Fifty years of investigations on Trump, visualized

Fifty years after federal officials first accused Donald Trump and his father, Fred Trump, of violating laws that barred racial discrimination in apartment rentals, the former president has been indicted in four cases related to his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 elections, possession of classified documents and falsification of business records.

Trump has been investigated over matters small and huge, including alleged lobbying violations in New York and whether he played a role in the Russian government’s effort to interfere with the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Explore all the major investigations that Trump has faced in each decade of his adult life since the 1970s.

Type of investigation

Democracy and elections

Business

Type of investigation

Democracy and elections

Business

1970s

Federal investigators accuse Trump and his father of discriminating against Black New Yorkers in renting out apartments. Case settles with no admission of guilt, but Trump has to run ads pledging not to discriminate.

1972-1975

Federal investigators find

evidence that Trump Management, the real estate empire run by Trump and his father, Fred, systematically

discriminated against Black and Hispanic people by steering them away from mostly-White buildings and toward minority-dominated properties.

Prosecutors filed a suit against the Trumps in 1973 and the court battle ended in a settlement in 1975.

1972-1975

Federal investigators find evidence that Trump

Management, the real estate empire run by Trump and

his father, Fred, systematically discriminated against

Black and Hispanic people by steering them away from

mostly-White buildings and toward minority-dominated properties. Prosecutors filed a suit against the Trumps in 1973 and the court battle ended in a settlement in 1975.

1980s

Federal investigators look into whether Trump gave apartments in his Trump Tower to organized crime-connected figures to keep his project on track. Trump denies the allegation. Separately, New Jersey officials probe Trump’s ties with mob figures, then grant him a casino license.

1980-1982

Investigators examine Trump’s

dealings with organized crime

figures, focusing on whether he

gave three apartments and a

swimming pool in his signature

Trump Tower building on New

York’s Fifth Avenue to a woman

tied to a key mob figure and union

president, who in turn allegedly

kept construction of Trump Tower

moving even as the city’s building

trades workers were on strike.

1980-1982

Investigators examine Trump’s dealings with organized crime figures, focusing on whether he gave three apartments and a swimming pool in his signature Trump Tower building on New York’s Fifth Avenue to a woman tied to a key mob figure and union president, who in turn allegedly kept construction of Trump Tower moving even as the city’s building trades workers were on strike.

1990s

New Jersey regulators investigate Trump’s finances and conclude he “cannot be considered financially stable,” yet extend his gaming license to protect jobs at his Atlantic City casinos.

1990-1991

New Jersey regulators investigate

Trump’s finances and conclude he

“cannot be considered financially

stable,” yet extend his casino license

to protect jobs at his Atlantic City hotel.

The Casino Control Commission warns

that “a complete financial collapse of

the Trump Organization is not out of

the question.”

1990-1991

New Jersey regulators investigate Trump’s finances and conclude he “cannot be considered financially stable,” yet extend his casino license to protect jobs at his Atlantic City hotel. The Casino Control Commission warns that “a complete financial collapse of the Trump Organization is not out of the question.”

2000s

Federal securities regulators cite one of Trump’s casinos for downplaying negative results in financial reporting. The Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City first went bankrupt in 2009 before changing ownership in 2015.

2000s

1998-2015

Federal regulators spent years looking into allegations of money laundering at Trump’s Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, finally fining his company $10 million in 2015 for failing to maintain proper

controls against laundering and failing to report suspicious transactions.

The casino admitted to “willful and repeated” violations of the Bank

Secrecy Act.

2000s

1998-2015

Federal regulators spent years looking into allegations

of money laundering at Trump’s Taj Mahal casino in

Atlantic City, finally fining his company $10 million in

2015 for failing to maintain proper controls against laundering and failing to report suspicious transactions. The casino admitted to “willful and repeated” violations of the Bank Secrecy Act.

2010s

New York state sues Trump, alleging his Trump University defrauded more than 5,000 people. Trump is found personally liable. After Trump becomes president, he is impeached — and acquitted — over allegations that he solicited foreign interference in the U.S. presidential election.

2010-2017

New York state sues Trump, alleging

his Trump University defrauded more

than 5,000 people.

2010-2017

New York state sues Trump, alleging his Trump University defrauded more than 5,000 people.

2020s

Trump is impeached — and acquitted — a second time for incitement of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. New York again sues Trump, alleging he falsely inflated assets to mislead lenders. He is also under criminal investigation for events surrounding Jan. 6 and his handling of classified documents.

2

3

1

4

5

6

7

2017-2023

1

A New York grand jury investigating Trump’s payment of hush money to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels backs the first indictment in American history of a former president.

2019-2020

2

Trump is impeached and acquitted over allegations that he solicited foreign interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

2021

3

Trump is impeached — and acquitted — a second time for incitement of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

2021-2023

4

New York state sues Trump, alleging he

falsely inflated assets to mislead lenders.

2021-2023

5

The district attorney in Fulton County, Ga., indicted Trump and 18 others in connection with efforts to reverse his 2020 election loss in the state. This was the former president’s fourth indictment.

2021-2023

6

Trump is indicted in an investigation into efforts by him and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 election ahead of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

2022-2023

7

Federal prosecutors charged Trump with illegally hoarding classified documents from his presidency and conspiring with aides to cover up his actions, marking Trump’s second indictment.

2019-2020

Trump is impeached and acquitted over allegations that he solicited foreign interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

2022-2023

Federal prosecutors charged Trump with illegally hoarding classified documents from his presidency and conspiring with aides to cover up his actions, marking Trump’s second indictment.

2021-2023

The district attorney in Fulton County, Ga., indicted Trump and 18 others in connection with efforts to reverse his 2020 election loss in the state. This was the former president’s fourth indictment.

2021-2023

Trump is indicted in an investigation into efforts by him and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 election ahead of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

2021-2023

New York state sues Trump, alleging he

falsely inflated assets to mislead lenders.

2021

Trump is impeached — and acquitted — a second time for incitement of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

2017-2023

A New York grand jury investigating Trump’s payment of hush money to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels backs the first indictment in American history of a former president.

Júlia Ledur and Marc Fisher contributed to this report. Editing by Emily M. Eng and Samuel Granados. Photo editing by Christine Nguyen.

Photos by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post, Tom Allen/The Washington Post, Chris Kleponis/AFP/Getty Images, Mark Phillips/AP and AP.

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