The following is a list of notable lawsuits involving United States president Donald Trump during his first presidency. The list excludes cases that only name Trump as a legal formality in his capacity as president, such as habeas corpus requests.
On August 1, 2023, Trump was indicted by a federal grand jury on four criminal conspiracy and obstruction charges related to attempts to overturn the 2020 election.
On August 14, 2023, he was indicted by a state grand jury in Georgia on 13 criminal charges also related to attempts to obstruct the 2020 election.
Trump as plaintiff
Lawsuits concerning Trump's financial and tax information Trump et al. v. Mazars et al.The U.S. House of Representatives had subpoenaed the Mazars accounting firm to provide Trump's tax returns. Trump appealed to keep his financial information private. In July 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court decided 7–2 to send the case back to evaluate the worthiness of the subpoena request. The case was not resolved before the 2020 elections. The Congressional subpoenas related to these cases expired with the end of the 116th Congress on January 3, 2021 and were reissued in the 117th Congress on February 23, 2021. Trump et al. v. Deutsche Bank et al.Appeal lawsuit against the Deutsche Bank and Capital One Bank, seeking to prevent them from complying with the subpoenas issued to the company for Trump's, his adult children's, and his businesses' financial records. The subpoenas had been issued by the House Financial Services and Intelligence committees. The Supreme Court consolidated the case with Trump v. Mazars. Trump v. VanceIn July 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7–2 that the State of New York could issue a grand-jury subpoena of the President's financial records. The request was determined not to violate Article II or the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution. After the court's ruling, Trump's team filed two legal complaints, both of which were rejected. Donald J. Trump v. Committee on Ways and Means, et al.Case in D.C. court challenging the New York TRUST Act, which gives Congress the right to obtain tax information on New York residents. Case dismissed on November 11, 2019. Donald J. Trump v. Mary L. Trump, et al.On September 22, 2021, Trump commenced a lawsuit in New York state court against The New York Times, several journalists and his niece, Mary L. Trump, for a 2018 article detailing his taxes and finances, which he claimed violated a 2001 settlement agreement signed by Mary. Trump sought at least $100 million in damages. In May 2023, the lawsuit was dismissed. In January 2024, the court ordered Trump to pay the newspaper and three of its reporters over $392,000 for legal fees. Donald J. Trump and Trump Organization, LLC v. Letitia James in her official capacity as Attorney General for the State of New YorkOn December 20, 2021, this complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief was filed in federal court against New York Attorney General Letitia James. It accused James of misconduct, by claiming that her involvement in the investigations into Trump and his corporation was motivated by a desire to target a political adversary and advance her career. The federal court dismissed Trump's lawsuit on . Trump immediately appealed on , then dropped his appeal on .
Lawsuits concerning the United States Census Trump v. New YorkOn September 22, 2020, Trump sought an emergency action from the Supreme Court to rule on the matter before the results of the Census were due by December 31, 2020. On December 18, 2020, the Supreme Court dismissed the case. Trump v. UsecheOn November 13, 2020, Trump sought an emergency action from the Supreme Court to rule on the matter before the results of the Census were due by December 31, 2020. On December 28, 2020, the Supreme Court ruled the case should be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.
Lawsuits filed by the Trump campaign Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. v. Northland Television, LLC – Lawsuit brought by the Trump campaign against a Wisconsin TV station for airing an advertisement criticizing the U.S. federal government response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Dismissed in federal court after the election for lack of standing. Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. v. WP Company LLC d/b/a Washington Post Dismissed in February 2023. Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. v. CNNCase dismissed in November 2020. Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. v. New York Times – The suit alleged that an op-ed piece in the Times titled The Real Trump-Russia Quid Pro Quo was defamatory. The case was dismissed in March 2021. Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. v. Bucks County Bd. of Elections – Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled in favor of Defendants. Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. v. Toulouse Oliver – Dismissed on February 2, 2021, in the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico. Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. v. Bullock – The United States District Court for the District of Montana ruled against the Trump campaign, reasoning that the threat of "widespread voter fraud... is a fiction."
Trump's racketeering lawsuit against Hillary Clinton, the DNC, and others
On March 24, 2022, Trump sued Hillary Clinton, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and 26 others, alleging that they "maliciously conspired to weave a false narrative that their Republican opponent, Donald J Trump, was colluding with a hostile foreign sovereignty [Russia]" during the 2016 presidential election, and that Trump had lost at least $24 million as a result. In the RICO lawsuit, he asked for a jury trial and $72 million in damages.
In September, U.S. District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks dismissed the suit, stating that it "ignored existing laws, U.S. Supreme Court precedent, and basic legal theory". The judge also wrote in a footnote that Trump had the lawsuit filed in the federal courthouse in Fort Pierce, Florida, which has only one federal judge, district judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee. Trump appealed the decision on October 11.
On November 2, Clinton and the other defendants filed a motion in the district court asking for sanctions against Trump's attorneys and to make Trump pay their legal bills of more than $1 million. On January 19, 2023, judge Middlebrooks sanctioned Trump and his attorney, Alina Habba, $938,000 to cover the legal costs for the 31 defendants Trump cited in the suit. Middlebrooks wrote, in part:Here, we are confronted with a lawsuit that should never have been filed, which was completely frivolous, both factually and legally, and which was brought in bad faith for an improper purpose. Mr. Trump is a prolific and sophisticated litigant who is repeatedly using the courts to seek revenge on political adversaries. He is the mastermind of strategic abuse of the judicial process, and he cannot be seen as a litigant blindly following the advice of a lawyer.On February 3, 2023, Trump offered to post a $1.03 million bond to appeal the judgment. On February 27, 2024, Trump filed an appeal with the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, asking to remove the sanctions and reinstate the original lawsuit. On November 26, 2025, the 11th Circuit denied the appeal.
Lawsuits regarding the January 6, 2021, attack Trump v. Thompson, the United States House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the United States Capitol et al.On October 18, 2021, Trump sued to block the release of White House records related to the January 6, 2021, riot. The lawsuit claimed that the House committee was illegitimate and that its request for the records was a partisan sham. On January 19, 2022, the Supreme Court denied Trump's request without providing a reason. The next day, the National Archives and Records Administration released the White House documents to the committee. Trump v. the United States House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the United States Capitol et al.On November 11, 2022, Trump sued the January 6 Committee to block a subpoena to testify before the committee. Trump did not testify, and the committee dissolved when the new Congress convened on January 3, 2023.
Lawsuits for breach of contract On April 12, 2023, Trump sued his former attorney, Michael Cohen, for breach of contract. Trump sought $500 million in damages. On July 31, 2023, Cohen's attorneys called Trump to sit for a deposition on September 6. At a hearing on September 5, the deposition was moved to October 3. On October 5, after the deposition was delayed, a Trump attorney filed to dismiss the lawsuit without prejudice (meaning it could later be resumed).
Defamation lawsuits
On October 3, 2022, Trump sued CNN in the Southern District of Florida, alleging that "CNN has sought to use its massive influence—purportedly as a 'trusted' news source—to defame the Plaintiff in the minds of its viewers and readers for the purpose of defeating him politically." Trump's lawyers alleged CNN personalities used the term Big Lie to associate him with Adolf Hitler and sought $475 million in punitive damages. On June 16, 2023, attorney Jim Trusty, who formerly represented Trump in the federal prosecution against him for allegedly mishandling confidential documents, also requested permission to withdraw from the CNN case, citing "irreconcilable differences" with his client. Florida federal judge Raag Singhal dismissed the lawsuit in July 2023. On November 18, 2025, a Federal appeals court denied Trump’s appeal, calling his arguments “meritless.”
Trump as defendant
Lawsuits concerning the United States Constitution Lawsuits alleging violations of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution Knight First Amendment Institute v. Trump CNN v. Trump U.S. WeChat Users Alliance v. Trump Lawsuits alleging violations of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution Department of Homeland Security v. Regents of the University of California (the DACA lawsuit) New York v. Trump (another DACA lawsuit) Vidal v. Nielsen (another DACA lawsuit) Lawsuit alleging violations of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution Stone v. Trump Lawsuits alleging violations of the Foreign Emoluments Clause of the United States Constitution CREW v. Trump D.C. and Maryland v. Trump Blumenthal v. Trump U.S. Constitutional case law lawsuit filed by the United States House Committee on the Judiciary to compel the testimony of former White House Counsel Donald F. McGahn Jr. under subpoena. In re: Don McGahn
Lawsuits concerning executive orders and presidential proclamations and memorandums Legal challenges to Executive Order 13768, regarding sanctuary cities City and County of San Francisco v. Trump City of Chelsea v. Trump Legal challenges to Executive Order 13769, regarding temporary immigration restrictions Aziz v. Trump Darweesh v. Trump Doe v. Trump Louhghalam v. Trump Mohammed v. United States Sarsour v. Trump Washington v. Trump Legal challenges to Executive Order 13780, a revised order on temporary immigration restrictions Hawaii v. Trump International Refugee Assistance Project v. Trump Washington v. Trump Legal challenges to Temporary Protected Status changes Bhattarai v. Nielsen Ramos v. Nielsen Legal challenge to Presidential Proclamation "Addressing Mass Migration Through the Southern Border of the United States" ("Proclamation") 83 Fed. Reg. 57,661, which expressly invokes East Bay Sanctuary Covenant v. Trump Lawsuits concerning TikTok TikTok v. Trump Lawsuits regarding Presidential Memorandum on Military Service by Transgender Individuals by Donald Trump (August 25, 2017) Jane Doe v. Trump Stone v. Trump Karnoski v. Trump Stockman v. Trump Lawsuit challenging Executive Order 14160, regarding birthright citizenship and the 14th Amendment (2025) State of Washington v. Trump (2025)
Lawsuits concerning legal violations
Lawsuit alleging violations of compliance with a grand jury empaneled by Robert Mueller in the Special counsel investigation