Trump’s Legacy: Misconduct Meets Complicity
2015-Present · Court records, government reports & investigative journalism
Purpose of this Project
This project documents misconduct, fraud, abuse of power and erosion of democratic norms by Donald Trump, his associates and the institutions that support him. It spans from the launch of his first presidential campaign through the present day, drawing on court records, government reports, legal analysis, congressional testimony and investigative journalism to assemble a record of what occurred, when it occurred and who was involved.
Read it carefully, though, because it’s not just a record of what happened. It’s a record of the checks and balances that did not. The Supreme Court ruled to allow his lawlessness and constitutional violations on several occasions. Republican lawmakers voted to acquit Trump in two impeachment trials despite substantial evidence. And through their continued inaction in the face of well-documented misconduct, they enable, support and insulate him from consequence. In the very telling words of our current vice president:
“If Watergate happened tomorrow, it would be like a 12-hour news story. The idea that it would have taken down a presidency is crazy…” -J.D. VanceAs you browse the events below, ask yourself who, at any point along the way, could have called it out or stopped it, but chose not to. Here are just a few highlights. Cabinet and judicial nominees refused under oath to acknowledge an election result that was upheld by every court in the country, choosing loyalty to Donald Trump instead of us, the people. The Supreme Court created presidential criminal immunity where none had existed before, then eliminated the primary mechanism federal courts had used to block unlawful executive action, granting Trump even more unchecked power while leaving millions of Americans without a rapid path to relief. Fox News hosts privately called election fraud claims “ludicrous” and “asinine” in internal communications while continuing to broadcast those same unsubstantiated claims to sow distrust in our elections. Trump’s FCC chair rewarded their loyalty by easing anti-monopoly restrictions so their parent company, Nexstar, could acquire Tegna and reach 80% of U.S. households. Inspectors general, the government’s primary anti-corruption watchdogs, were fired en masse, the agencies for federal employees to fight labor law violations and submit whistleblower complaints were crippled and immigration judges were systematically barred from speaking out. Republicans in Congress and the Supreme Court are aware of all of this, yet continue to protect and enable Donald Trump.
The record is damning. So, too, is the complicity.
Timeline
Most-Connected Figures
| Person | Role | Events |
|---|---|---|
| Donald Trump | 45th and 47th President of the United States | 86 |
| Rudy Giuliani | Trump's personal attorney; disbarred in NY and DC; $146M defamation verdict | 10 |
| Robert Mueller | Special Counsel for the Russia investigation (2017-2019); former FBI Director | 7 |
| Mark Meadows | White House Chief of Staff January 2020-January 2021; indicted in Georgia RICO case; central figure in January 6 and fake electors planning | 6 |
| Joe Biden | 46th President of the United States (2021-2025); Democrat; defeated Trump in the 2020 election | 6 |
| Mike Pence | Vice President 2017-2021; refused Trump's pressure to reject 2020 electoral votes on January 6; evacuated during Capitol attack | 5 |
| Sidney Powell | Attorney who promoted Dominion voting machine conspiracy theories after 2020 election; pleaded guilty in Georgia RICO case in 2023 | 4 |
| Brendan Carr | FCC Commissioner since 2017; appointed FCC Chair by Trump in January 2025; used regulatory leverage to pressure media companies | 4 |
| Jack Smith | Special Counsel (2022-2024); indicted Trump on federal election and classified documents charges | 4 |
| Jeff Sessions | U.S. Attorney General (2017-2018); first senator to endorse Trump's 2016 campaign | 3 |
Most-Involved Institutions
| Institution | Description | Events |
|---|---|---|
| DOJ | United States Department of Justice | 51 |
| Supreme Court | Supreme Court of the United States, highest federal court and final arbiter of constitutional law | 16 |
| FBI | Federal Bureau of Investigation | 13 |
| U.S. Senate | Upper chamber of the United States Congress | 8 |
| ICE | U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; principal federal agency enforcing immigration law and customs violations | 8 |
| U.S. House of Representatives | Lower chamber of the United States Congress | 7 |
| January 6 Committee | U.S. House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol (2021-2023) | 6 |
| Trump Organization | Donald Trump's privately held business conglomerate; convicted on 17 counts of tax fraud in 2022 | 6 |
| SEC | U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission; independent federal agency overseeing securities markets and protecting investors | 6 |
| Senate Intelligence Committee | U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) | 5 |
Most-Cited Sources
| Source | Type | Cited by |
|---|---|---|
| Report On The Investigation Into Russian Interference In The 2016 Presidential Election | government-filing | 9 |
| Trump GA indictment | court-document | 3 |
| Final Report Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol | congressional-record | 3 |
| Report of the Select Committee on Intelligence United States Senate on Russian Active Measures Campaigns and Interference in the 2016 U.S. Election | congressional-record | 3 |
| Revised Justice Department Policy Still Silences Immigration Judges | news-reporting | 2 |
| Knight Institute: Margolin v. National Association of Immigration Judges | news-reporting | 2 |
| United States v. Manafort (1:17-cr-00201) | court-document | 2 |
| Trump DOJ's order to drop Eric Adams case sparks mass resignations | news-reporting | 2 |
| Trump avoids punishment at hush-money sentencing | news-reporting | 2 |
| NPR Jan. 6 Archive | news-reporting | 2 |