It is not common to prosecute an ex-president
Why the U.S. hasn’t prosecuted political leaders in the last five years – Is Donald Trump the first indicted?
Donald Trump may be the first US president indicted, but he is not the first in the world. Current and former rulers have been prosecuted in other democracies. Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was convicted twice. The former prime minister of Italy was found guilty of corruption. Argentina’s current vice president, Cristina Kirchner, made headlines for a corruption trial just a few months ago. Benjamin Netanyahu – I could just keep throwing out names. After Nixon left this country, he was pardoned. Bill Clinton was impeached but not prosecuted. Why has the U.S. been different up to now? James D. Long is on the line. He teaches political science at the University of Washington. He is on the internet at an inconvenient hour. Thank you, sir, for joining the program.
Here’s INSKEEP. Thanks for coming so early. Is we different from other countries because the US prosecutes political leaders? We just haven’t prosecuted a president.
Long. That’s a good question. I think what appears to make us different is that we – precisely what you said. We have never prosecuted someone at the very, very top. It is fairly common for democracies to prosecute former leaders. And it appears to – becoming increasingly common. The United States is different because of how we’ve allowed a lot of bad behavior from presidents in the past. And I think now this really is the first time that it appears that a president or former president may be held to account for actions that they did before, during or after being in office.
LONG: That’s correct. I think the potential cases that the DOJ has been looking at related to January 6 and the Mar-a-Lago documents, the mishandling of documents – because those were things that he did do as president – and in his eyes, at least, he was doing it because he was president. I think one of his defenses is the fact that no one else has to worry about who’s not president because I was president. But he won’t have that defense insofar as we understand what the charges in Manhattan will be.
INSKEEP: Is there a reason why Donald Trump is a little odd since it is not a huge case like the January 6, 2001 attack on the U.S. Capitol? It isn’t a real crime, but it does not touch on any of the big issues of the president’s administration. Is that weird?
Long. Well, think it does touch on a broader issue, which is that we would probably think our intuition is that when leaders, heads of state, former heads of states are accused of doing things, indicted, perhaps even found guilty, that that would be a negative for them politically. If they can make the case that the prosecution has been overzealous or that their supporters have been unfairly targeted, it can be seen as a way for them to rally their base. It can be a political cry that helps to get a lot of support. And so think it’s not necessarily politically damaging always, although whether or not it’s politically damaging for Trump is yet to be seen.
This is INSKEEP. Oh, I’m interested in what you’re saying. More of the public will see it as legitimate because he can’t have an excuse that he was following official duties or that he was doing his job as best he could. He wasn’t doing anything like that.
INSKEEP: The convicted of corruption won an election to return to power after he spent time in jail. Is that possible in the United States?
In fact, INSKEEP: I think about James Michael Curley, who was governor of Massachusetts and the mayor of Boston and went in and out of office while in and out of prison. Dr. Long, thanks so much for your time. Really appreciate it.
An NPR Perspective on the Russia, Argentina, and South Korea Investigations into Corrupt Practices During President Donald J. Trump’s First Year in Amalgamation
The transcript is created by an NPR contractor. This text may not be finished in its final form and could be revised in the future. Availability and accuracy can be different. Audio record is the most authoritative record of NPR programming.
Argentina’s current vice president, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, was found guilty of corruption in December, in a case dating back to her time as president. Three corruption cases have been brought against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. After being freed from prison, Brazil’s president, Lcio da Silva, was reelected for a second term.
In South Korea, where it has been common for former leaders to be convicted for corruption, former President Lee Myung-bak’s 17-year sentence was cut short by presidential pardon last year. The previous year, Park was sentenced to 20 years in jail for her involvement in the corruption scandal that ultimately led to her impeachment.
Closer to home, former President Richard Nixon resigned on the brink of impeachment in August 1974, only to receive a blanket pardon from his successor, Gerald Ford, a month later. Former President Bill Clinton was impeached in the fall of 1998 after he was accused of giving false testimony to a grand jury, but never faced prosecution.
It appears that the president and former president could be held to account for their actions before and after office, as this is the first time that’s happened.
A New York grand jury indicted Trump for his alleged role in covering up hush money paid to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential election campaign.
The Georgia probe into potential election interference is one of the many probes that could bring charges against Trump.
The alleged events happening before the election may not be related to some of the larger issues of Trump’s presidency. But Long says the fact that someone already spent time in jail for it — Trump’s former personal attorney, Michael Cohen — shows that it’s still significant.
He thinks that it could be seen as a legitimate case because Trump can’t argue that he took those actions in the course of his presidency.
It’s weird because it isn’t from his time in office and there may be a greater appetite for presidents to have more flexibility as they serve in office. “So in that way it actually might be more of a serious thing for at least some of the public.”
Our intuition is that when leaders, heads of state, former heads of states, are accused of doing things, indicted, perhaps even found guilty, that that would be a negative for them politically.
But in a lot of ways we can think of it as rallying their base. I think it is possible to make a case that the prosecution has been overzealous, or that their supporters have been targeted in order to get the person at the top of the pyramid, if they can make the case that way. So I think it’s not necessarily politically damaging always, although whether or not it’s politically damaging for Trump is yet to be seen.
