In the law of the United States, a special master is an official appointed by a judge to ensure judicial orders are followed, or in the alternative, to hear evidence on behalf of the judge and make recommendations to the judge as to the disposition of a matter. The special master should not be confused with the traditional common law concept of a master, a judge of the High Court entrusted to deal with summary and administrative matters falling short of a full trial.
Mar-a-Lago is a resort and National Historic Landmark in Palm Beach, Florida. It spans 126 rooms and 62,500 sq ft (5,810 m2) built on 17 acres of land. Since 1985, it has been owned by former president Donald Trump, who now resides on the premises.
Mark S. Zaid is an American attorney, based in Washington, D.C., with a practice focused on national security law, freedom of speech constitutional claims, and government accountability.
Raymond Joseph Dearie is an American lawyer who is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. He also served as a judge of the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court from 2012 to 2019.
From the 1970s until he was elected president in 2016, Donald Trump and his businesses were involved in over 4,000 legal cases in United States federal and state courts, including battles with casino patrons, million-dollar real estate lawsuits, personal defamation lawsuits, and over 100 business tax disputes. He has also been accused of sexual harassment and sexual assault, with one accusation resulting in him being held civilly liable.
The following is a list of notable lawsuits involving former United States president Donald Trump. The list excludes cases that only name Trump as a legal formality in his capacity as president, such as habeas corpus requests.
Hugo Lowell is a senior political correspondent for The Guardian in Washington, D.C. He covers former President Donald Trump and the US Department of Justice, and has broken several high-profile stories. He frequently appears on MSNBC.
Aileen Mercedes Cannon is a Colombian-born American lawyer who has served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida since 2020. President Donald Trump nominated and appointed Cannon to the federal bench after confirmation by the U.S. Senate in November 2020. Cannon worked for the corporate law firm Gibson Dunn from 2009 to 2012 and was a federal prosecutor in the Southern District of Florida from 2013 to 2020.
Jenna Lynn Ellis is an American conservative lawyer who was a member of Donald Trump's 2020 re-election campaign's legal team. She is a former deputy district attorney in Weld County, Colorado. During the Trump presidency, she presented herself as a "constitutional law attorney" during cable news appearances, though The New York Times reported that her background did not reflect such expertise and The Wall Street Journal reported that she had no history in any federal cases.
Christina Bobb is an American lawyer, television personality and Republican Party official. She gained prominence for her television promotion of president Donald Trump and involvement in attempts to overturn the 2020 U.S. presidential election, and promotion of the false allegation that the election had been stolen from Trump by fraud. She was involved in the FBI investigation into Donald Trump's handling of government documents. Prior to working as a Trump attorney, she was an executive secretary for the Department of Homeland Security and in 2020 became an anchor at One America News Network, a far-right, pro-Trump cable channel. The Republican National Committee named Bobb to lead its election integrity program in March 2024. Bobb and seventeen other Arizona Republicans and Trump associates were indicted in April 2024 for their alleged involvement in the Trump fake electors plot to subvert the 2020 presidential election.
The United States Justice Department investigation into attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election began in early 2021 with investigations and prosecutions of hundreds of individuals who participated in the January 6, 2021 attack on the United States Capitol. By early 2022, the investigation had expanded to examine Donald Trump's inner circle, with the Justice Department impaneling several federal grand juries to investigate the attempts to overturn the election. Later in 2022, a special counsel was appointed. On August 1, 2023, Trump was indicted. The indictment also describes six alleged co-conspirators.
On August 8, 2022, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) executed a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago, the residence of former U.S. president Donald Trump in Palm Beach, Florida.
Plasmic Echo was the codename for a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) criminal investigation into former President Donald Trump's handling of classified and national defense-related government documents beginning in 2022, looking for possible violations of the Espionage Act and obstruction of justice.
An ongoing special counsel investigation was opened by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland on November 18, 2022, to continue two investigations initiated by the Justice Department (DOJ) regarding former U.S. President Donald Trump. Garland appointed Jack Smith, a longtime federal prosecutor, to lead the independent investigations. Smith was tasked with investigating Trump's role in the January 6 United States Capitol attack and Trump's mishandling of government records, including classified documents.
Donald J. Trump v. United States of America, was a lawsuit filed on August 22, 2022, by former U.S. president Donald Trump in the Southern District of Florida. He sought the appointment of a special master to review materials seized on August 8, 2022, during the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago, a part of the investigation into Donald Trump's handling of government documents.
Christopher Michael Kise is an American lawyer who served as the second Solicitor General of Florida from 2003 to 2006.
Matthew Evan Corcoran is an American former federal prosecutor who became a white-collar crime defense attorney, and who gained prominence due to his role in the FBI investigation into Donald Trump's handling of government documents as Donald Trump's attorney.
United States of America v. Donald J. Trump, Waltine Nauta, and Carlos De Oliveira was a federal criminal case against Donald Trump, the 45th president of the United States, Walt Nauta, his personal aide and valet, and Mar-a-Lago maintenance chief Carlos De Oliveira. The grand jury indictment brought 40 felony counts against Trump related to his alleged mishandling of classified documents after his presidency, to which he pleaded not guilty. The case marks the first federal indictment of a former U.S. president.
Waltine Torre Nauta Jr. is an American valet and body man to former U.S. president Donald Trump. He is a defendant in a criminal case over violations of the Espionage Act and related offenses. While a petty officer in the U.S. Navy, he was Trump's valet at the White House. After Trump's term ended, Nauta continued to work for him at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club and residence.
Stanley Edmund Woodward Jr. is an American attorney with Brand Woodward Law. His clients have included those subpoenaed or convicted for the January 6 United States Capitol attack, and aides to Donald Trump.
