Also can POTUS pardon state crimes?

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by Conor Shaw

September 27, 2022

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As of November 2022, Donald Trump has been credibly accused of committing at least 56 criminal offenses since he launched his campaign for president in 2015. That total only reflects allegations relating to his time in or running for office and omits, for instance, Trump’s criminal exposure for fraudulent business dealings.

Click here to jump straight to the table

The eight offenses we have added since we published the first version of this table in March 2022 include three criminal offenses relating to the investigation of election fraud and related crimes in Fulton County, Georgia; one offense relating to potential wire fraud stemming from fraudulent representations made to solicit PAC contributions after the 2020 election; one perjury offense relating to Trump’s legal efforts to overturn the 2020 election; and three offenses relating to Trump’s unlawful possession of government records at Mar-a-Lago after leaving office. The updated tracker likely understates Trump’s legal exposure because the high volume of sensitive records discovered at Mar-A-Lago suggests that he could be indicted for multiple counts of willfully retaining without authorization government records containing national defense information, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 793(e)), even though it is only listed once on CREW’s tracker.

Federal and state prosecutors are at an important crossroads with respect to accountability for the former president. On the one hand, the deadline has already passed or will soon pass for charges relating to several extremely serious offenses. That includes offenses relating to Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign as well as his obstruction of the FBI’s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election and the subsequent special counsel investigation. The investigation of both matters was terminated by the Department of Justice at the direction of former Attorney General Bill Barr. While there is substantial evidence that Trump committed several felonies, he is unlikely to face consequences for that conduct.

“Choosing not to pursue accountability for fear of political criticism or consequences is itself a deeply political act. ”

On the other hand, Trump is squarely in the crosshairs of at least three grand jury investigations that have been very active over the last half year: the Fulton County, Georgia investigation of election fraud and related offenses; a federal grand jury investigation of the January 6 insurrection and events leading up to it; and a federal grand jury investigation of Trump’s unlawful possession of government records since leaving office and related offenses. These investigations suggest that Trump’s long run of avoiding accountability may soon be over.

While adherence to the rule of law requires that prosecutors pursue criminal indictments only where the facts, law, and principles of prosecution support such action, it is also critical that no individual be insulated from accountability simply because they are a national political figure, a former president, or a candidate for public office. Choosing not to pursue accountability for fear of political criticism or consequences is itself a deeply political act.

Failing to deter Donald Trump from engaging in further criminal misconduct would have profoundly damaging consequences for our democracy. Criminal law is designed to punish individuals for criminal offenses to discourage these individuals and others like them from engaging in the same conduct in the future. If President Trump avoids criminal prosecution for attempting to retain power despite being voted out of office or for compromising some of the country’s most sensitive national security secrets, the message to him and others who hold power will be clear: you can commit crimes that threaten the future of our democracy with impunity.

The rule of law is not self-enforcing. The individuals who serve in the Department of Justice and in prosecutors’ offices across the country are charged with upholding it. They must pursue criminal charges against President Trump if the facts, law, and principles of prosecution support doing so.

Obstruction of the Russia and Special Counsel Investigations Corruptly obstructing or impeding the Special Counsel investigation by attempting to have Attorney General Sessions take over the investigation 2017 - 2018 Obstruction of justice 18 U.S.C. §§ 1503, 1505, 1512(c)(2) Investigation closed while Trump was president 2023 if the conduct is treated as an independent event or 2024 if the conduct is considered to be part of a series of continuing wrongs or conspiracy Source

Obstruction of the Russia and Special Counsel Investigations Influencing the cooperation of Paul Manafort, a witness in special counsel investigation 2018 Obstruction of justice and witness tampering 18 U.S.C. §§ 1503, 1505, 1512(b); 1512(c)(2) Investigation closed while Trump was president 2023 if the conduct is treated as an independent event or 2024 if the conduct is considered to be part of a series of continuing wrongs or conspiracy Source

Obstruction of the Russia and Special Counsel Investigations Corruptly obstructing or impeding the Special Counsel investigation by ordering White House Counsel McGahn to deny attempt to fire Mueller 2018 Obstruction of justice 18 U.S.C. §§ 1503, 1505, 1512(c)(2) Investigation closed while Trump was president 2023 if the conduct is treated as an independent event or 2024 if the conduct is considered to be part of a series of continuing wrongs or conspiracy Source

Obstruction of the Russia and Special Counsel Investigations Corruptly obstructing or impeding the prosecution of Paul Manafort by attempting to influence his jury 2018 Obstruction of justice 18 U.S.C. §§ 1503, 1505, 1512(c)(2) Investigation closed while Trump was president 2023 if the conduct is treated as an independent event or 2024 if the conduct is considered to be part of a series of continuing wrongs or conspiracy Source

Obstruction of the Russia and Special Counsel Investigations Influencing Michael Cohen, a witness in the special counsel and congressional investigations 2018 - 2019 Obstruction of justice and witness tampering 18 U.S.C. §§ 1503, 1505, 1512(b); 1512(c)(2) Investigation closed while Trump was president 2023 if the conduct is treated as an independent event or 2024 if the conduct is considered to be part of a series of continuing wrongs or conspiracy Source

False public financial disclosure reports Failing to disclose a gift (pro bono services from Rudy Giuliani) and an asset (a personal loan to his golf course in Aberdeen, Scotland) on his 2019 public financial disclosure report 2017 - 2019 False statement 18 U.S.C. § 1001 No reports of an active or previous criminal investigation 2024 Source

False public financial disclosure reports Failing to disclose a gift (pro bono services from Rudy Giuliani) and an asset (a personal loan to his golf course in Aberdeen, Scotland) on his 2019 public financial disclosure report 2017 - 2019 Criminal violation of the Ethics in Government Act 5 U.S.C. app. § 102(a)(3)) No reports of an active or previous criminal investigation 2024 Source

Obstruction of the Russia and Special Counsel Investigations Influencing the cooperation of Roger Stone, a witness in the special counsel investigation 2018 - 2019 Obstruction of justice and witness tampering 18 U.S.C. §§ 1503, 1505, 1512(b); 1512(c)(2) Investigation closed while Trump was president 2024 Source 1 Source 2

Attempts to get Ukraine to interfere in 2020 election Corruptly seeking public statements from the President of Ukraine that would help President Trump win re-election in return for official actions, namely, a White House visit between the two leaders and the release of U.S. security assistance to Ukraine. 2019 Bribery 18 U.S.C. § 201 No reports of an active or previous criminal investigation 2024 Source

Attempts to get Ukraine to interfere in 2020 election Causing (personally and through subordinates) federal officials to engage in partisan political conduct by involving them in a plot to pressure a foreign country to investigate Trump's campaign rival 2019 Coercion of political activity 18 U.S.C. § 610 No reports of an active or previous criminal investigation 2024 Source

Campaign finance crimes and coverup Causing Cohen to make and/or accepting an unlawful individual contribution (February 2015 online poll) 2015 Causing (or accepting) an individual contribution in excess of the lawful limit 52 U.S.C. §§ 30109, 30116, 30118; 18 U.S.C. § 2 Investigation closed while Trump was president 2020 Source

Campaign finance crimes and coverup Causing Donald J. Trump for President LLC’s failure to report AMI’s contribution (McDougal Story) 2016 Causing a campaign committee to fail to report an unlawful corporate contribution 52 U.S.C. §§ 30104, 30109; 18 U.S.C. § 2 Investigation closed while Trump was president 2021 if the conduct is treated as an independent event or 2022 if the conduct is considered to be part of a series of continuing wrongs or conspiracy Source

Campaign finance crimes and coverup Causing Donald J. Trump for President LLC’s failure to report Cohen’s contribution (Clifford Story) 2016 Causing a campaign committee to fail to report an unlawful corporate contribution 52 U.S.C. §§ 30104, 30109; 18 U.S.C. § 2 Investigation closed while Trump was president 2021 if the conduct is treated as an independent event or 2022 if the conduct is considered to be part of a series of continuing wrongs or conspiracy Source

Campaign finance crimes and coverup Causing Cohen to make and/or accepting an unlawful individual contribution (Clifford Story) 2016 Causing (or accepting) an individual campaign contribution in excess of statutory limits 52 U.S.C. §§ 30109, 30116, 30118; 18 U.S.C. § 2 Investigation closed while Trump was president 2021 if the conduct is treated as an independent event or 2022 if the conduct is considered to be part of a series of continuing wrongs or conspiracy Source

Campaign finance crimes and coverup Causing American Media Inc. (AMI) to make and/or accepting (or causing his then lawyer Michael Cohen to accept) an unlawful corporate contribution related to Karen McDougal. 2016 Causing (or accepting) an unlawful corporate campaign contribution 52 U.S.C. §§ 30109, 30118; 18 U.S.C. § 2 Investigation closed while Trump was president 2021 if the conduct is treated as an independent event or 2022 if the conduct is considered to be part of a series of continuing wrongs or conspiracy Source

Campaign finance crimes and coverup Conspiring to defraud the United States by undermining the lawful function of the FEC and/or violating federal campaign finance laws 2015 - 2017 Conspiring to commit campaign finance offenses and/or defraud the enforcement of campaign finance laws 18 U.S.C. § 371 Investigation closed while Trump was president 2022 Source

Campaign finance crimes and coverup Causing Donald J. Trump for President LLC to file false reports with the FEC 2016 - 2017 Causing a campaign committee to fail to report an unlawful corporate contribution 18 U.S.C. §§ 2, 1519 Investigation closed while Trump was president 2022 Source

Campaign finance crimes and coverup Making a false statement by failing to disclose liability to Cohen for Clifford payment on 2017 public financial disclosure form 2017 Knowingly ommitting or failing to disclose a material fact 18 U.S.C. § 1001 Investigation closed while Trump was president 2022 Source 1 Source 2

Campaign finance crimes and coverup Failing to disclose a liability to Cohen for Clifford payment on 2017 public financial disclosure form 2017 Knowingly and willfully failing to report required information 5 U.S.C. app. § 104(a)(1)-(2). Investigation closed while Trump was president 2022 Source 1 Source 2

Destruction of presidential records Destruction of presidential records (during the period while Trump was President) 2017 - 2021 Willfull destruction of government property 18 U.S.C. § 1361 Uncertain. A grand jury has been investigating records act offenses committed after Trump left office, but it is unclear whether it will investigate potential offenses committed while he was still President 2022 - 2026 (depending on when the documents were destroyed) Source 1 Source 2

Destruction of presidential records Destruction of presidential records (during the period while Trump was President) 2017 - 2021 Willfull destruction of government records 18 U.S.C. § 2071 Uncertain. A grand jury has been investigating records act offenses committed after Trump left office, but it is unclear whether it will investigate potential offenses committed while he was still President 2022 - 2026 (depending on when the documents were destroyed) Source 1 Source 2

Obstruction of the Russia and Special Counsel Investigations Aiding Michael Cohen's false statements to Congress 2017 Obstruction of justice and witness tampering 18 U.S.C. § 1001; 18 U.S.C. § 2 Investigation closed while Trump was president 2022 if the conduct is treated as an independent event or 2024 if the conduct is considered to be part of a series of continuing wrongs or conspiracy Source

Obstruction of the Russia and Special Counsel Investigations Influencing the cooperation of Michael Flynn, a witness in special counsel investigations 2017 Obstruction of justice and witness tampering 18 U.S.C. §§ 1503, 1505, 1512(b); 1512(c)(2) Investigation closed while Trump was president 2022 if the conduct is treated as an independent event or 2024 if the conduct is considered to be part of a series of continuing wrongs or conspiracy Source

Obstruction of the Russia and Special Counsel Investigations Corruptly obstructing or impeding the investigaiton of Michael Flynn 2017 Obstruction of justice 18 U.S.C. §§ 1503, 1505, 1512(c)(2) Investigation closed while Trump was president 2022 if the conduct is treated as an independent event or 2024 if the conduct is considered to be part of a series of continuing wrongs or conspiracy Source

Obstruction of the Russia and Special Counsel Investigations Corruptly obstructing or impeding the FBI's Russia investigation by firing FBI Director James Comey 2017 Obstruction of justice 18 U.S.C. §§ 1503, 1505, 1512(c)(2) Investigation closed while Trump was president 2022 if the conduct is treated as an independent event or 2024 if the conduct is considered to be part of a series of continuing wrongs or conspiracy Source

Obstruction of the Russia and Special Counsel Investigations Corruptly obstructing or impeding the Special Counsel investigation by attempting to curtail Special Counsel Mueller's investigation 2017 Obstruction of justice 18 U.S.C. §§ 1503, 1505, 1512(c)(2) Investigation closed while Trump was president 2022 if the conduct is treated as an independent event or 2024 if the conduct is considered to be part of a series of continuing wrongs or conspiracy Source

Obstruction of the Russia and Special Counsel Investigations Corruptly obstructing or impeding the FBI's Russia investigation by trying to influence FBI Director Comey's announcement of the investigation 2017 Obstruction of justice 18 U.S.C. §§ 1503, 1505, 1512(c)(2) Investigation closed while Trump was president 2022 if the conduct is treated as an independent event or 2024 if the conduct is considered to be part of a series of continuing wrongs or conspiracy Source

Obstruction of the Russia and Special Counsel Investigations Corruptly obstructing or impeding the Special Counsel investigation by attempting to fire Special Counsel Mueller 2017 Obstruction of justice 18 U.S.C. §§ 1503, 1505, 1512(c)(2) Investigation closed while Trump was president 2022 if the conduct is treated as an independent event or 2024 if the conduct is considered to be part of a series of continuing wrongs or conspiracy Source

Attempts to steal the 2020 election Soliciting Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to create fraudulent election results 2021 Intentional interference with the performance of election duties Ga. Code Ann. § 21-2-597 Active.The special grand jury has completed its investigation in Fulton County, GA, but its report has not yet been made public. According to DA, charges are "imminent". According to the New York Times, "multiple allies of the former president have been told they are targets, including the state party chairman and members of the slate of fake electors." 2023 Source 1 Source 2

Attempts to get Ukraine to interfere in 2020 election Improperly withholding security assistance to Ukraine for his own political gain 2019 Misappropriation of federal funds 18 U.S.C. § 641 No reports of an active or previous criminal investigation 2024 Source

Attempts to get Ukraine to interfere in 2020 election Directing government officials and personal associates not to cooperate with congressional investigations of his conduct and retailiating against witnesses who cooperated with the investigation 2019 Obstruction of Justice 18 U.S.C. §§ 1505, 1512 No reports of an active or previous criminal investigation 2024 Source

Attempts to get Ukraine to interfere in 2020 election Asking a foreign national to open an investigation into a campaign rival--a thing of value that could constitute an unlawful foreign campaign expenditure 2019 Soliciting unlawful foreign campaign contributions 52 U.S.C. §§ 30109, 30121 No reports of an active or previous criminal investigation 2024 Source 1 Source 2

Pressuring federal officers to use their official positions for partisan politics Causing subordinate federal officials to violate the Hatch Act by pressuring and encouraging them to engage in partisan political conduct 2020 Criminal violation of the Hatch Act 18 U.S.C. § 595 Uncertain. The Office of the Special Counsel issued a report in which it determined that Secretary Pompeo and Acting Secretary Wolf’s violations originated within the White House, or possibly the Trump campaign or President Trump himself, and that President Trump laid the foundation for these and other Hatch Act violations by refusing to hold officials accountable for even the most flagrant and clear-cut Hatch Act violations. 2025 Source

Attempts to steal the 2020 election Making a material false statement under oath and/or in a Georgia federal court proceeding. 2020 Perjury 18 U.S.C. § 1621 or § 1623 Active. News outlets have reported that a federal grand jury has been investigating aspects of the January 6 attack, including the planning of "stop the steal" protests, schemes to submit false electors from several states, and financing of the protests; however, it is not clear what specific crimes are being investigated. 2025 Source

Attempts to steal the 2020 election Conspiring with others to overturn the results of Georgia’s presidential election and to weaponize the Department of Justice in service of their larger campaign to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. 2020 - 2021 Conspiracy against rights 18 U.S.C. § 241 Active. News outlets have reported that a federal grand jury has been investigating aspects of the January 6 attack, including the planning of "stop the steal" protests, schemes to submit false electors from several states, and financing of the protests; however, it is not clear what specific crimes are being investigated. 2025 Source 1 Source 2

Attempts to steal the 2020 election Depriving Georgia residents a fair and impartially conducted election process by pressuring the Georgia Secretary of State to falsify or overturn election results 2020 - 2021 Depriving state residents a fair and impartial election process 52 U.S.C. § 20511(2)(B) Active. News outlets have reported that a federal grand jury has been investigating aspects of the January 6 attack, including the planning of "stop the steal" protests, schemes to submit false electors from several states, and financing of the protests; however, it is not clear what specific crimes are being investigated. 2025 Source

Attempts to steal the 2020 election Repeatedly telling Secretary of State Raffensperger that he won the state of Georgia and listing numerous unfounded allegations of election fraud and wrongdoing 2020 - 2021 Knowingly making a false statement Ga. Code Ann. § 16-10-20 Active. A special grand jury has been convened in Fulton County, GA, but it is not clear precisely what criminal offenses are being investigated. According to the New York Times, "multiple allies of the former president have been told they are targets, including the state party chairman and members of the slate of fake electors." 2025 Source

Attempts to steal the 2020 election Causing or inducing validly counted votes to be altered or withheld from an official proceeding by communicating falsehoods and inaccuracies to the Georgia Secretary of State and insinuating that he and state officials were jeopardizing themselves for not uncovering election fraud 2020 - 2021 Influencing government officials to withhold or alter a record Ga. Code Ann. § 16-10-93 Active. A special grand jury has been convened in Fulton County, GA, but it is not clear precisely what criminal offenses are being investigated. According to the New York Times, "multiple allies of the former president have been told they are targets, including the state party chairman and members of the slate of fake electors." 2025 Source

Attempts to steal the 2020 election Soliciting conduct by state officials to change the election results in his favor by committing one of several felonies 2020 - 2021 Criminal solicitation of a felony (false statements and writings, false official certificates, false swearing, and/or computer trespass) Ga. Code Ann. § 16-4-7 (soliciting at least one of Ga. Code Ann. §§ 16-10-1, 16-10-20, 16-10-71, 16-10-8, 16-9-1(b), 16-9-93(b), 16-9-93(c)) Active. A special grand jury has been convened in Fulton County, GA, but it is not clear precisely what criminal offenses are being investigated. According to the New York Times, "multiple allies of the former president have been told they are targets, including the state party chairman and members of the slate of fake electors." 2025 Source Forthcoming Brookings report

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5315886&forum_id=2\u0026mark_id=5307129",#46120165)

Biden should then move to use his constitutional authority to pardon Donald Trump of all pending federal charges, and relieve special counsel Jack Smith of his duties. He should then ask New York governor Kathy Hochul to use her authority to pardon Trump for the crimes he was convicted of in New York State.

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/biden-should-pardon-trump/

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