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 was indicted Thursday by a New York grand jury that had been hearing evidence about money paid to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign.
Fifty years of investigations on Trump, visualized
April 1, 2023 at 6:00 a.m. EDT
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.
2019-2020
Trump is impeached and acquitted over
allegations that he solicited foreign
interference in the 2016
U.S. presidential election.
2021
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.
2019-2020
Trump is impeached and acquitted over allegations that he solicited foreign interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
2021
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.
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.