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1. The ‘Access Hollywood’ leak -

Perhaps the first major scandal of Donald Trump’s political career broke in October 2016—a month before the election. The Washington Post shared a leaked audio recording of Trump unknowingly speaking into a hot mic while chatting to ‘Access Hollywood’ host Billy Bush back in 2005.

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Locker room talk, or self-incrimination? -

The recording reveals Trump crudely describing how he behaves with women he desires, which amounted to assault. He talks about kissing women, saying, “I don't even wait. And when you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. ... Grab 'em by the p****. You can do anything."

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Deflection tactics -

Trump apologized for his offensive comments. However, he tried to deflect attention away from himself and onto the husband of his opponent, claiming that Bill Clinton "said far worse to me on the golf course."

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2. The hush money scandal -

Given the negative press Trump was getting about his behavior with women so close to Election Day, he surely wanted to avoid any further controversy in that area. However, the night before the election, Trump’s personal attorney, Michael Cohen, reportedly sent US$130,000 to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

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The cover-up -

This massive sum was a bribe to prevent her from speaking out about their alleged affair. What’s more, the transfer was reportedly recorded as a legal expense to cover up the payoff, essentially falsifying business records and breaking New York state law.

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Election misconduct -

Cohen is alleged to have sent a further US$150,000 to model Karen McDougal (pictured) on the same night to pay for her silence about an affair she had with Trump. Investigators determined that these illegal transactions were made with the intention of influencing the election, making the crime even more serious.

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Cohen goes down -

Michael Cohen faced a litany of federal charges in relation to his time working for Trump, including his involvement in the hush money scandal. He was found guilty and sentenced to three years in federal prison. Upon his release into house arrest in 2019, he wrote a tell-all book about Trump called ‘Disloyal: A Memoir.’ In the book, he accurately predicted that Trump would try to cling to the presidency even if he lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden.

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3. Russian election interference -

Another major scandal emerged shortly after Trump became president, as rumors of Russian interference in the 2016 election began to spread. The FBI began investigating Russia’s activities and found evidence that they had used troll farms to influence millions of American voters online towards the far right, and hacked emails to sabotage Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.

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The Mueller report -

The investigation was taken over by a special counsel led by former FBI director Robert Mueller in 2017. Their investigation culminated in the 448-page Mueller report, which was published in 2019.

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Shocking revelations -

It found that Russia had undoubtedly interfered in the election and had communicated with many Trump campaign aides. However, Mueller concluded that the Trump campaign had not colluded with Russia. He did, however, present a great deal of evidence that the president had tried to obstruct justice during the investigation.

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4. The dismissal of James Comey -

The Mueller report also covered Trump’s dismissal of FBI director James Comey in May 2017. At the time, Comey was investigating the leak of Hillary Clinton’s emails by Russian hackers via WikiLeaks, but refused to publicly state that Trump and his administration were not under investigation.

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A personal grudge? -

Trump is alleged to have orchestrated the firing of Comey by pressuring others in his administration to recommend Comey’s dismissal. On May 19, Trump fired Comey, citing his handling of the investigation of the Clinton email investigation, and provided recommendations from the attorney general and deputy attorney general. Comey reportedly found out about his abrupt dismissal through news reports on TV.

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5. The resignation of Michael Flynn -

Comey wasn't the only one to bite the dust that year. The fallout of the Russian interference scandal prompted Trump’s national security advisor, Michael Flynn, to resign just 22 days after the inauguration. Flynn stepped down when it came to light that he had lied about his communications with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak.

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Convicted and pardoned -

Flynn was later charged with the felony of knowingly making false statements to the FBI in regards to his communications with Kislyak. However, Trump pardoned him on his last day in office.

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6. Trump's response to Charlottesville -

In August 2017, a white supremacist rally took place in Charlottesville, Virginia. The Unite the Right rally included many factions, from the neo-racist to Klansmen to far-right militias. They had gathered to protest the removal of a statue of General Robert E. Lee from a Charlottesville park. It quickly turned violent as protesters clashed with counter-protesters from the left, leaving 30 injured.

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Very fine people -

A state of emergency was declared as protests continued the following day. In the early afternoon, a self-identified white supremacist drove his car into a crowd of counter-protesters. He killed one woman and injured 35 others. Trump’s response added insult to injury, as he refused to condemn the violent actions of the far right, laying equal blame on “both sides” and stating there were “some very fine people on both sides.” Trump’s endorsement of the violent behavior of the far right in Virginia foreshadowed what was to come after the 2020 elections.

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7. The first impeachment -

As Trump geared up for his reelection campaign in 2019, he reportedly made a fateful phone call to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. A whistleblower revealed that Trump tried to convince Zelenskyy to announce an investigation into a conspiracy theory about presidential candidate Joe Biden, in exchange for military aid. Zelenskyy apparently refused, and Trump instructed the Pentagon to withhold a US$400 million military aid package from Ukraine.

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Abuse of power and obstruction -

A formal House inquiry was launched and it concluded that Trump had abused his presidential powers in order to influence the upcoming election. He was also accused of obstructing the inquiry by telling his staff to ignore subpoenas for documents and testimonies. In December 2019, the House voted to impeach Trump.

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The first impeachment -

Trump’s impeachment went to trial in the Senate in January 2020. If convicted, he would be removed from office. But neither the charge of abuse of power nor obstruction received enough votes to convict, so Trump was acquitted.

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8. The second impeachment -

However, the impeachment drama didn’t stop there. Just over a year later, Trump became the first US president in history to be impeached a second time. This time, it was for the incitement of an insurrection.

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Stop the Steal -

When Trump lost the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden, he and his followers launched a campaign to overturn the results. This involved Trump making accusations of voter fraud, bringing lawsuits against various states, and encouraging his supporters to reject the election results.

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The January 6 insurrection -

This famously culminated in the January 6 riots and the invasion of the Capitol building while Congress was counting the Electoral College votes to formalize Biden’s victory. Five people died during the attack, and four of the police officers who responded took their own lives in the following months.

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Second impeachment, second acquittal -

Trump was impeached for his role in inciting the insurrection just three days before the end of his term. His impeachment trial began in February, after he had left office, and, once again, the article did not receive the two-thirds majority vote to convict him.

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Trump's criminal trials -

In the years since Trump left office, he has faced numerous legal woes. In the civil courts, he lost two major lawsuits to writer E. Jean Carroll, who successfully sued him for assault and defamation. In February 2024, The Trump Organization was found guilty of fraud and ordered to pay over US$400 million. In 2024, Trump faced four separate high-profile criminal trials.

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Trial #1: Hush money -

The hush money scandal was the subject of the first of Trump’s four criminal cases. Trump denied he ever had a relationship with Stormy Daniels, but that’s not why he was in trouble. He was accused of falsifying his business records by claiming that the money he sent to his lawyer Michael Cohen to pay off the women was for legal fees. He faced 34 charges under campaign finance laws and pled not guilty to all of them.

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Trial #1: Hush money -

The hush money trial was the first of Trump’s criminal cases to go to court, and the first criminal trial of a US president. Adding to his infamy, Trump was found guilty on all 34 charges on May 30, 2024, becoming the first former president in US history to be convicted of a felony.

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Trial #1: Hush money -

Despite the conviction, on January 10, Trump was sentenced to unconditional discharge in a historic case in New York, meaning he faced no prison time, probation, or fines.

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Trial #2: The insurrection -

In August 2023, he was indicted by a grand jury on four charges for his role in the attack on the Capitol. He was charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, obstructing an official proceeding, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights. The trial was postponed, however, and prosecutors moved to dismiss it after his election victory. On November 25, 2024, the charges against Trump were dismissed.

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Trial #3: Corruption and racketeering during 2020 election -

Part of Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election results allegedly involved criminal activities in the state of Georgia. Prosecutors claimed that Trump called Georgia’s top election official after Biden won the vote there and demanded he "find 11,780 votes." Trump and 18 other defendants were hit with racketeering and corruption charges in a case brought by the state of Georgia.

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Trial #3: Corruption and racketeering during 2020 election -

A warrant was issued for Trump in August 2023. When he turned himself in, his infamous mugshot was taken. He went on to use the photo as part of his campaign for reelection in 2024. The trial was delayed indefinitely while Trump's camp attempted to disqualify the top prosecutor, but following the 2024 election, it was dismissed. 

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Trial #4: Classified documents -

Following Trump’s exit from the White House with the election of Joe Biden, the FBI raided his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida. They were looking for classified documents they believed Trump had taken illegally when he left office. A grand jury brought 40 felony counts against Trump related to the mishandling of classified documents. He was also accused of obstructing the FBI’s investigation.

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Trial #4: Classified documents -

After months of delays to the trial, District Judge Aileen Cannon made the shocking decision to dismiss the case based on the allegedly unconstitutional appointment of Jack Smith as special counsel for the federal prosecution.

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Why were his cases dismissed? -

Trump and his legal teams successfully managed to delay most of his trials until after the presidential election. His win left prosecutors in a powerless position due to the justice department policy preventing the criminal prosecution of a sitting president. 

Sources: (BBC) (Reuters) (Politico) (CNN) (ThoughtCo) (The Guardian)

See also: The secret body language of politicians

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