated in the Jan. 6 mass attack on the United States Capitol." The suit charges that the defendants violated the federal KKK Act and DC Bias Related Crimes Act, both of which protect victims of prejudice against political violence and intimidation. (ABC)

A federal judge in the District of Columbia denied a motion from former President Donald Trump to block enforcement of an order she had yet to issue. One day earlier, the former president had asked Judge Tanya Chutkan to issue an administrative stay preventing the National Archive from releasing more than 750 pages of documents to the January 6 Congressional committee. Before the judge could rule on the motion, Trump filed a second motion asking the court to stay the first. Trump's attorney, Jesse Binnall, claimed that the second motion was necessary to prevent the National Archives from immediately transmitting documents before they could move to block it.

Trump sued the House Select Committee on January 6 and David Ferriero, Archivist of the United States, on Oct. 18. The lawsuit claimed that the committee's records request to the National Archive is overbroad and illegal. (Jurist, The Hill)

LongtimeTrump ally Steve Bannon was indicted Nov. 12 on two counts of contempt of Congress after he defied a subpoena from the House committee investigating the insurrection at the US Capitol.

The indictment comes as a second witness, former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, defied a similar subpoena from the committee. The chairman of the panel, Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson, said he will be recommending contempt charges against Meadows as well.

This is not the first time Bannon has faced legal peril. In August of last year, he was pulled from a luxury yacht and arrested on allegations that he and three associates ripped off donors trying to fund a southern border wall. Trump pardoned Bannon in the final hours of his presidency. (AP)

The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Nov. 11 granted former President Donald Trump’s request to halt the release of documents related to the January 6 Capitol riots. (Jurist)

Jacob Chansley, the "QAnon Shaman," was sentenced to 41 months in prison on Nov. 17 for his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

Chansley was among the first 30 individuals in the building on Jan. 6, and is described in court documents as "shirtless, wearing a Viking hat with fur and horns, covered in red, white, and blue face paint, and carrying an American flag tied to a pole with a sharp object at the tip and a bullhorn." Chansley ultimately arrived at the seat that Vice President Mike Pence had sat in an hour earlier, taking pictures of himself and refusing to leave when told to do so by police officers. He "wrote a note on available paper on the dais, stating, 'It's Only A Matter of Time. Justice Is Coming!'," and led the crowd in chants.

Chansley was arrested for his participation in the riots on Jan. 9, and he has remained in custody since that date. Chansley signed a plea agreement on Sept. 3.

According to the Department of Justice: "In the ten months since Jan. 6, more than 675 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the US Capitol, including over 210 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The investigation remains ongoing." (Jurist)

Just Security provides a detailed timeline of President Donald Trump's statements and actions relevant to the case that he incited the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

The DC Circuit Court of Appeals on Dec. 9 unanimously denied ex-president Trump's effort to block the National Archives from turning over his White House records to the House of Representatives Committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

Judge Patricia Millett, writing for the three-judge panel, rejected Trump’s request for a preliminary injunction blocking the National Archives and Records Administration from releasing 800 pages of disputed documents.

The panel did not accept Trump’s claim that his executive privilege prevented the current administration from sharing the documents with the House Committee. "The former President has failed to establish a likelihood of success given President Biden's carefully reasoned and cabined determination that a claim of executive privilege is not in the interest of the United States, and therefore is not justified as to any of the documents."

The Court of Appeals provided Trump with 14 days to ask the United States Supreme Court to review the decision before the Archives may begin turning over the documents. (Jurist)

The District of Columbia (DC) filed a civil lawsuit Dec. 14 against Proud Boys International, LLC and The Oath Keepers, a non-profit organization. DC is seeking compensatory, statutory and punitive damages from the organizations for their involvement in the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol. (Jurist)

Robert Scott Palmer of Largo, Florida, was sentenced in federal court to 63 months in prison on Dec. 17 for assaulting law enforcement with dangerous weapons during the Jan. 6 breach of the US Capitol. Palmer's sentence is the longest from the investigation of the Capitol riot thus far.  (Jurist)

Devlyn Thompson of Seattle was sentenced Dec. 20 to 46 months for assaulting a police officer during the Capitol riot. (Jurist)

Judge Amit Mehta of the District Court of the District of Columbia on Dec. 20 denied a motion to dismiss charges against 17 defendants accused of conspiring to disrupt an official proceeding of Congress during the Jan. 6 Capitol riots.

The 17 involved in this particular proceeding are all members or affiliates of the group called the Oath Keepers, who are alleged to "believe that the federal government has been coopted by a cabal of elites actively trying to strip American citizens of their rights."

By storming the US Capitol during the certification of the Electoral College vote, the government alleges that the defendants violated Section 1512(c)(2) of Title 18, which states: "Whoever corruptly...or...otherwise obstructs, influences, or impedes any official proceeding, or attempts to do so, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both." (Jurist)

Former President Donald Trump appealed to the Supreme Court to block the release of certain documents to the House of Representatives January 6th Committee. (Jurist)

The Justice Department unsealed seditious conspiracy charges against the leader of the Oath Keepers and 10 others, alleging they plotted to disrupt the electoral process at the Capitol last Jan. 6 and endangered former Vice President Mike Pence. Federal authorities arrested Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes in Texas on Jan. 13. (NPR)

The House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol announced that it has issued subpoenas to Rudy Giuliani, Jenna Ellis, Sidney Powell, and Boris Epshteyn. (Jurist)

President Joe Biden on Feb. 15 ordered the National Archives to send the Trump White House visitor logs to a House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol, rejecting former President Donald Trump's executive privilege claims.

In January, National Archives provided the Trump White House visitor logs to Biden's White House. The documents show appointment information for those who entered the White House complex on Jan. 6, 2021, among other days.

White House counsel Dana Remus wrote to the National Archives, stating that Biden determined that asserting executive privilege "is not in the best interests of the United States, and therefore is not justified, as to these records and portions of records." (Jurist)

In other news, a judge ruled Feb. 17 that Trump and two of his children must answer questions under oath in a New York state investigation into their business practices. New York Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron said that Trump, his son Donald Trump Jr, and daughter Ivanka Trump, must each comply with legal orders that prosecutors issued in December. (BBC News)

The US District Court for the District of Columbia on Feb. 18 denied former President Donald Trump’s motion to dismiss three lawsuits seeking to hold him accountable for the US Capitol Attack of Jan. 6, 2021. The plaintiffs, including 11 House of Representative members and two Capitol Police officers, seek to hold several defendants liable for the attack. Plaintiffs claim that the defendants violated the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871. The defendants include Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Rudolph Giuliani, Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, and the Oath Keepers. The court rejected motions for dismissal brought by Trump, Tarrio, and the Oath Keepers, but granted those of Trump Jr and Giuliani. (Jurist)

The National Archives & Records Administration (NARA) confirmed Feb. 18 that it found classified documents among 15 boxes former President Donald Trump took from the White House to his Mar-a-Lago residence. (Jurist)

The US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia announced March 8 that Proud Boys leader Henry "Enrique" Tarrio was arrested in Miami after being named in an indictment in the related to the Capitol insurrection. (Jurist)

A Texas man was meanwhile convicted of storming the Capitol with a holstered handgun, a milestone victory for federal prosecutors in the first trial among hundreds of cases arising from last year's insurrection. The jury also convicted Guy Wesley Reffitt of interfering with police officers who were guarding the Capitol, and of obstructing justice by threatening his two teenage children if they reported him to law enforcement after the attack. (AP)

A Georgia man was sentenced March 10 to two years of probation and 60 hours of community service for his role in the Capitol insurrection. Verden Nalley, of Buford, told a federal judge "I made a huge mistake" that day and apologized in a brief statement. 

Nalley pleaded guilty in December to misdemeanor offense of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds. He is one of nine Georgians to enter a guilty plea in cases related to the insurrection. (WXIA-TV, Atlanta)

A judge in the Central District of California on March 28 ruled that former President Donald Trump and right-wing attorney John Eastman must turn over 101 emails surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the Capitol to the House Committee investigating the matter.

In January, the committee subpoenaed Chapman University, where Eastman was employed at the time the relevant emails were sent. In an effort to withhold the documents from the committee, Eastman challenged the subpoena in the Central District of California, claiming attorney-client privilege.

In response, the committee argued that the crime-fraud exception permits disclosing communications typically protected by attorney-client privilege if ongoing or future crimes are likely discussed in the communications.

Judge David Carter found: "Based on the evidence, the Court finds it more likely than not that President Trump corruptly attempted to obstruct the Joint Session of Congress on January 6, 2021."

Carter will review the documents page-by-page to determine if the documents should be released to the committee. The court will determine for each document whether privilege existed, whether that privilege was waived, and whether any exceptions apply.

Carter wrote:

The illegality of the plan was obvious. Our nation was founded on the peaceful transition of power, epitomized by George Washington laying down his sword to make way for democratic elections. Ignoring this history, President Trump vigorously campaigned for the Vice President to single-handedly determine the results of the 2020 election . . . Every American–and certainly the President of the United States–knows that in a democracy, leaders are elected, not installed.

From Jurist, March 28

A New York state judge on March 28 ordered the Trump Organization to comply with a subpoena for e-discovery from New York Attorney General Letitia James by the end of April. The subpoena stems from an investigation into the Trump Organization which began in 2019. The investigation began after Donald Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, testified to Congress that the organization manipulated the value of Trump's assets to obtain loans and insurance while also reducing tax burdens. Most recently, a New York state judge ruled that Donald Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump had to comply with subpoenas for sworn testimony in connection with the investigation. The Trumps have since appealed the decision. (Jurist)

Charles Donohoe, a member of Proud Boys leadership charged in the January 2021 attack on the Capitol, pleaded guilty April 8 to conspiracy to obstruct Congress and assaulting police officers. Donohoe, 34, of Kernersville, NC, potentially faces up to 28 years in prison and a $500,000 fine when he is sentenced, but federal guidelines call for six or seven years in prison. He also agreed to cooperate with federal authorities in the cases against fellow defendants. Another member of the Proud Boys, Matthew Greene of Fabius, NY, pleaded guilty earlier. (USA Today)

Judge Arthur Engoron of the New York County State Supreme Court on April 25 ruled that Donald Trump is in civil contempt of court. Engoron will fine the former President $10,000 a day until he purges, or rectifies, the contempt.

New York Attorney General Letitia James subpoenaed Trump as part of a financial investigation by her office into the Trump Organization. On Feb. 17, Engoron ruled that Trump must "comply in full" with the subpoena and appear for a deposition by March 31. The order also mandated that Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr. appear for depositions.

James filed a motion for contempt on April 7 after Trump again failed to deliver documents and information despite a "crystal clear order from the court." James’s motion also asked Engoron to fine Trump $10,000 for every day that he withheld documents. Engoron imposed the recommended fine, but the court has not established a start date for payments.

James stated: "For years, Donald Trump has tried to evade the law and stop our lawful investigation into him and his company’s financial dealings. Today’s ruling makes clear: No one is above the law." (Jurist)

A member of the Proud Boys has pleaded guilty to felony charges in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection. Louis Enrique Colon of Blue Springs, Mo., pleaded guilty to a felony charge of obstructing law enforcement officers during the riot. (The Hill)

Brian Ulrich of Guyton, Ga., a member of the far-right Oath Keepers, pled guilty to seditious conspiracy and obstructing Congress in connection with the January 2021 Capitol insurrection. (Jurist)

Timothy Hale-Cusanelli, a former Army reservist from Colts Neck, NJ, described by prosecutors as a Nazi sympathizer, was convicted May 27 of storming the Capitol to obstruct Congress from certifying President Joe Biden's 2020 electoral victory. (AP)

A US federal judge Friday denied a request for bail by Enrique Tarrio, the former top leader of the Proud Boys. Tarrio is awaiting trial on criminal charges from the January 2021 attack on the US Capitol. (Jurist)

The Justice Department on June 6 charged the head of the Proud Boys, Enrique Tarrio, and four other leaders with "seditious conspiracy" in the January 2021 Capitol attack, escalating the criminal case against the far-right group. (CNN)

The Justice Department on June 3 announced the indictment of former White House trade advisor Peter Navarro by a federal grand jury. Navarro faces  two counts of contempt of Congress for his "failure to comply with a subpoena issued by the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 breach of the United States Capitol." Arrested at a DC-area airport, he is now the second Trump aide to be detained in the investigation after Steve Bannon. (Jurist, BBC News, Daily Beast)

A select committee of the US House of Representatives on June 9 held its first public hearing regarding the January 2021 attack on the US Capitol, releasing previously unseen footage from the rampage.

The Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the US Capitol broadcast its proceedings on primetime television. The hearing included the testimonies of Capitol Police officer Caroline Edwards and documentary filmmaker Nick Quested, who was filming the far-right Proud Boys leading up to and during the attack.

The hearing opened with video of Trump campaign officials giving statements to committee investigators, testifying that Trump directed them to find evidence of fraud during the 2020 presidential election. Some officials, including former Attorney General William Barr, told Trump that they could not find any evidence of fraud, or that any fraud that may have occurred would not have changed the outcome of the election.

Ranking Member Rep. Liz Cheney cited a March 2022 court case where Trump advisor and law professor John Eastman attempted to claim attorney-client privilege over 111 documents requested by the committee. Eastman, coordinating with Trump, tried to pressure vice president Mike Pence to refuse to certify some state election results. Finding that 101 of the Trump-Eastman documents were not privileged, Judge David Carter said "If Dr. Eastman and President Trump's plan had worked, it would have permanently ended the peaceful transition of power, undermining American democracy and the Constitution."

The committee also released video footage that showed masses of protesters storming over police barricades, breaking their way into the Capitol by smashing windows, entering House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office en masse, and attacking police officers with various objects including pepper spray. The footage was paired with footage of Trump during the rally shortly before the storming, where he publicly encouraged Pence to overturn the election results.

Edwards testified that she was protecting the perimeter of the capitol when Proud Boy Joseph Biggs, who is charged with seditious conspiracy, led a charge on police barricades. This led to Edwards being hit in the head with a bike rack and falling unconscious.

Quested said that he was filming the Proud Boys for a documentary on Jan. 5 and 6. Quested filmed Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes meeting in a parking garage the night before the attack. Both men were later charged with seditious conspiracy. 

This is the first of three scheduled public hearings by the select committee, but more will likely be added in the future. (Jurist)

The FBI on June 9 arrested Republican Michigan gubernatorial candidate Ryan Kelley on charges related to his presence at the January 2021 Capitol insurrection. Kelley was released on bail later in the day. (Jurist)

The Office of Disciplinary Counsel of the DC Bar on Jun 10 announced ethics charges against Donald Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani. Giuliani has already been temporarily suspended from the DC Bar and permanently suspended from the New York Bar. The charges stem from Giuliani's repeated claims that the 2020 election was fraudulent, specifically focusing on his lawsuit in the US District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Giuliani's claims were rebuffed by the judge in that case.  (Jurist)

Former Proud Boys Chairman Enrique Tarrio and two other members on June 9 pleaded not guilty to seditious conspiracy in relation to their alleged roles in storming the US Capitol on January 6 last year. (Jurist)

The US District Court for the District of Columbia on June 17 found a Florida man guilty of all four misdemeanor charges against him relating to the US Capitol breach on Jan. 6 last year. Jesus Rivera was convicted on charges of "entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly conduct in a Capitol Building; and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol Building." (Jurist)

An Indiana man, Mark Andrew Mazza, pleaded guilty that day to "carrying a loaded gun on Capitol grounds and assaulting law enforcement officers" during the Capitol breach. He originally faced 13 charges relating to his involvement in the riot. (Jurist)

The US House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the US Capitol on June 21 heard live testimony from four witnesses involved in processing the 2020 election results. The committee’s fourth hearing focused on Trump's efforts to influence election workers and local officials to overturn the 2020 general election in several key states.

The select committee heard testimony from Arizona's Republican House speaker Rusty Bowers, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and his deputy Gabe Sterling, and former Georgia election worker Wandrea "Shay" Moss. Each testified to the pressure they faced from either Trump or his supporters following the 2020 election. (Jurist)

The US Department of Justice (DoJ) announced that three individuals pleaded guilty to a series of actions related to the US Capitol breach in January 2021. The individuals include Florida man Mitchell Todd Gardner II, Troy Sargent of Massachusetts, and Nathaniel DeGrave of Nevada. The DoJ announcement said that since the Capitol breach, "more than 840 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including over 250 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement." The investigation into the insurrection is ongoing. (Jurist)

A former White House aide on June 28 told the US House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack that former President Donald Trump encouraged protesters to go to the Capitol despite knowing that some were armed with weapons ranging from rifles to bear spray and spears Cassidy Hutchinson, an aide to former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, also testified that Trump wanted to accompany protestors to the Capitol and later lunged at a member of his own security detail when informed it was unsafe to do so. (Jurist)

The US House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack presented evidence that extremist groups showed up in Washington DC with violent intentions in response a to tweet from then-president Donald Trump. The tweet read, "Statistically impossible to have lost the 2020 Election. Big protest in D.C. on January 6th. Be there, will be wild!"

Video montages played at the hearing showed various Trump supporters with large internet followings rallying their followers shortly after the tweet was published. Many used violent language.

In one video, far-right conspiracy theory website founder Alex Jones said, "President Trump… tweeted that he wants the American people to march on Washington DC on January 6th, 2021… The time for games is over. The time for action is now." Pro-Trump Youtuber Salty Cracker said, "There’s gonna be a red wedding going down January 6th… There’re gonna be a million plus geeked up armed Americans," referencing a violent massacre in pop culture. (Jurist)

Jason Van Tatenhove, a former spokesperson for the Oath Keepers, told the committee: "I do fear for this next election cycle, because who knows what that might bring?” Van Tatenhove said. “If a president who is trying to instill, and encourage, to whip up a civil war among his followers using lies and deceit and snake oil, regardless of the human impact, what else is he going to do if he gets elected again?" (Yahoo News)

A federal jury has convicted former Trump political adviser Steve Bannon of two counts of criminal contempt of Congress for intentionally defying a subpoena related to the assault on the US Capitol last year. Bannon put on no defense in the case. "The defendant chose allegiance to Donald Trump over compliance with the law," Assistant US Attorney Molly Gaston said in closing arguments. (NPR)

The US House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack held its eighth and final hearing for the summer July 21, focusing on Trump's inaction during the attack. The committee proceedings highlighted the finding that Trump failed to intervene to stop the riot until two hours after it had commenced.

Former Deputy National Security Advisor Matthew Pottinger and former White House deputy press secretary Sarah Matthews testified during the hearing. Both were present in the White House on Jan. 6, and both resigned after the Capitol riot.

Matthews confirmed testimony given in a previous hearing by Pat Cipollone that Trump could have appeared and spoken to the media at any time, saying: "If the President had wanted to make a statement and address the American people, he could have been on camera almost instantly."

The committee also presented evidence from two witnesses confirming that an "angry confrontation" in the presidential SUV occurred when Trump demanded to be driven to the mob at the Capitol, corroborating testimony given to the committee by Cassidy Hutchinson on June 28. Sgt. Mark Robinson from the DC Metropolitan Police testified that officials knew the rioters were armed, saying: "The President was still adamant about going to the Capitol."

The motorcade waited 45 minutes for the Secret Service to decide whether or not Trump would go to the Capitol. From 1:25-4 PM, the president stayed in the West Wing dining room watching Fox News. At 2:15 rioters charged into the Capitol, smashing windows, damaging property and making their way to the Senate chambers where Vice President Mike Pence was held by the Secret Service.

Trump's statement in the Rose Garden telling rioters to "go home in peace" came at 4:17—187 minutes after Trump left the site of his "Stop the Steal" rally. Texts from former Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh to Pottinger revealed Trump's unwillingness to condemn the rioters, stating "He won't do that, because they’re his people."

At the close of the hearing, Rep. Elaine Luria condemned the "glaring silence" by Trump on the death of Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick on Jan. 7. "President Trump has never publicly acknowledged his responsibility for the attack," she said. (Jurist)

The US District Court for the District of Columbia on July 26 sentenced Mark Ponder to 63 months in prison for assaulting three police officers during the Capitol riot of January 2021. Ponder is the second Capitol riot defendant to be sentenced to 63 months, the longest prison term handed down thus far. (Jurist)

A West Virginia man initially charged with assaulting a police officer who died in the Capitol attack pleaded guilty on July 27 to misdemeanor offenses that could allow him to avoid more prison time. Another man accused of attacking the officer with bear spray is weighing a stricter plea deal that calls for a prison sentence exceeding six years.

A federal grand jury indicted George Pierre Tanios last year on felony charges that he conspired with a Pennsylvania man, Julian Elie Khater, to assault and injure Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick with chemical spray during the riot on Jan. 6, 2021. (AP)

A federal judge on Aug. 1 sentenced Guy Wesley Reffitt of Texas, the first defendant to go on trial in the Capitol attack, to more than seven years in prison—the longest sentence to date in a case stemming from the Capitol riot. Prosecutors had sought 15 years, adding a sentencing enhancement used in cases of domestic terrorism. Judge Dabney L. Friedrich turned down this request, but noted that was still a significantly longer term than any given so far to any of the more than 800 arrested in connection with the riot, many of whom have struck plea bargains.

A jury found Reffitt guilty on five felony charges in March, including obstructing Congress' certification of the 2020 presidential election, carrying a .40-caliber pistol during the riot and two counts of civil disorder. Unlike others who breached the building, Reffitt did not go inside.

Before this, the longest sentence in a case related to the Capitol attack was just over five years, given last year to Robert Palmer, who pleaded guilty to assaulting an officer with a fire extinguisher. (NYT, ABC)

The FBI on Aug. 8 executed a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump's Florida resort and residence. In a statement, Trump labelled the unannounced action a "raid." FBI agents reportedly entered the premises and broke open a safe.

The FBI and the US Department of Justice have not commented on the search or the reason behind it. However, some US media outlets are speculating that it may be related to official records requested by the National Archives & Records Administration that Trump took to Florida after he left office. (Jurist)

A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled Aug. 9 that the House of Representatives Ways & Means Committee can access Donald Trump's tax returns. Trump's lawyers challenged the request for the returns after the Biden administration stated that it would comply with the committee's request. The case has been ongoing since last year, with a lower court ruling for the committee in December. (Jurist)

Donald Trump invoked the Fifth Amendment Aug. 10 in a New York State civil investigation into his business and real estate dealings, choosing not to testify in an unusual move for the vocal politician.

Trump was deposed in the civil case People of the State of New York v. The Trump Organization, led by New York State Attorney General Letitia James. The Attorney General is currently investigating potential fraud by the former president’s real estate company, including charges that the company artificially inflated real estate assets for tax benefits.

Trump claimed that the litigation is politically motivated and that he pleaded the Fifth Amendment in order to protect himself, saying in a statement that the case is an "unfounded, politically motivated witch hunt."

Trump was previously held in contempt of court for refusing to comply with subpoenas issued by James. An additional effort to resist the investigation was overruled by a state appeals court judge who ruled that James had the "clear right" to question him along with his children Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr.

As part of the same investigation, a state judge also held the real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield in contempt of court for refusing to comply with a subpoena. The Attorney General's Office confirmed the receipt of over 35,000 documents from the real estate firm, dissolving the contempt in court order against the firm once they were received.

The New York investigation is one of many currently ongoing against Trump, including the investigation of his allies for alleged fraud in the 2020 election in Georgia. (Jurist)

The FBI Tuesday seized Pennsylvania Congressman Scott Perry's cell phone, potentially in furtherance of the Justice Department's investigation into the Capitol riot. In a statement to Fox News, Perry confirmed that FBI agents approached him with a warrant and requested his cellphone. 

Perry was at the center of multiple events surrounding the Capitol riot. He took part in Trump's campaign to overturn the results of the 2020 election, according to testimony from the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the US Capitol and a report from the Senate Judiciary Committee. In her testimony before the select committee, former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson also said that Perry requested a pardon from Trump following the events of Jan. 6. (Jurist)

Police officer Thomas Robertson on Aug. 11 was sentenced to 87 months in prison for his participation in the January 2021 Capitol riot. According to court documents, Robertson and co-defendent Jacob Fracker were both officers with the Rocky Mount, Va., police department and were off duty when they headed for Washington in Robertson's car on the morning of Jan. 6, 2021. Fracker pleaded guilty and awaits sentencing. (Jurist, Politico)

Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg, who worked with the family for decades, pleaded guilty to 15 counts involving tax fraud. As part of a plea deal, he will be required to testify in the upcoming trial against the company. (PBS)

Proud Boy affiliate Joshua Pruitt was sentenced Aug. 29 to four years and seven months in prison for his involvement in the January 6 insurrection. He must also pay $2,000 in restitution. Pruitt was charged with obstruction of an official proceeding and signed a plea agreement June 3. (Jurist)

 The US House Oversight Committee on Sept. 1 announced an agreement with Donald Trump to obtain financial documents concerning in an investigation into alleged conflicts of interest, self-dealing and foreign financial ties. The committee first requested the documents from Trump's accounting firm, Mazars USA, in 2019 and had been locked in court proceedings over their release since then. (Jurist)

The US Department of Justice (DoJ) Sept. 1 announced new charges and convictions for those involved with the January 2021, attack on the US Capitol. The DoJ charged an attorney for the Oath Keepers militia group with conspiracy and obstruction. On the same day, one man was sentenced to ten years in prison and a second pleaded guilty to felony charges.

Kellye Sorelle, a Texas attorney, is charged with conspiracy to obstruct Congress' certification of the Electoral College votes. Unlike other Oath Keepers, Sorelle is not charged with Seditious Conspiracy.

Thomas Webster, a USMC veteran and retired NYPD officer, was sentenced to 10 years for assaulting a police officer with a metal flagpole, and using that flagpole to resist arrest.

Julian Khater, a rioter from of Somerset, NJ, pleaded guilty to assaulting officers with a deadly weapon. Khater used pepper spray on officers before entering the Capitol. Khater faces up to 20 years in prison.

Over 260 individuals are charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement on January 6, and the DoJ stated that their investigation remains ongoing. In the past 19 months, more than 860 individuals have been arrested for crimes related to the attack. (Jurist)

A judge in New Mexico on Sept. 6 ordered a county commissioner convicted of participating in the Capitol riot removed from office under the 14th Amendment, making him the first public official in more than a century to be barred from serving under a constitutional ban on insurrectionists holding office.

The ruling declared the Capitol assault an insurrection and unseated Couy Griffin, a commissioner in New Mexico's Otero County and the founder of Cowboys for Trump, who was convicted earlier this year of trespassing when he breached barricades outside the Capitol during the attack. (NYT)

Steve Bannon, former strategist to Donald Trump, surrendered to New York authorities on financial fraud charges on Sept. 8. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg Jr. and New York Attorney General Letitia James announced the charges against Bannon, claiming the former strategist wrongly collected more than $15 million from US political donors under a "We Build the Wall" campaign.

This is the latest in a series of criminal charges for Bannon. In August 2020, Bannon was indicted by the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York on similar charges. Before leaving office in January 2021, Trump extended a presidential pardon to Bannon, barring the US Attorneys Office from prosecuting him. However, in July 2022, a federal jury convicted Bannon of two counts of contempt of Congress for failing to comply with a subpoena from the US House Select Committee to Investigate the Capitol Insurrection. (Jurist) 

A judge for the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida on Sept. 8 dismissed former president Donald Trump's claims against Hillary Clinton, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and former FBI officials. Judge Donald Middlebrooks agreed with the 224 defendants in the case who sought to dismiss, writing "whatever the utilities of the Complaint as a fundraising tool, a press release, or a list of political grievances, it has no merit as a lawsuit..." (Jurist)

Nicholas Ochs, founder of the Proud Boys Hawaii chapter, pleaded guilty Sept. 9 to obstruction of an official proceeding for his involvement in the Capitol Insurrection. Ochs and fellow defendent Nicholas DeCarlo of Fort Worth, Texas, pleaded guilty to only one of seven charges in their plea agreements. The charge carries a maximum of 20 years imprisonment, and a fine of $250,000. The plea agreements contain a waiver of the defendants’ right to appeal their sentences. The US Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division's Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting both Ochs and DeCarlo. (Jurist)

New York Attorney General Letitia James on Spet. 21 filed a civil lawsuit against former president Donald Trump, the Trump Organization, and senior management, including three of Trump's children. As a result of a three-year investigation, James claims to have uncovered years of evidence wherein the Trumps engaged in financial fraud to obtain more favorable loan rates and tax breaks.

The lawsuit, filed in a New York state court, alleges that Trump, with the help of his children Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric, "falsely inflated his net worth by billions of dollars to induce banks to lend money to the Trump organization." The suit alleges that, over the course of 10 years, Trump knowingly and intentionally entered more than 200 false valuations of assets on financial documents in violation of New York Executive Law 63(12).

James is seeking to permanently bar Trump and his children from serving as officer or director of any licensed New York corporation or business, bar Trump and his organization from acquiring any New York real estate for five years, and disgorgement of all financial benefits Trump obtained—estimated at a total of $250 million.

The lawsuit comes a week after James rejected a settlement offer from Trump's legal team to end James’ civil investigation. The investigation began in 2019 when former Trump attorney Michael Cohen testified that Trump and his organization used inaccurate evaluations of assets to obtain loans and tax breaks. (Jurist)

US federal prosecutors on Sept. 27 began jury selection in the seditious conspiracy trial against the founder of the far-right group the Oath Keepers and four other associated individuals. The DOJ first charged the individuals in connection with the January 2021 Capitol riot in January of this year. As of the time of this report, six jurors have been selected to serve in the trial. The trial is expected to last from two to four weeks.

The seditious conspiracy charges against Stewart Rhodes and the four other individuals—Kelly Meggs, Thomas Caldwell, Jessica Watkins and Kenneth Harrelson—allege that all five individuals conspired to forcefully oppose the execution of laws governing the transfer of presidential power. (Jurist)

The day before the 2020 election, Roger Stone, the long-time Republican operative and ally of former President Donald Trump, said in front of a documentary film crew that he had no interest in waiting to tally actual votes before contesting the election results. "Fuck the voting, let’s get right to the violence," Stone can be heard saying, according to footage provided by a Danish documentary film crew and obtained by CNN.

The US House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack on the Capitol on Oct. 13 held its first hearing since July and voted to subpoena former President Donald Trump to sit for testimony and produce documents. (Jurist)

The US Department of Justice on Oct. 17 urged the District Court of Columbia to sentence Steve Bannon, former strategist to former President Donald Trump, to six months in prison and a $200,000 fine. The request comes after a federal jury convicted Bannon of contempt of Congress for failing to comply with a subpoena. (Jurist)

Stephen Bannon was sentenced Oct. 21 to four months in prison for disobeying a subpoena from the House committee investigating the January 2021 attack on the Capitol. Bannon was found guilty of two counts of contempt of Congress this summer after Judge Carl J. Nichols rejected an array of arguments offered by his defense team, including that he was protected by executive privilege from being compelled to testify. Bannon will remain free pending his appeal. (NYT)

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas Oct. 24 put a temporary hold on a lower court order requiring Sen. Lindsey Graham to testify in court, in a case concerning attempts to influence the vote results in the 2020 electin in Georgia. Thomas did not offer any explanation for his decision. (Jurist)

The Manhattan District Attorney's office on Oct. 24 began jury selection in the criminal fraud case against the Trump Organization. The Trump Organization is charged with scheming to defraud federal, state and local authorities to avoid taxes from 2005 through 2021. (Jurist)

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts on Nov. 2 stayed the ruling of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in case No. 21-5289 "pending further order" of the court. Under the stay, Trump and associated companies may refrain from providing tax return information to the House of Representatives Ways & Means Committee. (Jurist)

The Supreme Court on Nov. 2 released a short two-paragraph order stating they would not block a subpoena from a Georgia grand jury requiring Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-GA) to testify about his actions in the aftermath of the 2020 election. Previously, Justice Clarence Thomas put a temporary hold on the subpoena without explanation. (Jurist)

A New York state appeals court Nov. 9 rejected former president Donald Trump’s request to stay an order requiring a financial watchdog be installed at the Trump Organization. The decision is just the latest in New York Attorney General Letitia James' civil fraud lawsuit against Trump and the organization. (Jurist)

A judge for the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida on Nov. 10 ordered sanctions against Donald Trump’s legal team for a "frivolous" lawsuit against Hilary Clinton and other defendants. Judge Donald Middlebrooks ordered Trump's attorneys to pay $50,000 to the court and more than $16,000 in legal fees to defendant Charles Dolan. (Jurist)

Donald Trump on Nov. 11 filed a lawsuit against the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the US Capitol and several members of the House of Representatives over the subpoena issued to compel him to hand over documents and communications related to the Capitol attack. In his complaint, Trump says the subpoena puts him "in the untenable position of choosing between preserving his rights and the constitutional prerogatives of the Executive Branch, or risking enforcement of the Subpoena issued to him." (Jurist)

The US Supreme Court on Nov. 14 denied an application for stay and injunction, allowing the US House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack on the Capitol to obtain the phone and text records of Arizona Republican Party Chair Kelli Ward. Ward filed an emergency application for a stay and injunction on Oct, 24, after a lower court denied the motion. Ward sought to prevent T-Mobile from releasing her phone records to the committee. (Jurist)

The Supreme Court on Nov. 22 cleared the way for the Internal Revenue Service to release former President Donald Trump’s tax returns to the Democratic-led House Ways & Means Committee. (CNN, NYT) Meanwhile, a New York state judge set an October 2023 trial date for the New York attorney general's $250 million lawsuit against Trump, his eldest children and the Trump Organization. (CNN)

Stewart Rhodes, founder of the far-right Oath Keepers, was found guilty of seditious conspiracy in connection with the Capitol insurrection. A federal jury in Washington DC also convicted Rhodes of obstructing an official proceeding and tampering with documents. He was acquitted of two other conspiracy counts.

Rhodes did not enter the Capitol during the riot, but instead stood outside like a "battlefield general" surveying his troops, prosecutor Jeffrey Nestler said.

All five defendants on trial in this case were charged with seditious conspiracy but only one in addition to Rhodes was found guilty—Kelly Meggs.

The three other defendants—Jessica Watkins, Kenneth Harrelson and Thomas Caldwell—were acquitted on that central charge. But all the defendants were found guilty of obstructing an official proceeding. (NPR)

A New York jury found the Trump Organization guilty on all charges in a criminal fraud case initiated by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office. Ex-president Trump's company, charged as both the Trump Corporation and the Trump Payroll Corporation, was accused of scheming to defraud federal, state and local authorities to avoid taxes between 2005 and 2021. Former chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg, who still works for the company, pleaded guilty to charges earlier this year and agreed to testify against his employer in exchange for a lighter sentence. This is the first conclusion in a long line of legal cases against the Trump Organization and Trump. (Jurist, Politico)

The US House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack on the Capitol on Dec. 19 presented its final report and unanimously issued four criminal referrals against former president Donald Trump to the US Department of Justice (DoJ). The criminal referrals are primarily symbolic, as the DoJ can choose whether or not to pursue the charges included, but are a historic moment for the US Congress.

The first charge, obstruction of an official proceeding, is located under 18 USC § 1512(c). The second charge is conspiracy to defraud the US, with the committee alleging that Trump entered into formal and informal agreements to impair, obstruct and defeat the certification of the 2020 election results. The charge is located under 18 USC § 371. The third, conspiracy to make a false statement, is located under 18 USC §§ 371 and 1001. The fourth, inciting, assisting, aiding or comforting an insurrection, is located under 18 USC § 2383.

Additional referrals are also included in the final report, including for attorney John Eastmann. Four US House representatives were also referred to the House Ethics Committee for sanctions: Jim Jordan (R-OH), Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Scott Perry (R-PA). (Jurist)

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers on Dec. 19 filed an appeal to sanction Sidney Powell, former attorney for Donald Trump, over the election fraud challenges she filed concerning the 2020 president election.

Evers argues that Powell should face santions under 28 US Code Section 1927 for "unreasonably and vexatiously" continuing legal proceedings. He asked the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit to vacate a district court order denying the sanctions, and remand the case to the district court to apply the proper legal standards. The district court denied sanctions to Evers in August. (Jurist)

The US House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack on the Capitol released its final report on Dec. 22. The 845-page report details the committee's findings and recommendations, including the criminal referrals voted upon by the committee during their last public meeting. The report describes events surrounding the Capitol riot and individuals involved in perpetrating what the report refers to as “the big lie.” The committee recommends 10 points of action, including: urging the Senate to pass the Presidential Election Reform Act; urging criminal and civil accountability for any of the misconduct described in the report; urging federal agencies to identify and address the threat of domestic violence extremism in the US; urging congress to consider whether Section 3 of Fourteenth Amendment bars certain individuals who have “engaged in an insurrection” from holding future state or federal office (Jurist)

The Trump Organization on Jan. 13 was fined $1.61 million, the maximum amount allowed by law, after being found guilty of various fraud charges in a New York state court. Former President Trump’s companies, The Trump Corporation and The Trump Payroll Corporation, were assessed fines of $810,000 and $800,000 respectively. (Jurist)

A federal judge Jan. 19 ordered Donald Trump and his lead attorney Alina Habba to pay over $937,000 in sanctions over a suit brought against Hillary Clinton in March 2022. Judge Donald Middlebrooks of the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida issued the sanctions on the basis that Trump's suit against Clinton was legally inadequate and intended for political purposes.

Clinton and 18 other defendants asked Judge Middlebrooks to sanction Trump over a violation of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11, which prohibits filing for improper purposes and provides procedures for issuing sanctions.Middlebrooks dismissed Trump's suit in September and sanctioned Trump’s attorneys in November for knowingly misconstruing facts against defendants. (Jurist)

The four members of the Oath Keepers far-right militia were found guilty of seditious conspiracy nearly two months after the group's leader, Stewart Rhodes, was convicted of the same charge in a separate proceeding.

A jury in Federal District Court in Washington also found the four defendants guilty of two separate conspiracy charges.

The defendants—Roberto Minuta, Joseph Hackett, David Moerschel and Edward Vallejo—were originally charged along with Rhodes and other members of the group. But their trial was broken off as a separate proceeding by the judge in the case, Amit P. Mehta, because of space constraints in the courtroom.

During the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection, Minuta, Hackett and Moerschel joined others in the group in forcing their way inside the Capitol, while Vallejo, who was stationed in a hotel room stocked with rifles in Virginia, sent frequent texts offering to ferry weapons into the city if needed. (NYT)

Four more members of the Oath Keepers were convicted March 20 of conspiracy, bringing the number of members of the group found guilty of felonies related to the Capitol attack to more than a dozen.

Jurors found Sandra Parker, Laura Steele, Connie Meggs and William Isaacs each guilty of the most significant charges they faced: conspiracy to obstruct Congress' proceedings, obstruction of an official proceeding, and conspiracy to prevent a federal officer from discharging duties. The four were also found guilty of several other charges they faced, including destruction of government property. (Politico)

Donald Trump on April 4 pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of "falsifying business records in the first degree" in a Manhattan courtroom. The 34 counts originate with a grand jury indictment from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. The indictment alleges that from August 2015 to December 2017, Trump and his allies perpetrated a scheme to hide damaging information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential election.

Specifically, the prosecution alleges that Trump, through his lawyer Michael Cohen, paid $130,000 to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in order to dissuade Daniels from publicizing a sexual encounter between her and Trump. Before the election, Cohen paid Daniels the "hush-money" through a shell corporation he set up for that purpose. After the election, with the presidency secured, Trump reimbursed Cohen through monthly installments disguised as a retainer fee. In 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty to his role in the scheme. (Jurist)

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on April 11 requested the US District Court for the Southern District of New York block a subpoena issued by the Republican-controlled US House Judiciary Committee. The subpoena, issued two days after the April 4 arraignment of former president Donald Trump, seeks the testimony of Mark Pomerantz, a former Special Assistant District Attorney who participated in an investigation of Trump and his businesses.

Invoking Supreme Court precedent and "[b]asic principles of federalism and common sense," Bragg urged the federal district court to block the subpoena for two reasons. First, Bragg writes, Congress has no power to oversee state criminal prosecutions. Second, even if the subpoena issued by House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) proved generally enforceable, Pomerantz’s testimony contains privileged information.

Following Trump’s March 18 announcement of a coming indictment by the Manhattan DA, the Republican-controlled House Judiciary Committee demanded communications, documents and testimony from the DA's office. Jordan also repeated a racially charged epithet against the Manhattan DA and accused Bragg of being "Soros-backed" on conservative Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk's radio show. Bragg’s office received over 1,000 calls since Trump’s announcement–many of which were “threatening and racially charged.” (Jurist)

Bragg has also brought suit against Jordan to halt the Judiciary Committee inquiry that the prosecutor contends is a "transparent campaign to intimidate and attack" him over his indictment of Trump. (AP)

Donald Trump on April 11 sued his former attorney Michael Cohen for $500 million. Trump's complaint alleges that he suffered "vast reputational harm" due to Cohen's "multiple breaches of fiduciary duty." The complaint also cites disparaging statements about Trump in Cohen’s book Disloyal. (Jurist)

Five members of the Proud Boys, including ex-leader Enrique Tarrio, face decades in prison after being found guilty for their role in the Capitol riot. Four were convicted of seditious conspiracy, and all five were found guilty of obstructing official proceedings, alongside other felonies. The most serious charges carry penalties of up to 20 years in prison. More than 100 members of the far-right, all-male group joined the Capitol riot. (BBC News)

A New York jury on May 9 found Donald Trump liable for sexually abusing writer E. Jean Carroll in the 1990s, and for defaming her by branding her a liar, assessing the damages at $5 million. The verdict in the civil trial marks the first time that Trump, who has been accused of sexual misconduct by more than two dozen women, has been held legally responsible for sexual assault. (Jurist, Politico)

The founder of the far-right militant Oath Keepers, Stewart Rhodes, was sentenced to 18 years in prison on May 25 for seditious conspiracy—the longest term imposed to date over the Capitol insurrection. (Reuters)

A military veteran who stormed the Capitol with the Oath Keepers was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison on May 26 after issuing an apology. Jessica Watkins told US District Judge Amit Mehta: "My actions and my behaviors that fateful day were wrong, and as I now understand, criminal... I was just another idiot running around the Capitol. But idiots are held responsible, and today you’re going to hold this idiot responsible." (MSN)

A federal judge on June 21 sentenced a rioter who assaulted an officer defending the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to more than 12 years in prison, calling him a "one-man army of hate." The defendant, Daniel Rodriguez, 40, who had previously admitted to driving from California to Washington to do armed battle on behalf of Trump, expressed some regret for his actions as he asked the judge for leniency. But after receiving his sentence, Rodriguez smiled and let out a defiant shout of "Trump won!" before being led out of the courtroom by federal marshals. (NYT)

Republican members of the House of Representatives introduced two resolutions June 23, H.Res.547 and H.Res.538, that would expunge the impeachments of former president Donald Trump—the third US president to be impeached and the only one to be impeached twice. If passed, both resolutions would annul Trump's impeachments as if they had not occurred, and remove any prohibitions on Trump holding US office.

Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York introduced H.Res.547 to expunge Trump’s second impeachment for incitement of insurrection against the US. H.Res.538 was introduced by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia to expunge Trump's 2019 impeachment for abuse of power and obstruction of justice. (Jurist)

The US Senate Homeland Security Committee released a report June 27 detailing "intelligence failures" by law enforcement agencies surrounding the January 2021 attack on the US Capitol. The report describes how the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) failed to act on intelligence provided to them weeks ahead of the planned attack. (Jurist)

A US federal court in New York rejected on June 29 former President Donald Trump's claim of absolute presidential immunity to fend off a defamation lawsuit filed by writer E. Jean Carroll. The decision came a month after a New York jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming Carroll, resulting in $5 million in damages. (Jurist)

US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein on July 19 denied Donald Trump's effort to move Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's criminal case against him from a New York state court to a federal court. As a result, Bragg's case, in which Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records, will proceed to trial on March 25, 2024, in a New York Supreme Court. (Jurist)

Michael Cohen, Donald Trump's former attorney, settled his lawsuit against the Trump organization July 21. The suit alleged that Cohen was owed over $1.9 million in legal fees that the Trump Organization refused to pay after Cohen was fired as Trump's attorney.

Cohen is expected to testify against Trump in his upcoming criminal trial in New York over hush payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 election. Cohen previously served prison time for his role in the hush money scheme and has been disbarred and banned from practicing law. (Jurist)

The Trump-aligned Save America Leadership political action committee spent over $20 million on Donald Trump's legal fees out of its total of about $30 million in spending according to Federal Election Commission filings made public July 31. The filings come as legal woes continue to mount for Trump. (Jurist)

A state judge in Georgia has rejected Donald Trump's bid to derail his potential prosecution for attempting to subvert the 2020 election results. In a nine-page ruling, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney said it is too soon for Trump or his allies to seek to prohibit Georgia prosecutors from continuing to investigate him—in large part because he hasn’t been indicted yet. (Politico)

US federal prosecutors indicted former President Donald Trump on four criminal charges Aug. 1 in Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigation into interference with the 2020 presidential election. Trump faces four felony counts: conspiracy to defraud the US, conspiracy to obstruct and impede an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and US citizens' right to vote.

Six unnamed co-conspirators are also listed in the indictment. Multiple US media sources have tentatively identified five of them as lawyers directly or indirectly connected with the ex-president: former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani (Co-Conspirator 1), law professor and former Trump lawyer John Eastman (Co-Conspirator 2), former Trump lawyer Sidney Powell (Co-Conspirator 3), former US Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark (Co-Conspirator 4), and pro-Trump lawyer Kenneth Chesebro (Co-Conspirator 5). As of the time of this report, none of the co-conspirators have been charged in connection with this case.

This indictment now joins the two other criminal indictments Trump faces in both a federal court in Florida as well as a New York state court. It is expected that Fulton County Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis will soon announce an additional indictment against Trump, also pertaining to his role in 2020 election interference. (Jurist)

Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to four criminal charges on Aug. 3 in a federal courthouse in Washington DC. The charges stem from the indictment unsealed two days earlier which alleged that Trump conspired to interfere in the 2020 presidential election. (Jurist)

Jack Smith, the special prosecutor handling Donald Trump's case related to the January 6th Insurrection and alleged election interference, filed a motion Aug. 4 requesting a protective order to prevent Trump from making public some evidentiary materials due to inflammatory statements made on his social media. In the motion, Smith argued: "If the defendant were to begin issuing public posts using details—or, for example, grand jury transcripts—obtained in discovery here, it could have a harmful chilling effect on witnesses or adversely affect the fair administration of justice in this case." (Jurist)

US District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan dismissed Donald Trump's counter-defamation suit against author E. Jean Carroll on Aug. 7. Carroll has accused Trump of sexual assault, with a jury findingin May that Trump did sexually assault Carroll and defamed Carroll by accusing her of lying. (Jurist)

A Georgia grand jury indicted Donald Trump on 13 criminal charges late on the night of Aug. 14. The 41-count indictment alleges that Trump, along with 18 co-defendants, including former Trump attorneys Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman, conspired to interfere in Georgia’s election process during the 2020 US presidential election. This is now the fourth criminal indictment Trump faces as he continues to campaign for the 2024 presidential election. (Jurist)

A Florida lawyer is challenging former President Trump's ability to run for president in 2024 under the US Constitution's 14th Amendment, citing the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol attack. Lawrence Caplan, a tax attorney in Palm Beach County, filed the challenge in federal court Aug. 24, pointing to a clause in the amendment that says those who "have engaged in insurrection or rebellion" against the government cannot hold office. (The Hill)

A US federal court in Washington DC found former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani guilty on Aug. 30 of defaming Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss during the 2020 presidential election. Freeman and Moss charged that after Georgia election results were released in favor of Joe Biden, Giuliani engaged in a "media offensive" against them as a member of former President Donald Trump’s re-election team. District Judge Beryl Howell ordered that a judgment be entered against Giuliani for "defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress [and] civil conspiracy." (Jurist)

Two leaders of the Proud Boys were sentenced to lengthy prison terms on Aug. 31 for their roles in the assault on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, with a top lieutenant in the far-right group, Joseph Biggs, given 17 years. Another key figure in the attack, Zachary Rehl, received 15 years. (NYT) 

New York Attorney General Letitia James asked a state court on Aug. 30 to declare that Donald Trump inflated the value of various assets between $812 million and $2.2 million each year since 2011. James asked Judge Arthur Engoron to issue a summary judgment on the matter, which would result in a finding of liability without a trial. Trump denied the allegations in testimony. James' filing is a part of her broader financial fraud civil case against Trump, the Trump Organization and its senior management—including Trump's children. (Jurist)

Donald Trump pleaded not guilty on Aug. 31 and waived his arraignment in the Georgia criminal case charging him and 18 allies with interfering in the 2020 election. His plea came as Gov. Brian Kemp, a fellow Republican, dismissed demands from the former president and his supporters to start impeachment proceedings against Fani T. Willis, the prosecutor who brought the case. The 19 defendants are also sparring with prosecutors over when a trial may start, and whether it will be in state or federal court. (NYT)

Two more members of the Proud Boys were sentenced to prison on Sept. 1 for their roles in the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, with a ground commander in the far-right group, Ethan Nordean, given 18 years, and Dominic Pezzola, the man who set off the initial breach of the building by smashing a window with a riot shield, getting 10 years. (NYT)

Cash-strapped former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani is trying to sell his longtime Upper East Side co-op apartment for $6.5 million while facing multiple lawsuits, plus an Aug. 14 grand jury indictment in Georgia for conspiring to overturn the state’s 2020 election with 18 co-defendants headed by ex-president Donald Trump, his onetime law client. (The Village Sun)

Enrique Tarrio, national leader of the Proud Boys, was sentenced Sep. 5 to 22 years in prison for masterminding a "seditious conspiracy" aimed at derailing the transfer of power from Donald Trump to Joe Biden. The sentence is the lengthiest among hundreds arising from the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. (Politico)

Peter Navarro, a former trade adviser to President Trump, was convicted on Sept. 7 of two counts of criminal contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. (NYT)

A US federal district court on Sept. 8 denied former Trump White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows' request to remove two Georgia state criminal charges to federal court. Both charges concern efforts to alter the outcome of the 2020 election. (Jurist)

A Georgia judge agreed on Sept. 14 to sever attorneys Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell from the remaining 17 co-defendants in the criminal case in which former Donald Trump and his allies are accused of interfering in the 2020 presidential election. Both Chesebro and Powell already pleaded not guilty to their respective criminal charges. With this decision, the two are set to proceed to trial on Oct. 23 in an Atlanta courtroom.

Judge Scott McAfee noted that nine other co-defendants have filed to waive their statutory right to a speedy trial, while Chesebro and Powell ave requested speedy trials. While Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis told the court that the prosecution would be able to proceed to trial for all 19 co-defendants by the scheduled October 23 trial date, McAfee dismissed the notion. (Jurist)

A New York judge found on Sept. 26 that Donald Trump and his business associates committed fraud by lying about the financial valuation of various business assets from as early as 2011. Judge Arthur Engoron granted New York Attorney General Letitia James' motion for partial summary judgment and effectively ordered the dissolution of "any of the entity defendants" and "any other entity controlled or beneficially owned by" Trump and his business associates. (Jurist)

A federal judge in Washington DC rejected Donald Trump's request that she recuse herself from his pending criminal case concerning 2020 election interference Sept. 27. Trump sought to remove US District Judge Tanya Chutkan from the case earlier this month based on comments she previously made during the sentencing of several convicted rioters from the January 2021 Capitol riot. (Jurist)

A federal judge on Oct. 13 issued an order punishing Rudy Giuliani for "continued and flagrant disregard" of court demands. The order resulted from Giuliani's "failure to comply" with an Aug. 30 order, which was issued after he was found guilty of defaming two Georgia election workers during the 2020 election. The August order instructed him to submit additional evidence concerning his financial assets and his social media viewership and finance metrics. The purpose of the additional evidence was to assist the jury in determining whether Giuliani benefited financially from defaming the plaintiffs and what appropriate damage awards should be.

Judge Beryl Howell issued the present order under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37(b)(2)(A). The rule allows the court to establish the unanswered allegations of the opposing party as facts. It also prohibits the "disobedient party" from challenging those facts or introducing conflicting evidence. (Jurist)

A Washington DC federal judge Oct. 16 imposed a partial gag order on Donald Trump ahead of his criminal trial over alleged election interference during the 2020 presidential race. Judge Tanya Chutkan's order prohibits the former president from making any disparaging statements about potential witnesses, the court or prosecutors ahead of the March 4, 2024 trial date in the case. (Jurist)

New York Judge Arthur Engoron imposed a $5,000 fine on Donald Trump on Oct. 20 for violating a partial gag order. Engoron imposed the fine after Trump failed to remove a social media post alleging that one of Engoron's law clerks had an affair with Sen. Chuck Schumer. Engoron said he told Trump to remove the post because it included disparaging and "untrue" remarks about the clerk working under Engoron in the civil fraud case brought by Attorney General Letitia James. (Jurist)

Attorney Sidney Powell pleaded guilty to six criminal charges in the Georgia case concerning alleged attempts by Trump and his allies to interfere in the 2020 presidential election. A Georgia judge last month agreed to sever Powell and attorney Kenneth Chesebro from Trump and the other 16 co-defendants. (Jurist)

Jenna Ellis, one of Donald Trump's ex-attorneys charged in the Georgia election interference case, pleaded guilty Oct. 24 to one count of aiding and abetting false statements and writings. Ellis is the third former Trump attorney to plead guilty in the case, with attorneys Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro pleading guilty last week.

Ellis pleaded guilty as part of a plea deal, which reduced her charges from two felony counts to one. The plea deal also required Ellis to agree that she "aided and abetted" fellow co-defendants Rudy Giuliani and Ray Stallings Smith III in making false statements to the Georgia Senate Judiciary Subcommittee, including claims that over 2,500 people who were found guilty of felonies illegally voted in the state during the 2020 presidential election, over 66,000 underage people voted and over 10,000 dead people voted.

During the plea hearing, Ellis tearfully expressed remorse for her involvement in spreading election falsehoods. (Jurist)

A federal judge reinstated a gag order Oct. 29 against Donald Trump amidst his ongoing federal election interference criminal case. Judge Tanya Chutkan originally imposed a gag order on Oct. 16, prohibiting Trump from making any disparaging statements about potential witnesses, the court or prosecutors ahead of the trial date. However, the gag order was temporarily lifted three days later to give Trump more time to prepare an argument against the order. After assessing the submitted defenses as well as Trump's ongoing behavior, Chutkan reinstated the order. (Jurist)

Donald Trump took the witness stand on Nov. 6 in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ civil fraud trial against the Trumps. Trump refuted the state’s claims that his business manipulated property valuations and financial statements for financial gain. During his testimony, the judge overseeing the case repeatedly admonished Trump—who is the current Republican front-runner for the 2024 US presidential election—for several outbursts, stating, “This is not a political rally.” (Jurist)

The Minnesota Supreme Court on Nov. 8 upheld Donald Trump's placement on the Republican primary ballot for the 2024 presidential race. Several Minnesota voters petitioned the court to remove Trump from the ballot based on Section 3 of the US Constitution's Fourteenth Amendment, which bars from office any individual who has engaged in insurrection after taking a government oath. (Jurist)

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis filed a request Nov. 14 for an emergency seal of evidence in the Georgia election interference case against Donald Trump and multiple former Trump attorneys and staff members. The filing comes amid major evidentiary leaks, published by ABC News and The Washington Post, of video interrogations of defendants who have since pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate in the case.

The video interrogations leaked to ABC News on Nov. 13 include statements from former Trump attorney Jenna Ellis that Trump was "not going to leave" office. Another former Trump attorney, Sidney Powell, stated in her interrogation: "Did I know anything about election law? No. But I understand fraud from having been a prosecutor for 10 years, and knew generally what the fraud suit should be if the evidence showed what I thought it showed."

The following day, The Washington Post released more recordings with interrogations of Ellis, Powell, attorney Kenneth Chesebro and bail bondsman Scott Hall. (Jurist)

A Colorado judge on Nov. 17 found that Donald Trump engaged in insurrection during the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol—but rejected a bid to keep him off the state's primary ballot. District Judge Sarah B. Wallace found that it is unclear whether the constitutional amendment barring insurrectionists from public office applies to the presidency. (AP)

New York Judge Arthur Engoron on Nov. 17 declined to sign a mistrial motion filed by Donald Trump in a civil fraud case against the Trump family and Trump Organization, stating the motion was "utterly without merit." (Jurist)

Lawyers for Donald Trump presented oral arguments before a DC appeals court Nov. 20, arguing that the gag order prohibiting Trump from disparaging participants in his election interference criminal case violates the former president's right to free speech. A three-member panel of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit weighed Trump's First Amendment rights with the interest of a fair and impartial trial.

US District Judge Tanya Chutkan in Washington, who oversees Trump's election interference criminal case, set the gag order after she determined his campaign speeches and social media posts could influence witnesses and lead to threats against lawyers and other public officials. The order restricts his speech about potential witnesses, prosecutors, and court staff.

In their appellee brief, federal prosecutors highlighted one Trump comment: "If you go after me, I'm coming after you!" This remark apparently inspired one of Trump's followers to call the district court's chambers, making racial slurs and adding: "If Trump doesn’t get elected in 2024, we are coming to kill you… You will be targeted personally, publicly, your family, all of it." (Jurist)

The Georgia judge overseeing the trial involving Donald Trump and his allies' alleged interference in the 2020 US presidential election refused on Nov. 21 to place Harrison Floyd, one of Trump's co-defendants, in jail ahead of trial. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis claimed that Floyd violated the conditions of his bond by communicating with and attempting to influence other individuals involved in the case. While the judge agreed that the posts violated Floyd's bond conditions, he found that the posts did not warrant revoking Floyd’s bond ahead of trial. (Jurist)

The judge overseeing Donald Trump's New York civil fraud trial urged a state appellate court to uphold a gag order against Trump. Judge Arthur Engoron said that he has faced a "deluge" of "threatening, harassing, disparaging and antisemitic messages" since the trial began. On Nov. 16, the appellate court temporarily lifted the gag order while the court considers Trump’s petition to fully lift the order. (Jurist)

A federal judge Nov. 27 rejected Donald Trump's efforts to subpoena information related to the Congressional committee investigating the January 6 attack, determining the request amounted to a "fishing expedition." (The Hill, Jurist)

A New York appellate court reinstated a gag order Nov. 30 on Donald Trump in the latest development in the state's civil fraud trial against the former president and his family's business. In a two-page order, the Supreme Court of the State of New York denied Trump's appeal to stay a gag order imposed by Judge Arthur Engoron. (Jurist)

The federal judge overseeing Donald Trump's 2020 election interference case ruled Dec. 1 that Trump cannot dismiss the four criminal charges pending against him through a claim of presidential immunity. US District Judge Tanya Chutkan refuted Trump's claim that, as US president, he enjoyed "absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for actions performed within the 'outer perimeter' of his official responsibility." Chutkan instead found: "Former Presidents enjoy no special conditions on their federal criminal liability." (Jurist)

A Washington DC federal appeals court found on Dec. 1 that Donald Trump is not immune from civil lawsuits for his role in the January 2021 Capitol riot. The decision from the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit means that three civil lawsuits—from Capitol police officers and members of the US Congress who were present on the day of the riot—against the former president may proceed. (Jurist)

Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford announced Dec. 6 that six individuals have been indicted by a grand jury for falsely representing themselves as electors in the 2020 election.

The six individuals, all members of the Republican party, were charged after falsely portraying themselves as electors for the state of Nevada and producing false voting records for the state. All six were charged with two felony counts for Offering a False Instrument for Filing and Uttering a Forged Instrument.

Meanwhile, in a civil suit in Wisconsin, ten "fake electors" admitted to participating in a conspiracy to overturn the victory of Joe Biden. Nevada marks the third state to pursue criminal action against false electors for their role in the 2020 election scandal, following Michigan and Georgia. (Jurist)

A US federal appeals court upheld on Dec. 8 a gag order against Donald Trump imposed by the district judge overseeing his criminal case in Washington DC. The US District Court of Appeals for DC agreed with the district judge that some gag order is needed in the case to ensure the "fair and orderly adjudication of the ongoing criminal proceeding," but held that the gag order was too broad. Under the new order, Trump will continue to be prohibited from making any public statements about any witnesses to the case, federal prosecutors, the court staff and their families. Trump will, however, now be able to make public statements about Special Prosecutor Jack Smith, the federal prosecutor overseeing two criminal cases against Trump. (Jurist)

The federal judge overseeing Donald Trump's 2020 election interference criminal case in Washington DC stayed further trial court proceedings on Dec. 13 pending an appeal before the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit. The decision comes just two days after the US Supreme Court agreed to take up the issue as federal prosecutors seek to maintain the March 4, 2024 trial date. (Jurist)

A New York appeals court on Dec,. 14 rejected Donald Trump's effort to overturn a gag order imposed by a lower court judge in the state's civil fraud trial against him and his family's business. Though the appellate process remains ongoing, the civil trial came to an end Dec. 13. Trump indicated his intention to appeal the decision on the gag order to the state's highest court, the New York Court of Appeals. (Jurist)

The parties are scheduled to file supplemental briefs in the case Jan. 5 and return to court for oral arguments Jan. 11 before Judge Arthur Engoron renders a final verdict. (CNN)

A federal jury Dec. 15 ordered Rudy Giuliani to pay $148 million in damages to Ruby Freeman and Wandrea Moss after accusing the two women of tampering with Georgia’s 2020 presidential election results. Giuliani must pay $16 million to each plaintiff for defamation, $20 million to each plaintiff for emotional distress and $75 million in punitive damages. The former New York City mayor’s current net worth and assets are reportedly no more than $50 million. (Jurist)

Donald Trump asked a Georgia court on Dec. 18 to dismiss the 13 criminal charges against him in Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis' 2020 presidential election interference case. Trump claimed that, because all of the charges stem from political speech or advocacy, the First Amendment shields him from criminal responsibility. Trump pleaded not guilty to all 13 charges on Aug. 31. (Jurist) 

Donald Trump on Dec. 18 again asked the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit to overturn a gag order imposed in federal prosecutors' election interference case against him. A three-judge panel of the appeals court upheld the gag order on Dec. 8. This time, Trump is asking the court to hear the issue en banc to determine whether the gag order should remain in place or be thrown out. (Jurist)

The Colorado Supreme Court held on Dec. 19 that former US President Donald Trump is disqualified from holding the office of the presidency and held that he can no longer appear on the state’s Republican primary ballot in the upcoming 2024 presidential race. The court’s decision overturned a previous district court ruling which found that, although Trump “engaged in insurrection,” he was not disqualified from holding office under Section 3 of the US Constitution’s Fourteenth Amendment. Trump has already indicated that he will appeal the decision to the US Supreme Court—the final court of appeal in the country. (Jurist)

The US Supreme Court denied a request from Special Prosecutor Jack Smith to expedite review of former President Donald Trump’s claim of “absolute presidential immunity.” The move comes after Smith asked the court to take up the issue in the 2020 election interference case against Trump on Dec. 11. (Jurist)

US District Judge Irene Berger dismissed a lawsuit on Dec. 21 aimed at preventing Donald Trump from appearing on West Virginia's primary ballot next year. The case, brought by declared presidential candidate John Anthony Castro, cited cited Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment. Castro was deemed to lack standing to bring the case. (Jurist)

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said in a statement to the press Dec. 25 that it is assisting local law enforcement in investigating threats against the Colorado Supreme Court. The announcement comes almost a week after the court disqualified Donald Trump from the state’s primary ballot for the 2024 presidential race. (Jurist)

The Michigan Supreme Court has rejected an attempt to remove Donald Trump from the 2024 primary ballot based on the 14th Amendment's "insurrectionist ban." (CNN)

The Colorado Republican State Central Committee (CRSCC) filed a petition for a writ of certiorari Dec. 27 to overturn the Colorado Supreme Court's decision which removed Donald Trump from the 2024 Republican primary ballot. (Jurist)

Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows disqualified Donald Trump from the state's 2024 presidential primary ballot on Dec. 26, citing Section 3 of the US Constitution's Fourteenth Amendment. Maine is now the second state to remove Trump from the ballot, joining Colorado.

In a 34-page decision Bellows wrote:

I am mindful that no Secretary of State has ever deprived a presidential candidate of ballot access based on Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment. I am also mindful, however, that no presidential candidate has ever before engaged in insurrection.

Bellows’ decision stems from three challenges from Maine voters. (Jurist)

A three-judge panel for the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit denied a request by Donald Trump to pause author E. Jean Carroll's defamation case against him while the Supreme Court considers his claim of immunity. (Jurist, The Hill)

During his presidency, Donald Trump accepted millions of dollars from foreign states including China, Saudi Arabia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to a report released Jan. 4 by Democratic lawmakers. Through entities he owned or controlled, the report alleges, Trump accepted at least $7.8 million from at least 20 countries spanning the globe during his presidency, and in doing so, failed to seek Congressional approval, in violation of the US constitution, Emoluments Clause. (Jurist)

Donald Trump filed an appeal Jan. 3 asking the US Supreme Court to reverse the Colorado Supreme Court decision barring him from the state’s ballot. The original decision will now be on hold until the US Supreme Court rules on the appeal. (Jurist)

Massachusetts voters filed an objection Jan. 4 with the state Ballot Law Commission seeking to remove Donald Trump from the state’s 2024 Republican primary ballot. (Jurist)

The US Supreme Court agreed to hear Donald Trump's appeal of the Colorado Supreme Court decision barring him from the state's 2024 primary ballot. Before the court agreed to hear the case, Democrats from the House of Representatives wrote to Justice Clarence Thomas, asking him to recuse himself from this issue, citing his wife's "intimate involvement in Mr. Trump's alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election and to obstruct its certification." (Jurist)

Donald Trump filed a motion Jan. 8 to dismiss state-level criminal charges in Georgia, asserting immunity claims in the election interference case. In seeking to have the Georgia judge dismiss the case, Trump asserts that the indictment is unconstitutional because he was acting in his official presidential capacity.

In the 67-page motion, Trump argues for absolute immunity, citing Nixon v. Fitzgerald, in which the Supreme Court held that a former president has immunity from civil liability in acts that fall in the "outer perimeter" of their official duties. (Jurist)

A bomb threat was reported Jan. 11 at the Long Island residence of Judge Arthur Engoron, who is presiding over the civil fraud trial of former President Donald Trump. Officials from the Nassau County Police Department confirmed that the threat was a "swatting" incident—a deliberate false alarm crafted to provoke an emergency response. (Jurist)

The US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit heard oral arguments from federal prosecutors and Donald Trump's legal team on the issue of presidential immunity Jan. 9. Trump argued that he is shielded from criminal liability in Special Counsel Jack Smith's case against him, over interference in the 2020 US presidential election. (Jurist)

A judge in New York has ordered Donald Trump to pay nearly $400,000 to cover the New York Times' legal fees from a now-dismissed lawsuit he brought against the paper, three of its reporters and his niece.

Trump sued the New York Times in 2021, accusing the paper of conspiring with his estranged niece, Mary Trump, to obtain and publish his tax records. New York Judge Robert Reed dismissed the lawsuit against with the Times and its reporters in May 2023, ruling that they were protected under the First Amendment and ordering Trump to cover their legal fees.

Reed determined that $392,638.69 was "a reasonable value for the legal services rendered," given the complexity of the case and the attorneys involved. (A portion of the lawsuit against Mary Trump was allowed to proceed, and her request to be reimbursed for legal fees was denied in June.)

In 2018, New York Times reporters Susanne Craig, David Barstow and Russell Buettner published an investigation into Trump's wealth and taxes, revealing details from tax filings the former president had been unwilling to release publicly, claiming they were under audit. The paper later won a Pulitzer Prize for its reporting. (CBS, Jan. 12)

The Maine Superior Court on Jan. 17 temporarily delayed a decision from the Maine Secretary of State Shanna Bellows to exclude Trump from the state's primary election ballot. Judge Michaela Murphy remanded Trump's appeal of Bellows’ decision pending a ruling from the US Supreme Court on the constitutionality of Trump's removal from Colorado's ballot. (Jurist)

A judge in Washington state ruled Jan. 18 that Donald Trump will remain on Washington state's presidential primary ballot, rejecting an effort to have him disqualified. (Jurist)

Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows appealed a court ruling Jan. 19 that delayed a judgment on whether the removal of Donald Trump from the 2024 primary ballot was valid under the US Constitution’s Fourteenth Amendment. (Jurist)

The federal judge overseeing Donald Trump's 2020 election interference case in Washington DC refused on Jan. 18 to hold the lead prosecutor in contempt. Trump had sought to hold Special Counsel Jack Smith in contempt for continuing to file documents with the trial court after Judge Tanya Chutkan issued a stay on any further proceedings pending a decision from the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit on Trump's claim of "absolute" immunity from the criminal charges. (Jurist) 

The US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit rejected Jan. 23 Donald Trump's appeal to have a gag order against him reviewed by the entire bench—a process known as en banc rehearing. Originally imposed by US District Judge Tanya Chutkan on Oct. 16, the gag order restricts Trump from making public statements that could potentially influence trial witnesses or the jury pool ahead of his criminal trial over alleged interference in the 2020 presidential election. A three-judge panel of the appeals court upheld most of Chutkan’s order on Dec. 8. (Jurist)

Peter Navarro, a trade adviser to former President Donald  Trump who helped lay plans to keep Trump in office after the 2020 election, was sentenced on Jan. 25 to four months in prison for defying a subpoena from the House committee investigating the January 2021 attack on the Capitol. (NYT)

A New York jury on Jan.  ordered former President Donald Trump to pay a total of $83.3 million to E. Jean Carroll for ruining her credibility as an advice columnist when he called her a liar after she accused him of sexual assault. The jury awarded Carroll $65 million in punitive damages, $11 million for the damage to her reputation and another $7.3 million. Trump is almost certain to appeal the verdict. (NPR)

Donald Trump will remain on the upcoming Illinois primary election ballot for the 2024 presidential election cycle, according to a Jan. 30 decision from the Illinois State Board of Elections. The unanimous vote from the bipartisan board signaled that a 14th Amendment "disqualification clause" challenge to Trump’s ability to appear on the ballot is better addressed by the courts than the board. (Jurist)

A DC federal judge indefinitely postponed the trial date in Donald Trump's 2020 election interference case. US District Judge Tanya Chutkan vacated the trial date, originally set for March 4, since both parties are still awaiting a decision from the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit on Trump's claim of immunity. Chutkan previously stayed any further court filings in the case for the same reason. (Jurist)

A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit ruled Feb. 6 that Donald Trump does not have immunity from prosecution in his federal election interference case. In a unanimous ruling, the court held that the federal judiciary may oversee Trump’s prosecution under the Constitution's Separation of Powers doctrine. (Jurist)

Donald Trump asked the US Supreme Court on Feb. 11 to hear his appeal of a decision by the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit that denied his claim of "absolute" presidential immunity from criminal prosecution in the 2020 election interference case. Proceedings in that case have been on pause since Trump filed his first appeal on the issue. (Jurist)

Judge Arthur Engoron of the New York Supreme Court found former president Donald Trump liable for falsifying business records, issuing false financial statements, and conspiracy to commit fraud on Feb. 16, fining Trump and his business nearly $355 million, subject to interest. Trump was also banned from serving as an officer in any New York corporation for three years. This ruling comes after an eleven-week bench trial, which is a trial without a jury, and the judge is the finder of fact.

In response to the verdict, Trump took to Truth Social to state:

A Crooked New York State Judge, working with a totally Corrupt Attorney General who ran on the basis of “I will get Trump,” before knowing anything about me or my company, has just fined me $355 Million based on nothing other than having built a GREAT COMPANY. ELECTION INTERFERENCE. WITCH HUNT (more to follow!).

New York Attorney General Letitia James praised the ruling, commenting:

Today, justice has been served. This is a tremendous victory for this state, this nation, and for everyone who believes that we all must play by the same rules — even former presidents. For years, Donald Trump engaged in massive fraud to falsely inflate his net worth and unjustly enrich himself, his family, and his organization. … Now, Donald Trump is finally facing accountability for his lying, cheating, and staggering fraud. Because no matter how big, rich, or powerful you think you are, no one is above the law.

(Jurist)

The New York County District Attorney's Office requested on Feb. 26 that a New York state court place a gag order on former President Donald Trump. The order would bar Trump from making “prejudicial extrajudicial statements” during his upcoming falsified business records criminal case.

In the 331-page request, District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Jr. argues that the gag order is necessary due to Trump's "long history of making public and inflammatory remarks" that impact court proceedings. The request focuses heavily on Trump's social media posts. Bragg asserts that past posts "resulted in credible threats of violence, harassment, and intimidation." He specifically referred to death threats made toward him and his family following a social media post in which Trump "falsely stated" he was about to be arrested and for his supporters to "PROTEST, TAKE OUR NATION BACK!"

The falsified documents case involves "hush-money" payments made to Stormy Daniels during the 2016 election to hide an alleged affair between Trump and Daniels. The prosecution says that Trump paid $130,000 to Daniels through his attorney, Michael Cohen. Daniels was allegedly paid through a shell company to hide the payments. The prosecution goes on to say that after the 2016 election, Trump repaid Cohen in monthly installments disguised as attorney's fees. Cohen has since served prison time for his role in the alleged scheme. Trump pleaded "not guilty" to the 34 charges in April 2023. (Jurist)

Donald Trump on Feb. 25 appealed a New York judge's decision to impose $354.9 million in penalties on Trump and his financial interests, and curtail his ability to do business in New York state for fraudulently exaggerating his net worth. He now owes New York at least $454 million due to the interest on the penalty, accruing at $112,000 daily.

Trump's business empire comprises approximately 500 entities, including real estate, licensing and other business ventures. His net worth, estimated by Forbes, is around $2.6 billion, most of which is in real estate. In an April deposition, Trump mentioned having roughly $400 million in cash. (Jurist)

New York Appellate Division Associate Justice Anil Singh ruled Feb. 28 that $454 million in penalties imposed on Donald Trump in his civil fraud case will not be paused while he appeals the judgment. Trump had offered to post a $100 million bond while the appeals process plays out, writing in court filings that the staggering judgment made it "impossible" to secure a bond covering the full amount. Posting a bond in the full amount would automatically halt enforcement of the penalties.

However, Singh did grant a temporary pause on two other elements of Judge Arthur Engoron's ruling earlier this month: that Trump and his co-defendants may not serve in top leadership positions in any New York business, and that the defendants cannot apply for loans from any New York financial institution. (Jurist, The Hill)

A judge in Illinois on Feb. 28 ordered Donald Trump to be removed from the state's primary election ballot. The decision reversed a previous Illinois State Board of Elections ruling allowing Trump to remain as an official candidate. The order was based on Section 3 of the US Constitution’s Fourteenth Amendment. (Jurist)

The US Supreme Court agreed on Feb. 28 to hear  Donald Trump's immunity claim in the federal 2020 election interference case against him. The court also agreed to extend a pause on the Washington DC trial court proceedings in the case, which were set to resume after the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit rejected Trump's claim of immunity. (Jurist)

The US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit ruled March 1 that enhancements were improperly applied to the sentencing of a participant in the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot. The court ordered that the participant be re-sentenced, a decision that could potentially affect the sentences of hundreds of other rioters sentenced for their participation on Jan. 6.

Larry Brock was convicted of six crimes for his role in the insurrection. The court applied sentencing enhancements to his conviction on the basis that his crimes were a "substantial interference with the administration of justice." (Jurist)

Former Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg pled guilty March 4 to two counts of perjury in the first degree and surrendered to the Manhattan District Attorney's Office. The DA's office is currently recommending five months in jail, but if he breaks the terms of his probation, he could face up to seven years.

The perjury claims are related to testimony Weisselberg gave at a July 2020 deposition in New York Attorney General Letitia James' case against Donald Trump. Weisselberg is still on probation for tax evasion on perks he received while serving the Trump Organization. (Jurist)

The US Supreme Court on March 4 struck down Colorado's attempt to bar Donald Trump from appearing on its election ballot. In a unanimous decision, the court reversed a Supreme Court of Colorado decision that barred the former president from seeking election in the state due to an alleged violation of Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment, commonly known as the Insurrection Clause. The court held that states may not prohibit individuals from "holding or attempting to hold" federal offices.

The opinion avoided the question of Trump's involvement in the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot, instead asserting that states lack the power to enforce the Insurrection Clause against federal candidates.

Justices Sotomayor, Kagan and Jackson issued a concurring opinion in which they agreed with the court's judgment but stated their opposition to a total prohibition of states ever using the Insurrection Clause to remove federal candidates. They stated that the majority was "attempt[ing] to insulate all alleged insurrectionists from future challenges to their holding office." (Jurist)

Donald Trump must pay £300,000 in legal fees to Christopher Steele following the UK High Court’s dismissal of his claim against Steele's company for reputational damage and breach of right to data protection. The former president's lawsuit against Orbis Business Intelligence Limited (Orbis) concerned two memoranda in the Steele Dossier, an unverified dossier of memos detailing various allegations suggesting conspiracy between Trump and Moscow written by Steele. (Jurist)

A Georgia judge on March 13 dropped three charges pending against Donald Trump as part of the ongoing election interference case. Judge Scott McAfee of the Fulton County Superior Court ruled that six of the charges against Trump and his co-defendants should be dropped for a "lack of detail concerning an essential legal element," an oversight the judge described as "fatal."

The counts, as numbered in the indictment, were 2, 5, 6, 23, 28, and 38, all of which pertained to alleged attempts to compel public officers to violate their oaths of office. The charges pertaining to Trump specifically were 5, 28, and 38.

As summarized in te new ruling, Count 5 alleged that Trump urged the speaker of Georgia's House of Representatives to call a special session for the unlawful appointment of presidential electors; Count 28 alleged that Trump and former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows of having solicited Georgia's Secretary of State to unlawfully influence the election results; and Count 38 alleged Trump solicited the same Secretary of State to decertify the election.

The other dropped charges relate to similar allegations against former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, attorney John Eastman, and Georgia lawyers Ray Stallings Smith III and Bob Cheeley.

The indictment, which initially included 41 counts against 19 co-defendants. Four of them have pleaded guilty since the indictment was handed down by a grand jury in August. (Jurist, NYT)

The Georgia judge overseeing the state's 2020 election interference case decided March 15 that the district attorney leading the case, Fani Willis, must either step aside or remove a special prosecutor appointed to the case, Nathan Wade. The decision comes after the two were accused of having an intimate relationship. Judge Scott McAfee found that the case against Donald Trump and his co-defendants coud not move forward until Willis moved on the matter. (Jurist) Immeiately upon the decision, Nathan Wade resigned. (CNN)

The US Supreme Court declined to hear March 18 the appeal of New Mexico county commissioner Couy Griffin, who was removed from office on 14t Amendment grounds after his participation in the events of Jan. 6, 2021. (Jurist)

Peter Navarro, an ex-aide to President Trump, has reported to a federal prison in Miami, the first former White House official to be imprisoned for a contempt of Congress conviction.

Navarro was sentenced to four months in prison for his refusal to comply with a subpoena from the House Select Committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021 US Capitol attack.

Before reporting to prison March 19, Navarro spoke to reporters for 30 minutes at a gas station, calling the case against him an "unprecedented assault on the constitutional separation of powers." (CNN)

A day earlier, US after Chief Justice John Roberts denied Navarro's motion to delay imposition of the sentence. (Jurist)

An appeals court in New York lowered the $464 million bond imposed on former President Donald Trump in his civil fraud case on March 25. The five-judge panel ordered the bond be reduced to $175 million, and the payment date extended another 10 days. The decision stayed a previous court order that Trump post the $464 million bond by March 25.

On his Truth Social platform, Trump claimed that the bond was inflated as part of a plan to drain his assets so he could not use them to defeat Joe Biden in the November election. (Jurist)

A New York judge has set an April 15 start date for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s criminal case against Donald Trump. The trial was originally scheduled to proceed on March 25, but the prosecution disclosed almost 100,000 pages of discovery shortly before the scheduled start date, which caused Trump’s legal counsel to petition the court for more time to prepare. Judge Juan Manuel Merchan agreed to a 30-day delay to the start date—a decision he upheld on March 25.

If the case proceeds as scheduled, it will be the first of the four criminal trials pending against the former president to go to trial. Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of “falsifying business records in the first degree.” The charges stem from alleged “hush money” payments made from former Trump attorney Michael Cohen to adult film star Stormy Daniels to keep potentially damaging information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential election. (Jurist)

A New York judge has imposed a gag order on Donald Trump, limiting the former president from making statements about potential witnesses in the criminal trial relating to hush money payments scheduled to begin next month.

Judge Juan Merchan also said that Trump can't make statements about attorneys, court staff or the family members of prosecutors or lawyers intended to interfere with the case. Trump is also barred from making statements about any potential or actual juror. (CNN)

The judge in Donald Trump's hush-money criminal case expanded the gag order on the ex-president after he assailed the judge's daughter and made a false claim about her on social media.

Judge Juan M. Merchan said his original gag order issued last week did not include members of his family, but Trump's subsequent actions warranted including them. Merchan’s daughter, Loren Merchan, is a Democratic political consultant. Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that Loren Merchan "makes money by working to 'Get Trump,'" and wrongly accused her of posting a social media photo showing him behind bars. (AP)

A New York judge on April 3 denied a motion to delay Donald Trump's falsified documents trial start date until after a US Supreme Court decision concerning presidential immunity is handed down. The case, New York v. Trump, accuses the former president of falsifying business records to conceal payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels in exchange for her silence in regards to an alleged sexual relationship between the two. (Jurist)

The Georgia judge overseeing Donald Trump's 2020 election interference case upheld the criminal indictment against him on April 4. Trump's legal team had argued that his actions during the certification of the 2020 presidential election amounted to protected speech under the First Amendment. However, Judge Scott McAfee rejected this claim. (Jurist)

The US District Court for the District of Columbia sentenced a convicted orchestrator of the January 2021 Capitol riot to 87 months imprisonment and ordered him to pay $2000 in restitution. Last Nov. 21, the court found Taylor James Johnatakis guilty of seven charges, including three felonies, related to his participation in the riot. (Jurist)

A full jury has been seated in Donald Trump's criminal trial in New York, but jury selection had a rocky start with two previously selected jurors dismissed. One was excused after she said her personal information had been made public. The other was dismissed after prosecutors raised concerns that he may have not been honest in a questionnaire. (PBS NewsHour)

The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments April 16 concerning obstruction of justice charges in cases related to the Jan. 6 riots at the US Capitol building in 2020.

Justices from the court's conservative bloc expressed skepticism at the government's broad reading of 18 U.S.C. § 1512(c), the statute used to charge the accused rioters. The court's liberal wing, however, appeared to be in lockstep with interpreting the statute to include the actions taken during the Jan. 6 riots.

The statute, which was part of the Corporate Fraud and Accountability Act of 2002, was originally passed after the Enron scandal to create a crime for individuals intending to destroy or attempt to destroy documents or other evidence so they could not be used in an "official proceeding." (Jurist)

Opening statements began April 22 in the case that makes Donald Trump as the first former US president to face criminal charges. In a statement to reporters in advance of opening statements, reposted on his media platform Truth Social, Trump was defiant: "These are all Biden trials. This is done as election interference. Everybody knows it. I’m here instead of being able to be in Pennsylvania and Georgia and lots of other places campaigning, and it’s very unfair." (Jurist)

In a shocking incident on April 19, a 37-year-old Florida man set himself on fire across from the Lower Manhattan courthouse. Max Azzarello died later that night at the burn center at New York-Presbyterian-Weill Cornell Medical Center. Before self-immolating, Azzarello pulled fliers out of his backpack and tossed them around. The fyers were said to espouse various cosnpiracy theories. (Village Sun)

The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments April 25 in Trump v. US, concerning whether charges of federal election interference against Trump can move ahead. The court is to determine "whether and if so to what extent does a former President enjoy presidential immunity from criminal prosecution for conduct alleged to involve official acts during his tenure in office."

Justice Elena Kagan asked how immunity would apply if a president ordered the military "to stage a coup." Trump attorney John Sauer said that in such a case, it "may well be an official act" that would require impeachment and conviction before he is prosecuted.

Justices Sonia Sotomayor and then Samuel Alito touched on another provocative hypothetical raised in Trump's battle for "absolute immunity" over what he claims were official acts: could a commander in chief order SEAL Team 6 to assassinate a political rival and not face prosecution?

Sauer prevaricated: "It would depend on the hypothetical. We could see that could well be an official act."

The same question had been riased in a lower court proceeding in the case in January. (ABC, CNN, Jurist)

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes announced April 24 that a state grand jury returned an indictment against 18 individuals associated with former Donald Trump's effort to overturn the election results in the 2020 presidential election. The indicted individuals face charges of fraud, forgery and conspiracy. The indictment names 11 of the 18 individuals, but seven names remain redacted and shielded from public knowledge.

The indictment centers around the individuals' collective effort to "prevent the lawful transfer of the presidency to keep [Trump] in office against the will of Arizona's voters." The indictment charges the 11 named individuals with nine counts each for their involvement in the scheme, which the indictment claims "would have deprived Arizona voters of their right to vote and have their votes counted."

The 11 named individuals ar Kelli Ward, Tyler Bowyer, Nancy Cottle, Jacob Hoffman, Anthony Kern, James Lamon, Robert Montgomery, Samuel Moorhead, Lorraine Pellegrino, Gregory Safsten and Michael Ward. The other seven individuals have not yet been publicly identified, but based on media reports and details within the indictment, the seven appear to be Mark Meadows, Rudy Giuliani, Boris Epshteyn, John Eastman, Jenna Ellis, Christina Bobb and Mike Roman. Trump is not included in the indictment, though there is speculation that he is referred to throughout the indictment as "Unindicted CoConspirator 1." (Jurist)

A New York federal judge on April 25 rejected Donald Trump's request for a new trial or judgment in his favor on Thursday in the defamation case won by E. Jean Carroll. Trump challenged the $83.3 million jury verdict against him—which includes $18.3 million in compensatory and $65 million in punitive damages—but Judge Lewis Kaplan found his motion "without merit." (Jurist)

Donald Trump was held in criminal contempt and fined $9,000 April 20 for multiple violations of a gag order imposed last month in his New York hush money trial. (Jurist)

Donald Trump claimed May 7 that a gag order imposed against him ahead of his ongoing New York hush money trial was unconstitutional. The comments came a day after the former president was held in criminal contempt for the second time in a week and threatened with incarceration. (Jurist)

The US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit on May 10 affirmed the conviction of former President Trump's ex-advisor Steve Bannon for contempt of Congress. His conviction resulted from his noncompliance with a US House of Representatives subpoena in the investigation of the January 6 attack on the US Capitol. (Jurist)

Derrick Evans, a Jan. 6 rioter who admitted in court that he committed a felony crime against police officers when he stormed the Capitol while yelling "Derrick Evans is in the Capitol!," lost a Republican primary race against incumbent Rep. Carol Miller in West Virginia, NBC News projects.

Evans pleaded guilty to a felony count of obstructing or impeding officers during a civil disorder and was sentenced to three months in prison in June 2022. Evans struck an apologetic tone after he admitted under oath in court that he had, in fact, knowingly committed a felony crime on Jan. 6, 2021. But he has since rebranded himself as a "political prisoner" and spread conspiracy theories about the attack in which he took part.

The New York Supreme Court’s Appellate Division upheld a gag order Tuesday against former president Donald Trump in a criminal case centering on allegations he falsified the Trump Organization’s business records to conceal hush money payments to influence the 2016 presidential election. The appeals court was unpersuaded by Trump’s arguments that the gag order violates his First Amendment right to free speech.

New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan entered the gag order against Trump in late March, preventing the defendant from disparaging potential witnesses, prosecutors (other than Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg), and potential jurors in his trial. Merchan expanded the gag order in April after Trump attacked the justice’s daughter, who is a Democratic political consultant. Trump has twice been held in contempt for violating the order, leading Merchan to threaten the defendant with jail time. (Jurist)

Nine Arizona Republicans and two Trump aides pleaded not guilty in a Maricopa County court on May 21 to criminal charges stemming from a plan to keep Donald Trump in the White House by falsely certifying he won the state in 2020.

Former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, who evaded and taunted prosecutors for weeks as they attempted to serve his court summons, was ordered to post a $10,000 bail bond and come to Arizona for booking within 30 days. Giuliani was served the indictment at a party for this 80th birthday hosted by local Republicans in Palm Beach, Fla. (Arizona Republic)

A Manhattan jury has found Donald Trump guilty on all 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first degree in his New York criminal trial. Prosecutors alleged that Trump falsified records to conceal hush money payments to unlawfully influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election. (Jurist) 

In a closely watched decision stemming from the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot, the Supreme Court ruled June 28 that the government must prove a defendant impaired or attempted to impair the availability or integrity of evidence to be convicted under a key obstruction statute. The case, Fischer v. United States, centered on Joseph Fischer, who was charged under Section 1512(c)(2) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act for allegedly obstructing Congress’ certification of the 2020 presidential election. (Jurist)

In a split decision, the Supreme Court ruled July 1 that former US presidents are immune from criminal prosecution for actions taken within their constitutional purview, thus clearing a path for Donald Trump to challenge a federal indictment accusing him of conspiring to sabotage the 2020 elections. 

In August 2023, Trump was indicted on four counts related to the 2020 elections and the events leading up to Jan. 6. He was accused of having conspired to overturn the results of the election by pressuring electoral officials in swing states, pressuring federal officials to instill doubts in the electorate about the legitimacy of the vote, and ultimately, "exploiting" those of his supporters who had gathered in Washington DC on Jan. 6 "by redoubling efforts to levy false claims of election fraud and convince Members of Congress to further delay the certification."

Trump pleaded not guilty and sought to dismiss the charges on grounds of presidential immunity. He asked the Supreme Court to determine whether the doctrine of presidential immunity shields a former president from criminal prosecution for acts performed on the "outer perimeter" of their official duties. 

Importantly, the Supreme Court has not ruled on the merits of the case. Noting it is a court of final review, and not of first view, it remanded the case to a lower court to determine which of the activities at issue in the case are official, and which are unofficial. (Jurist)

Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon surrendered to law enforcement July 1 to begin his four-month prison sentence for contempt of Congress. Found guilty of defying a subpoena from the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, he is to serve his term at the Federal Correctional Institute Danbury, Connecticut. (ABC News)

Longtime Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani has been disbarred in New York State by order of the First Department Appellate Division. State Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal, chair of the Judiciary Committee, filed a grievance with the court in 2021 over  Giuliani's role in the Jan. 6 Capitol Riot. (TVS)

Democratic congressman Joe Morelle of New York announced plans Jul 3 to attempt to reverse this week's Supreme Court ruling on Donald Trump's immunity claims. He said in a statement: "I am introducing a constitutional amendment to reverse the Supreme Court’s catastrophic decision and ensure no president is above the law. This amendment will do what they failed to do—prioritize our democracy. The Supreme Court decision will cause a seismic shift in the powers of the presidency unless we take immediate action to ensure accountability, integrity, and justice prevail." (Jurist)

The United States Bankruptcy Court on July 12 dismissed the Chapter 11 bankruptcy case of former New York City mayor and Trump lawyer Rudolph Giuliani, citing his ongoing failure to comply with financial disclosure obligations.

Giuliani filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December 2023, citing financial strain from a $148 million defamation judgment. This judgment stemmed from allegations by Ruby Freeman and Wandrea Shaye Moss that Giuliani falsely accused them of election fraud during the 2020 federal election which led to severe personal and professional harm. (Jurist)

Peter Navarro was invited to speak at the Republican National Convention just after being released from a Miami prison. He completed a four-month sentence for defying a subpoena from the House Jan. 6 committee. He was greeted with a standing ovation and quickly joked that he wished the audience could see the MAGA tattoo he got in prison. (NBC)

Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, also a convicted felon, was spotted on the convention floor. (WashEx)

In order to travel to the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this week, three Arizona delegates needed permission from a judge.

That's because GOP Arizona state Sens. Jake Hoffman and Anthony Kern, as well as Nancy Cottle, are among the 18 people indicted by an Arizona grand jury for their roles in an alleged scheme to upend the 2020 presidential election by throwing their state’s 11 Electoral College votes to former President Trump.

Hoffman, Kern and Cottle aren't the only people in this situation who are at the convention in Milwaukee. Three delegates from Georgia, five from Nevada and two from Michigan also face charges for similar "fake elector" schemes in their respective states, according to an NPR review of delegate rosters and news reports.

The US District Court for the District of Columbia sentenced former Marine Tyler Dykes on July 19 to nearly five years in prison for assaulting police officers during the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. On top of the prison term, Dykes received another 36 months of supervised release and a $22,000 fine.

In April Dykes pled guilty to two felony charges: assaulting, resisting or impeding police officers, and use of a dangerous weapon—a police riot shield that he had seized.

Additionally, it was stated in the court proceedings that Dykes displayed a Nazi salute during the storming, an accusation he denied. Prosecutors noted, however, that the salute was captured on video. (Jurist)

A state judge in Florida ruled July 20 in favor of Donald Trump, allowing his libel lawsuit against the Pulitzer Prize board to proceed.  The lawsuit centers on a statement made by the board in 2022 defending its 2018 award to the New York Times and Washington Post for their investigative work on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and connections between Russia and the Trump campaign. (Jurist)

A panel of the New York Supreme Court Appellate Division on Thursday ruled to maintain the gag order in former president Donald Trump’s hush-money trial. While Trump was found guilty on May 30 of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first degree, the court upheld Justice Juan Merchan’s decision to continue the restraining order until after sentencing has occurred. (Jurist)

The US District Court for the District of Columbia on Aug. 9 sentenced California resident David Nicholas Dempsey to 20 years imprisonment for attacking police in the course of rioting at the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. (Jurist)

Prosecutors from the Manhattan district attorney's office said Aug. 19 that they will defer to the judge on Donald Trump's bid to delay his sentencing in the "hush money" case until after the election.

The sentencing hearing is scheduled for Sept. 18—two days after New York Judge Juan Merchan is expected to rule on Trump's motion to toss out his conviction in light of the US Supreme Court's decision on presidential immunity in a different case. (NBC)

Donald Trump filed a motion on Aug. 29 to move his New York hush money case to federal court, an attempt that could overturn his conviction and delay his sentencing date until after the presidential election in November.

Trump's legal team asked the US District Court for the Southern District of New York to take the case, claiming the Manhattan District Attorney's Office "violated the Presidential immunity doctrine … by relying on evidence of President Trump's official acts" while in office. The motion cited the recent decision by the US Supreme Court that ruled former US presidents are immune from criminal prosecution for their actions taken within their "official responsibility."

rump's attorneys also requested New York County Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan’s recusal from the hush money case. The motion cited public statements made by Justice Merchan’s daughter in 2019 that "indicat[ed] that [Justice Merchan] had been critical of President Trump's use of Twitter during his Presidency." Trump's team argued that these statements "confirm judicial bias and hostility towards President Trump's 2018 Tweets, which are a core issue in the pending Presidential immunity motion."

Trump filed a motion to dismiss the indictment and vacate the his conviction under the claim of presidential immunity, and the motion is currently pending before Justice Merchan. In July, Justice Merchan pushed Trump's sentencing date in the case until Sept. 18 so he could consider the presidential immunity claim. Trump's team then requested the sentencing in the case be postponed until after the November election, claiming the current scheduling would constitute election interference.

This is not Trump's first attempt to remove the case from New York's jurisdiction. A federal judge in July 2023 rejected Trump's first attempt, finding that the former president failed to show that the alleged conduct was related to his official responsibilities as the president. US District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein stated: "Hush money paid to an adult film star is not related to a president’s official acts. It does not reflect in any way the color of the president's official duties." (Jurist)

The US District Court for the Southern District of New York  on on Sept. 3 rejected Donald Trump's motion to move his New York hush money case to federal court, an attempt that could overturn Trump's conviction or delay his sentencing until after the presidential election in November. (Jurist)

New York Judge Juan Merchan on Sept. 6 delayed former US president Donald Trump’s sentencing in his hush money criminal case to Nov. 26, with the new date scheduled three weeks after the US presidential election. Trump’s attorneys requested the postponement in August to prepare a potential appeal and avoid a “politically prejudicial” effect on the election. The prosecution decided not to oppose Trump’s request back in August.

The former president also faces three other criminal cases. Trump was indicted in June 2023 over the alleged illegal retention of classified documents following his exit from office. However, US Special Prosecutor Jack Smith is currently appealing a federal judge’s July decision to dismiss the indictment on constitutional grounds. Trump also faces federal charges that he illegally interfered in the 2020 presidential election. Smith filed a revised indictment in August to dodge constitutionality concerns following the US Supreme Court’s presidential immunity decision, accusing the former president of election interference as a private citizen and political candidate. Similarly, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis secured an indictment of Trump in August 2023 over the former president’s alleged interference in Georgia’s presidential vote. (Jurist)

Donald Trump is under fire for allowing his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, to host several events organized by a Nazi sympathizer who was sentenced to four years in prison for participating in the Jan. 6 Capitol riots.

Timothy Hale-Cusanelli, is described by the Department of Justice as a committed Nazi sympathizer who would show up to work at a naval weapons station with a "Hitler mustache" and tell co-workers that "Hitler should have finished the job."

At a recent fundraiser at Bedminster for the Patriot Freedom Project, a nonprofit created to support Capitol riot defendants, Trump praised the attendees as "amazing patriots" in a video message, according to an NPR report published Thursday. The group was founded by Cynthia Hughes, Hale-Cusanelli's adoptive aunt. The Patriot Freedom Project also hosted a fundraiser at Bedminster in August 2023. (The Forward)

US federal prosecutors on Oct. 2 released a redacted motion arguing that former president Donald Trump does not have immunity from prosecution for crimes related to the 2020 election because they were committed outside of official presidential conduct.

This case is a remand before US District Court for the District of Columbia of the Supreme Court’s decision in Trump v. United States on July 1, 2024, in which the court held that presidents are immune from prosecution for certain official conduct. (Jurist)

The US Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal by X (formerly Twitter) after a District of Columbia court denied its challenge to a nondisclosure order preventing the company from sharing details with Donald Trump of a Department of Justice warrant against the former president’s activities on the social media platform. (Jurist)

US District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan on Oct. 10 approved the release of redacted evidence against former President Donald Trump in his federal election interference case. The order’s timing is significant; it comes less than one month prior to the 2024 elections, in which Trump is the Republican candidate, and in the aftermath of a US Supreme Court ruling granting broad immunity for presidential acts.

The case is currently on remand before Chutkan's court. In her ruling, the judge stated: "The court determines that the Government’s proposed redactions to the Appendix are appropriate, and that Defendant's blanket objections to further unsealing are without merit."

Trump has one week to appeal Chutkan’s order. (Jurist)