Trump trial witness Hope Hicks's future father-in-law John Donovan is convicted forger who was accused of molesting his daughter and framing her Goldman Sachs exec fiancé
Hope Hicks's fiancé Jim Donovan, is the elder son of former MIT professor and convicted forger John Donovan Sr, 82 The once-esteemed professor was convicted of staging his own shooting in 2007 - falsely accusing Jim of hiring Russian hitmen Hicks, 35, a former Trump aide, was revealed to be dating Donovan, 57, in 2020, is set to tie the knot with the Goldman Sachs vice chairman this summer
Hope Hicks' future father-in-law is a convicted forger who tried to diddle his grandchildren out of an inheritance worth millions of dollars and was branded a 'charlatan' by the judge who sentenced him to two years in jail at the age of 80.
Glamorous former Trump aide Hicks, 35, is due to marry Goldman Sachs boss Jim Donovan, 57, early this summer.
But Donovan's father John, 82, is one name that will not be on the guest list after he pursued a 20-year vendetta against his son that began with allegations of sex abuse and culminated in the swindling senior being handed a lengthy sentence for fraud, forgery and attempted larceny in May 2022.
The extraordinary saga of the former MIT professor turned jailbird began in December 2002 when his youngest son John Jr. and his daughter Rebecca confronted their father at a lawyer's office in Boston.
Along with sisters Maureen and Carolyn, Donovan was largely raised by his mother Marilyn – John Sr.'s first wife who he divorced in 1980 – in Ipswich, Massachusetts.
Hope Hicks's fiancé Jim Donovan (right) is the elder son of former MIT professor and convicted forger John Donovan Sr, 82, (left)
Hicks, 35, a former Trump aide who was revealed to be dating Donovan, 57, in 2020 (pictured) - is set to tie the knot with the Goldman Sachs vice chairman this summer
The 35-year-old once served as Trump's former communications director and worked for his campaign when 'hush money' deals were arranged with porn Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal
Despite the breakdown of their parents' marriage, all five children continued to spend time with their father and in 1992 and 1996, John Sr. set up two Bermuda-based trusts that named them as the sole beneficiaries.
Both trusts contained millions of dollars – cash that John Sr. raised from his business dealings, some successful and others not.
Over the years, the self-described 'business guru' has had multiple lawsuits filed against him, mostly by contractors and former partners who had resorted to court in a bid to get him to pay up.
The 82-year-old also decided that some of the cash contained in the Bermuda trusts should be used to buy properties, among them his Hamilton, Massachusetts home – but due to the nature of the trusts, that effectively meant the properties belonged to his children.
While he remained good terms with them, the arrangement worked but that all fell apart during that fateful December 2012 meeting.
During it, John Jr. and Rebecca informed their father that their sister Maureen had told them he had molested her as a child.
As a result, they said they and their other siblings wanted nothing further to do with him and ordered him to leave the Hamilton home and give up his membership of the elite Myopia Hunt Club in Hamilton to which they also belonged.
He denied it and accused his children of 'plundering' $29million from the trust funds and using the sex abuse allegation to blackmail him while refusing to move out of the home.
Although a deal was reached in early 2003 – that he would pay $6million and remain in the home for life – it collapsed when he claimed to have signed it under duress, sending the dispute to court when his children sued to get him out of the house.
John Donovan Sr (seen in 2007) of Hamilton, Massachusetts was convicted of forgery and other charges in a scheme to swindle $5million from his dead son's estate in 2022
Donovan was previously convicted of staging his own shooting in 2007 and falsely accusing his eldest son Jim of hiring Russian hitmen to kill him
The senior Donovan was a wealthy businessperson who made a name for himself as a technology guru, starting more than a dozen companies and publishing books
After a new settlement was reached in June 2004, both sides swore agreement under oath, with John Sr. again taking the opportunity to deny the sex abuse charges, telling court: My name is Professor John Donovan. I agree with the settlement, and I did not sexually molest my daughter.'
Despite the agreement, the saga then descended into farce with John Sr. convinced eldest son Donovan was out to get him resulting in both he and wife Jill, 70, taking out restraining orders and filing a harassment lawsuit against him.
In her testimony, Jill, who now lives in South Carolina, claimed he had 'menaced' her during a ski trip to Vermont, again while on horseback at home in Hamilton and again in the cloakroom of the Hunt Club. Donovan denied all the allegations.
Then, in December 2005, came a bizarre twist: John Sr. dialed 911 claiming to have been shot in the parking lot of his business in Cambridge by a pair of Russian hitmen sent by his son Jim.
During the call, he entreated cops to tell his wife he loved her and added she was in danger because she knew Donovan had taken $180million out of the trusts and laundered them through Goldman Sachs.
John Sr's youngest son John Donovan Jr. (left) died of cancer in 2015, after which his father tried to steal funds from his estate
The only problem: it was a hoax set up to frame his son.
Police immediately doubted his account, noting that although his belt looked like it had been shot, the corresponding wound was just a shallow gash.
They also recovered a note jotted on an Algonquin Club menu from the pocket of his sports jacket that included a to-do list with entries such as 'Glass gun?', 'Where shot where?' and 'Belt'.
As a result, he was prosecuted for filing a false police report with Assistant District Attorney Adrienne Lynch writing: 'John Donovan repeatedly set out to 'frame' his son' in a court filing.
She added he did this in an attempt 'to take revenge on his son, James, and attempt to gain an advantage in ongoing litigation.'
He was found guilty in August 2007 and sentenced to community service but even that wasn't enough to end his fight with his children over the trust funds with the case pinballing back and forth through the courts as they fought over properties in Vermont, Bermuda and Manchester-by-the-Sea – the latter famously once home to Ghislaine Maxwell.
Then, in 2015, tragedy struck when John Jr. died aged just 43 following a battle with adrenal cancer at his Bothways Farm home in Essex, Massachusetts.
Donovan Sr taught business at MIT from 1969 to 1997
Jim Donovan had been pictured using crutches in 2020 - when the couple were first spotted going on dates in D.C. and LA. He is seen above after having dinner with Hicks in Beverly Hills in February 2020
The two were spotted picking up salads at Sweetgreen in Washington D.C. weeks later in March 2020
Donovan's career has proved hugely successful with the 57-year-old holding the position of vice chairman of Goldman Sachs. He is also an adjunct professor at UVA Law School
In his will, he made it clear that he wanted his assets to pass to his wife Megan and his children.
Eight months prior to his death, he made a recording in which he said he did not want his father to have any influence over their upbringing and made it the sole prerogative of their mother.
In audio later played in court, he said: 'Hi, I wanted to offer a very brief testimonial regarding the care of my children. If something were to happen to me, I want to be clear that my wife, Megan, is responsible for all decisions regarding my children and their upbringing.
'I have not granted authority and do not want to grant authority to my father in particular in regards to their upbringing….
'And hopefully this won't matter and won't come to bear. But I thought it was important that I put this down in this testimonial for everyone to hear directly from me. Thank you.'
On April 24, 2015, the day before he died, he filed for a permanent restraining order against his father that banned him from having any further contact with his wife and children and told his family he did not want his father to attend his funeral.
John Sr., however, had other ideas.
In early 2016, a registrar-of-deeds in Salem became suspicious about 25 documents including deeds, land transfers, and a will codicil filed as John Jr.'s estate was being settled.
Dad-of-four Donovan entered Hicks' life shortly before her return to DC to rejoin the Trump White House
The 57-year-old was repeatedly spotted at her Brentwood home in the weeks leading up to her return to the east coast, with DailyMail.com photographing the now-engaged couple enjoying a double date at swanky restaurant Mr Chow in 2020
In 2020, DailyMail.com exposed the secret romance between Trump's former top aide and the Goldman Sachs boss
They purported to show John Jr. had had a change of heart and had given his father power of attorney over his estate, as well as canceling millions of dollars in debt and allowing him access to his grandchildren.
They were fraudulent and it later transpired that John Sr. had also secretly recorded conversations with his son in the weeks leading up to his death, recordings that he later asked an employee to alter to back up his case.
During a four-week trial in May 2022 on fraud, forgery, and attempted larceny charges, John Sr. claimed that he had been framed by his surviving children, purportedly to avoid scrutiny of the offshore trusts.
He also told the jury that John Jr> didn't want to create a conflict with his siblings by making his wishes plain during his lifetime.
But the jury didn't buy it and Judge Salim Tabit handed him two years in state prison, later switched to a spell in a local Massachusetts jail.
'Mr. Donovan is 80 years old and undoubtedly contributed much to society,' Judge Tabit as he sentenced him.
'But for 20 years, he has left a trail of tears everywhere he has been. It is my sincere hope that trail ends today.'
Last year, he applied for and was granted parole – only for his release plan to be rejected by the parole board on the grounds of security.
An attempt to stay the rest of his jail term pending an appeal against his conviction also met a sorry end with the same judge saying his release plans 'pose a risk' in his written judgement.
Judge Tabit added: 'Donovan has proven himself to be nothing short of a charlatan. He cannot be believed; either about his health, where he would live, or that he would somehow abandon his 20-year quest to destroy his family.'