About Jim Zirin

Jim Zirin is author of three books, the latest of which is Plaintiff in Chief-Portrait of Donald Trump in 3500 Lawsuits. He is host of the critically acclaimed television talk show, Conversations with Jim Zirin, which can be seen weekly throughout the New York metropolitan area, and on PBS stations nationwide.

In an early review of Plaintiff in Chief, Kirkus Reviews praised the “unique approach to the continuing deconstruction of the Trumpian edifice,” adding that “former federal prosecutor Zirin pieces together a highly damning portrait of Donald Trump as a serial abuser of the law. The book is so incriminating not only because of the author’s credentials, but also because the details are grounded in lawsuits filed by Trump, against Trump, or, in some instances, cross-filed by the opposing parties.” 

Plaintiff in Chief:

A Portrait of Donald Trump in 3,500 Lawsuits

A comprehensive analysis of Donald Trump’s legal history reveals his temperament, methods, character, and morality.

Unlike all previous presidents who held distinguished positions in government or the military prior to entering office, Donald Trump’s political worldview was molded in the courtroom. He sees law not as a system of rules to be obeyed and ethical ideals to be respected, but as a weapon to be used against his adversaries or a hurdle to be sidestepped when it gets in his way. He has weaponized the justice system throughout his career, and he has continued to use these backhanded tactics as Plaintiff in Chief.

In this book, distinguished New York attorney James D. Zirin presents Trump’s lengthy litigation history as an indication of his character and morality, and his findings are chilling: if you partner with Donald Trump, you will probably wind up litigating with him. If you enroll in his university or buy one of his apartments, chances are you will want your money back. If you are a woman and you get too close to him, you may need to watch your back. If you try to sue him, he’s likely to defame you. If you make a deal with him, you had better get it in writing. If you are a lawyer, an architect, or even his dentist, you’d better get paid up front. If you venture an opinion that publicly criticizes him, you may be sued for libel.

A window into the president’s dark legal history, Plaintiff in Chief is as informative as it is disturbing.

Jim Zirin

Conversations with Jim Zirin

Hosted by prominent attorney Jim Zirin (author of three books, and contributor to the Washington Post, Time, Forbes, The Times of London, The Hill, Bill Moyers and the LA Times), Conversations is a widely acclaimed and nationally syndicated TV talk show discussing politics, foreign relations, national security and the arts. Its estimated viewing audience exceeds two million people. The program, now in its sixteenth year, airs in the New York metropolitan area six times each week on CUNY-TV.

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Who Will Be the Next President?

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Jim Zirin

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Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School

Op-Ed Archive

NATO’s Nervous New World

Washington Monthly, November 19, 2024

Moldova just rejected Putin and chose a future with the West. What did America just choose?

The Hill, November 6, 2024

Don’t let Trump drag America ‘back to before’

The Hill, November 5, 2024

From President to Convict

Washington Monthly, October 29, 2024

Imagining Trump with a Republican-Controlled Congress and the Roberts Court

Washington Monthly, October 28, 2024

How Kamala Harris Can Finish Strong Against Donald Trump

Washington Monthly, October 18, 2024

The Supreme Court seems inclined to let Richard Glossip be executed

The Hill, October 13, 2024

Has Jack Smith botched the Trump indictments?

The Hill, October 7, 2024

As a New Supreme Court Term Begins, Even Some Conservatives Are Running from Samuel Alito

Washington Monthly, October 7, 2024

Mayor Adams’s Turkish delights

The Hill, October 3, 2024

Harris needs to take off the gloves

The Hill, September 28, 2024

What Is Going on With Georgia’s Board of Elections?

Washington Monthly, September 24, 2024

The supremely partisan court of Chief Justice Roberts

The Hill, September 20, 2024

In last week’s debate, Trump showed his true character

The Hill, September 17, 2024

Harris cleaned Trump’s clock

The Hill, September 11, 2024

A Lot of People Underestimated Harris

Washington Monthly, September 10, 2024

The special counsel’s superseding indictment of Trump likely won’t pass muster

The Hill, September 5, 2024

Trump Sues the Justice Department for $100 Million

The Nation, August 27, 2024

The Hill, August 26, 2024

Why the Supreme Court punted on regulating social media

The Hill, August 20, 2024

Harris rally crowds should not be chanting ‘lock him up’

The Hill, August 13, 2024

Inside the MAGA Bubble, A Child’s Rape Was Ridiculed, Demagogued

Washington Monthly, August 13, 2024

Trump’s Slur of Harris—“Is She Indian or Is She Black?”—Echoes a Creepy Episode From His Past

Washington Monthly, August 7, 2024

Judging Biden’s Supreme Court reform plan

The Hill, August 1, 2024

The Perpetrator and the Prosecutor

Washington Monthly, July 29, 2024

Washington Monthly, July 22, 2024

Here’s how to reform US Supreme Court to counter political bias

London Times, July, 18, 2024

Chief Justice Roberts’s Rule of Disorder: Where the Trump Legal Cases Stand

Washington Monthly, July 17, 2024

Trump, long comfortable with political violence, becomes another victim

The Hill, July 15, 2024

Project 2025, Trump’s forsworn manifesto

The Hill, July 9, 2024

Can the president be officially criminal?

The Hill, July 5, 2024

This Horrible Supreme Court Term

Washington Monthly, July 2, 2024

The Supreme Court has crowned the president king

The Hill, July 2, 2024

Biden lacked oomph but the transcript tells a different tale

The Hill, June 29, 2024

Washington Monthly, June 27, 2024

Alito is a partisan, radical conservative

The Hill, June 12, 2024

The moral hypocrisy of Trump’s GOP enablers

The Hill, June 10, 2024

Trump was convicted by a jury of his peers

The Hill, June 5, 2024

Will Donald Trump End Up Behind Bars?

Washington Monthly, June 3, 2024

The verdict of history: Trump is guilty

The Hill, May 31, 2024

Trump’s Sordid Case Goes to the Jury

Washington Monthly, May 29, 2024

Who will hang next week, Trump or the jury?

The Hill, May 27, 2024

Justice Alito lets his freak flag fly

The Hill, May 20, 2024

Jack Smith’s Original Sin

Washington Monthly, May 17, 2024

Will Trump take the stand?

The Hill, May 16, 2024

In Cohen vs. Trump, which liar will the jury believe?

The Hill, May 14, 2024

Will the Supreme Court crown King Donald?

The Hill, April 27, 2024

Trump’s moaning about being forced off the campaign trail is nonsense

The Hill, April 24, 2024

Why the Trump Trial is Like a Bullfight

Washington Monthly, April 22, 2024

Picking a jury in Manhattan: The art of the feel

The Hill, April 17, 2024

The trials of O.J. and Trump — a study in parallels

The Hill, April 14, 2024

Trump’s Failed Recusal Gambit

Washington Monthly, April 9. 2024

Judge Merchan vs. Roy Cohn’s protege

The Hill, April 5, 2024

Trump’s attacks on judges and their families threaten us all

The Hill, April 1, 2024

The Roberts Court Really Could Give Trump Blanket Immunity

Washington Monthly, March 26, 2024

The end of the Fani Willis affair

The Hill, March 16, 2024

How the Justice Department’s Trump Prosecution Ran Aground

Washington Monthly, March 12, 2024

Trump wins again in the MAGA Supreme Court

The Hill, March 5, 2024

Is it time for Jack Smith to throw in the towel on prosecuting Trump?

The Hill, March 4, 2024

Has the Supreme Court gone ga-ga or MAGA?

The Hill, February 29, 2024

Why Hur’s Gratuitous Smear of Biden Is a Study in Prosecutorial Abuse

Washington Monthly, February 14, 2024

Rocky Mountain low: Colorado’s lawyer didn’t get it right before the Supreme Court

The Hill, February 9, 2024

Can Andrew Cuomo Really Make a Political Comeback?

Washington Monthly, February 6, 2024

Can Trump delay his legal reckoning past Election Day?

The Hill, February 4, 2024

If the conservative justices actually believe in originalism, they must disqualify Trump

The Hill, February 1, 2024

Trump and Giuliani Can’t Easily Wiggle Out of Defamation Payments

Washington Monthly, January 21, 2024

With Trump’s victory in Iowa, we’re inching toward autocracy

The Hill, January 18, 2024

Trump the Autocrat at the Counsel Table

Washington Monthly, January 13, 2024

Trump’s immunity appeal was both laughable and frightening

The Hill, January 10, 2024

To disqualify or not to disqualify: The Supreme Court confronts the ‘laugh test’

The Hill, January 8, 2024

Will Trump’s disqualification case be Bush v. Gore for 2024?

The Hill, January 2, 2024

Can Trump delay his legal reckoning past Election Day?

The Hill, February 4, 2024

If the conservative justices actually believe in originalism, they must disqualify Trump

The Hill, February 1, 2024

Trump and Giuliani Can’t Easily Wiggle Out of Defamation Payments

Washington Monthly, January 21, 2024

With Trump’s victory in Iowa, we’re inching toward autocracy

The Hill, January 18, 2024

Trump the Autocrat at the Counsel Table

Washington Monthly, January 13, 2024

Trump’s immunity appeal was both laughable and frightening

The Hill, January 10, 2024

To disqualify or not to disqualify: The Supreme Court confronts the ‘laugh test’

The Hill, January 8, 2024

Will Trump’s disqualification case be Bush v. Gore for 2024?

The Hill, January 2, 2024

Will Trump’s Disqualification Turn on Whether an 1869 Case Was Wrongly Decided?

Washington Monthly, December 27, 2023

Is the Colorado decision a Rocky Mountain high?

The Hill, December 20, 2023

Can Trump Delay His Way Out of Criminal Convictions?

Washington Monthly, December 19, 2023

Do You Oppose Jewish Genocide? ‘It Depends’ Is Not the Right Answer

The Messenger, December 14, 2023

Is a president immune from prosecution? The Supreme Court will decide

The Hill, December 11, 2023

Trump’s ‘similar acts’ unveiled before his election interference trial

The Hill, December 7, 2023

Santos, Menendez, Trump: The ethics mirage in Washington

The Hill, December 4, 2023

Hunter Biden’s Offer to Give Public Testimony — Risky Bluff or Smart Strategy?

The Messenger, November 29, 2023

After the January 6 Attack, How Can Trump Remain on the Ballot?

Washington Monthly, November 20, 2023

Has Trump Gone Even Crazier?

Washington Monthly, November 17, 2023

Trump wants to turn the government into a weapon for personal revenge

The Hill, November 13, 2023

Could Trump’s delay-at-all-costs legal strategy actually work?

The Hill, November 8, 2023

Trump 2.0: Trump’s Justice end game

The Hill, November 6, 2023

A strong libel case against Netflix and Ava Duvernay

The Hill, October 15, 2023

Can Trump conceivably beat the legal clock–and the rap?

The Hill, October 9, 2023

Is the New York fraud suit against Trump biased?

The Hill, October 5, 2023

The removal dilemma: Trump’s fatal choice

The Hill, October 2, 2023

It’s Good to Be a Judge. For Some, a Little Too Good.

Washington Monthly, October 1, 2023

A ‘murder of lawyers’ argues about Trump and the 14th Amendment

The Hill, September 27, 2023

Senator Menendez and the Presumption of Innocence

The Messenger, September 27, 2023

All the president’s henchmen

The Hill, September 17, 2023

Does the Constitution disqualify Trump from running for president?

Trump ‘Looks Forward’ to Testifying. Will He Be His Own Worst Witness?

The Messenger, September 11, 2023

Why Trump must drop out

The Hill, September 5, 2023

Confused about Trump’s legal problems? Read this.

The Hill, August 30, 2023

Donald Trump’s Mug Shot Moment: Can He Keep the Old Gang Together?

The Messenger, August 28, 2023

Can Trump’s co-defendants make a federal case out of the Georgia indictment?

The Hill, August 22, 2023

What Will It Take for GOP to Decide It’s Time to Rid Itself of Donald Trump?

The Messenger, August 18, 2023

Will the Prosecution of Trump Have Terrible Consequences?

Washington Monthly, August 15, 2023

Trump says he has blanket immunity. Not so fast.

The Hill, August 15, 2023

Two-Tiered Justice, or Vindicating the Rule of Law?

The Messenger, August 5, 2023

Trump’s Free Speech Defense is Unlikely to Prevail

Washington Monthly, August 2, 2023

Yet another Hunter ‘bombshell’ is a dud

The Hill, August 2, 2023

Hunter’s ‘Humpty Dumpty’ Plea Deal: Why It broke and What’s Next

The Messenger, July 29, 2023

What’s in a trial date?

The Hill, July 25, 2023

How Serious is the Authoritarian Threat Here and Abroad?

Washington Monthly, July 24, 2023

“Diet Coke Valet” is the Tail Wagging the Dog in Trump Documents Case

The Messenger, July 15, 2023

How to bring Putin to justice

The Hill, July 10, 2023

Which Will be Tougher: Picking a Trump Trial Date or Proving the Case?

The Messenger, June 28, 2023

“What about Hunter Biden?’ We now have the answer

The Hill, June 21, 2023

Cannon Fodder: The Judge in the Trump Documents Case Sets An Early Trial Date, But That’s Not Happening

Washington Monthly, June 20, 2023

How Trump ended up with Judge Cannon

The Hill, June 16, 2023

How Delay and Recusal Might Save Trump

Washington Monthly, June 12, 2023

Is There Life After Indictment for Donald Trump?

The Messenger, June 9, 2023

Chris Licht’s big mistakes

The Hill, June 7, 2023

What’s keeping Jack Smith?

The Hill, June 5, 2023

Tom Hanks, Donald Trump, and the End of Truth

Washington Monthly, May 20, 2023

Trump’s Next Indictment: Just a Question of ‘What’ and ‘When’

The Messenger, May 26 2023

Durham Report Didn’t Vindicate Trump, and It Missed the True ‘Crime of the Century’

The Messenger, May 21, 2023

Only Republicans Want to Push Us Into Default

The Nation, May 17, 2023

Trump, Santos and our calamitous-ish political landscape

The Hill, May 12, 2023

To testify or not to testify: Trump’s fateful choice

The Hill, May 8, 2023

The latest stench in the Supreme Court

The Hill, May 2, 2023

The Reversal of Trump’s Fortunes

Washington Monthly, April 28, 2023

Reform hope after US justice embroiled in gifts scandal

London Times April 27, 2023

Why is everyone trashing Alvin Bragg?

The Hill April 22, 2023

Clarence Thomas’s Vacation Scandal Shouldn’t Fade From Memory

Washington Monthly, April 13, 2023

Rep. Jim Jordan’s New York sideshow: The House Judiciary Committee chairman’s phony factfinding trip to Manhattan

Daily News, April 12, 2023

Trump indictment: The odds are in Alvin Bragg’s favor

The Hill, April 6, 2023

‘Teflon Don’ no more

The Hill, March 31, 2023

What Happens if Trump is Indicted?

Town & Country, March 23, 2023

The first indictment

The Hill, March 20, 2023

Indict Donald Trump over Stormy Daniels payoff? Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s dilemma

Daily News, March 15, 2023

Term Limits for Supreme Court Justices Solves a Lot of Problems

Washington Monthly, March 13, 2023

Pence to Trump: I Just Can’t Quit You

Washington Monthly, February 28, 2023

George Santos: A grifter in the American tradition

The Hill, February 17, 2023

Prosecutors seek a rat in Trumpville

The Hill, February 6, 2023

Trump’s tall tale of the tape

The Hill, February 1, 2023

Has Merrick Garland Outmaneuvered Himself?

Washington Monthly, January 27, 2023

Was Alec Baldwin reckless?

The Hill, January 23, 2023

Delay Has Already Weakened Garland’s Case Against Trump

Washington Monthly, January 18, 2023

The sell-out and the speech

The Hill, January 16, 2023

The Biden papers and the Mar-a-Lago documents: Apples and oranges?

The Hill, January 11, 2023

Mr. Santos goes to Washington

The Hill, January 3, 2023

When is it a crime not to remember?

Daily News, January 1, 2023

How Big a Deal Is the January 6th Committee’s Criminal Referral?

Washington Monthly, December 21, 2022

What Will the Manhattan D.A. Do Next with Trump?

Washington Monthly, December 12, 2022

What happened to the investigation into the Dobbs draft leak?

The Hill, December 3, 2022

Will Alvin Bragg get the Trump bragging rights?

The Hill, November 27, 2022

To indict or not to indict, that is the question

The Hill, November 20, 2022

Mr. Attorney General, the time to indict Trump is now

Daily News, November 15, 2022

Do we really need a special counsel to indict Trump?

The Hill, November 6.2022

A Primer on Trump’s Legal Woes

Washington Monthly, November 2, 2022

The midterms: Between the election and the agenda falls the shadow

October 30, The Hill

Is the Supreme Court about to make another political decision?

October 21, 2022, The Hill

Great Britain’s Conservatives Are Screwing Up The Economy

October 6, 2022, Washington Monthly

Britain’s economic slump: Does the fault lie with Brexit?

September 30, 2022, The Hill

Can Garland Keep Donald Trump From Office?

September 27, 2022, Washington Monthly

Has Garland screwed up the Mar-a-Lago case?

September 13, 2022, The Hill

Indict Trump Over Mar-A-Lago Documents? Don’t Indict? There’s a Third Option

September 7, 2022, Washington Monthly

Is the Mar-a-Lago case doomed?

September 7, 2022, The Hill

Who is more likely to be indicted-Donald Trump or Hunter Biden

August 26, 2022, The Hill

A tribute to a great prosecutor

August 23, 2022, Daily News

Can Trump be disqualified from running for president?

August 10, 2022, The Hill

Abortion: The litigation that will not go away

August 4, 2022, The Hill

The Supreme Court’s Originalist Obsession Continues

July 29, 2022, Washington Monthly

The government calls Pat Cipollone

July 28, 2022, The Hill

There’s more than. enough evidence to charge Trump with seditious conspiracy

July 26, 2022, Daily News

Is New York about to become the Wild West?

July 15, 2022, The Hill

Dark Skies Over Scotus

July 3, 2022, History News Network

The challenge of prosecuting Trump

June 20, 2022, The Hill

Trump’s Involvement in the January 6 Conspiracy Is Easy to Prove

June 12, 2022, History News Network

In America, the rule of law remains elusive

June 5, 2022, Daily News

There Oughta Be a Law

June 5, 2022, History News Network

Is the spike in gas prices good for America?

May 23, 2022, The Hill

If the US bans abortion, what rights will be axed next?

May 19, 2022, The Times (London)

A draft, a leak and an inflection point in Supreme Court history

May 4, 2022, The Hill

A tale of two would-be prosecutions: Donald Trump and Hunter Biden

May 3, 2022, Daily News

Did trump ‘entrap’ the Jan. 6 rioters?

April 15, 2022, The Hill

On “Smoking Guns”-Yesterday and Today (and Tomorrow?)

April 12, 2022, History Network News

Will Donald Trump Beat the Rap after all?

April 3, 2022, Daily News

Four GOP senators who should go back to law school

March 25, 2022, The Hill

Decoding Partisan Declarations of What Makes a “Good Judge”

March 23, 2022, History News Network

Is Merrick Garland finally ready to indict Donald Trump?

March 15, 2022, The Hill

The case against Donald Trump in Manhattan

March 1, 2022, Daily News

Ahmaud Arbery can begin to ‘rest in power’

February 23, 2022, The Hill

Is it time to recall the recall?

February 4, 2022, The Hill

Prince Andrew easily could have won his bid to get the suit against him tossed

January 20, 2022, Washington Post

Has the Supreme Court lost its compass?

January 4, 2022, The Hill

The gathering coup: 2022 and the years that follow will further test our democracy

January 3, 2022, Daily News

The punctuated sentence of Derek Chauvin

June 27, 2021, The Hill

What’s Happened to Merrick Garland

June 16, 2021, The Hill

COVID vaccine passports pose more questions than answers

June 7, 2021, The Hill

How long will Trump remain immune?

May 28, 2021, The Hill

The curious case of the COVID-19 origin

May 17, 2021, The Hill

Biden and ghost guns

May 11, 2021, The Hill

Will we finance Biden’s spending with confiscatory taxes?

April 28, 2021, The Hill

Is the antidote to bad speech more speech or more regulation?

April 19, 2021, The Hill

The knives are out for Cuomo

April 9, 2021, New York Daily News

Can Derek Chauvin possibly be acquitted?

March 31, 2021, The Hill

Will diplomacy work with Iran?

March 24, 2021, The Hill

Politicization of the Judiciary

March 1, 2021, History News Network

When a Trial is Not a Trial

February 16, 2021, Bill Moyers

The Senate’s Sad Signal

January 28, 2021, The Hill

Were Trump’s Pardons Even Legal?

January 17, 2021, History News Network

Incitement and the First Amendment

January 12, 2021, Bill Moyers

The Putsch of January 6, 2021

January 8, 2021, Bill Moyers

The Abominable No-Men

January 5, 2021, Bill Moyers