Trump indictment: what other former presidents have had problems with the justice system?

On Thursday, Donald Trump became the first former President of the United States to be charged with a crime. This is not to say that other presidents were unaware of or did not participate in illegal behavior before or while in office. Trump stands alone as the only US head of state who will confront the criminal justice system as a citizen who has been charged with a crime.

It is not, however, to find a laundry list of Senators, Representatives, and officials working in the executive branch who have been charged and convicted of crimes. In 2022, Representative Jeff Fortenberry of Nebraska was convicted of accepting $30,000 in campaign contributions through an illegal straw man donor. The Congressman was indicted and convicted on three counts related to the falsification and concealment of material facts and lying to investigators. Fortenberry will be on probation for the next two years and was forced to pay $25,000 in fines.

How did Donald Trump get here...

The Manhattan grand jury voted to indict him in the case involving Stephanie Daniels, better known by her stage name, Stormy Daniels, who authorities believe was paid hush money by Donald Trump’s campaign in 2016.

According to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Michael Cohen, Trump’s former attorney, made a $130,000 payment to Daniels on the former president’s behalf to cover up an affair and avoid hurting his 2016 presidential bid.

The charges facing Donald Trump and possible sentences

The inditement of President Trump has not been released to the public. However, CNN has confirmed that Trump faces more than thirty charges related to commercial fraud. The former president is expected to be arraigned in a Manhattan criminal court on Tuesday, April 4, around 2:15 p.m. ET.

Although the exact charges have not been released, one piece of evidence investigators had that led to the indictment has been: a reimbursement to Cohen from the Trump Organization. While these payments are not illegal, prosecutors could charge Trump with falsifying the Trump Organization’s business records. Falsifying business records is a misdemeanor in New York.

A stronger charge of falsifying business records in the first degree could also be included in the indictment if prosecutors provided evidence that the records were altered illegally to “commit another crime or to aid or conceal another crime,” According to CNN, that’s a Class E felony, which if convicted, could send the former president to prison for a minimum of one year, but no more than four.