DENVER (KDVR) — They may be historical for an ex-president, but by no means are indictments and prosecutions unheard of for U.S. federal leaders or for national executives worldwide.
Former President Trump was indicted on criminal charges in New York on Thursday for his role in organizing hush money payments made to an adult film star during his 2016 campaign, according to a source familiar with the proceedings.
The history-making indictment marks the first time a president has been charged in a criminal matter and comes as several law enforcement entities are investigating Trump’s conduct in numerous probes.
World leaders have been charged and/or convicted of everything from coups to sex with minors to corruption in the last 15 years alone — these include former Bolivian Interim President Jeanine Anez, former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, former Columbian President Alvaro Uribe, former South Korean President Park Geun-hye, former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, former French President Jacques Chirac and former South African Deputy President Jacob Zuma.
In the U.S., federal leaders have been charged with crimes as far back as 1798.
Over two dozen members of Congress were indicted between 1980 and 2015, according to a Washington Post analysis. These include 11 Republican politicians and 14 Democrats. Most concerned some form of financial malfeasance, including bribery, false financial disclosures and embezzlement.