A Rolling List of the Times Trump Disregarded the Law

The president’s efforts to get Ukraine and China to go after Joe Biden are just the latest examples of him showing disrespect for the law

Displayed on a monitor, U.S. President Donald Trump addresses the UN General Assembly at UN headquarters on September 24, 2019. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

President Trump is now facing a House impeachment inquiry over statements revealed by an intelligence agency whistleblower. But it’s hardly the first time his respect for the law has been questioned — including by former senior administration officials.

Those who say Trump told them to do things that break the law or wanted policies undertaken that are illegal include former Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, former White House counsel Don McGahn, and even Native American tribal leaders who met the president on routine visits to the White House.

According to former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, this is typical Trump behavior.

“So often, the president would say, ‘Here’s what I want to do, and here’s how I want to do it,’” Tillerson said in December. “I would have to say to him, ‘Mr. President, I understand what you want to do, but you can’t do it that way. It violates the law.’”

Ahead, we look at 10 instances where Trump sought to break the law or encouraged others to do so, according to those who worked for or met with him, as well as his own public statements.

(Editor’s Note: This list will be updated as more instances make themselves known.)

Asking a foreign leader to investigate a political rival

During a call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky in July, Trump asked the Ukrainian president to investigate potential 2020 rival Joe Biden and his son Hunter, possibly in exchange for continued military aid essential to the country’s ongoing conflict with Russia. (A summary of the call released by the White House seems to confirm this.) This request not only potentially constitutes a violation of campaign finance law but could also qualify as bribery — a high crime specifically laid out in the U.S. Constitution as sufficient cause for impeaching a president.

And on Thursday, Trump openly called for China to investigate the Bidens. “China should start an investigation into the Bidens. Because what happened in China is just about as bad as what happened with Ukraine,” the president told reporters on Thursday.”

Delivering a message

Trump instructed his former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski to tell former Attorney General Jeff Sessions he should publicly decry the Mueller investigation as “very unfair” to the president. Per the Mueller report, “in another private meeting with Lewandowski on July 19, 2017, the President asked about the status of his message for Sessions to limit the Special Counsel investigation to future election interference. Lewandowski told the President that the message would be delivered soon.” However, Lewandowski never relied the message to Sessions. This type of backchanneling was noted in the Mueller report as one of several potential instances of obstruction of justice.

Rushing to get the wall built

“Take the land,” the president reportedly told aides as he pushed to get a border wall built in advance of the 2020 election, dangling the prospect of a presidential pardon if they had to break laws to achieve that goal. “Don’t worry, I’ll pardon you,” he said, according to the Washington Post. Some of the directions Trump gave aides involved rushing construction contracts for the project and working around environmental regulations, such as impact studies.

Banning asylum seekers

Trump asked former Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen to close the ports of entry along the U.S.-Mexico border and block migrants from seeking asylum, in violation of the Refugee Act of 1980. Nielsen refused to follow his orders, arguing the move would be illegal and would end lawful trade and travel. According to CNN, Trump reportedly responded, “I don’t care.” Nielsen resigned shortly after.

Closing the border

The president asked Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Kevin McAleenan, then the U.S. Customs and Border Protection commissioner, to shut down the border and block migrants from coming into the United States, again in violation of the Refugee Act of 1980. Trump added that he would give McAleenan a presidential pardon if he faced any legal consequences. An official briefed on the exchange told CNN that the president said the pardon would come “if [McAleenan] ever went to jail for denying U.S. entry to migrants.”

Shooting at migrants

The president suggested in November 2018 that migrants who throw rocks at the troops stationed at the U.S.-Mexico border should be shot. “Consider it a rifle,” he said. “When they throw rocks like they did at the Mexico military police, consider it a rifle.” The suggestions violate Border Patrol and military policies on engagement with unarmed civilians. Trump later backtracked his comments, as he often does, saying he meant the migrants should be arrested.

Getting rid of Mueller

Trump directed former White House counsel Don McGahn to remove Special Counsel Robert Mueller shortly after he was appointed. After the New York Times reported on the exchange in early 2018, Trump asked McGahn to fabricate evidence. “The President then directed [then–White House official Rob] Porter to tell McGahn to create a record to make clear that the President never directed McGahn to fire the Special Counsel,” the Mueller report says. “McGahn shrugged off the request, explaining that the media reports were true.”

Ignoring federal regulations

At a meeting with Native American tribal leaders in June 2017, Trump encouraged them to ignore federal regulations preventing them from drilling for energy resources in their land. “Now it’s me. The government’s different now,” Trump told them, according to Axios. “Obama’s gone, and we’re doing things differently here…So what I’m saying is, just do it.”

Assassinating a foreign leader

The president told former Secretary of Defense James Mattis that he wanted to assassinate Syrian President Bashar al-Assad after the dictator launched a chemical attack on his own people in April 2017. “Let’s fucking kill him! Let’s go in. Let’s kill the fucking lot of them,” Trump said, according to journalist Bob Woodward. Mattis didn’t follow through with the order, since carrying out assassinations of foreign leaders is illegal.

Beating up protesters

In 2016, Trump encouraged his supporters to beat up protesters at his rallies. “If you see somebody getting ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out of them, would you?” he said. “Seriously, okay? Just knock the hell — I promise you, I will pay for the legal fees. I promise. I promise. They won’t be so much, because the courts agree with us too — what’s going on in this country.” A month later, Trump said he was considering paying the legal fees of a man who punched a protester at a Chicago rally. Physical assault is a crime.