🔎 Legal battles of past presidents - How unprecedented is Trump’s criminal conviction?
🔎 Legal battles of past presidents - How unprecedented is Trump’s criminal conviction?
Also: The Caitlin Clark “privilege" debate, the Sudan war no one’s talking about and an 11-year-old graduates college
Editor’s note: This newsletter was published before the verdict of the Trump hush money trial was announced. He was found guilty on all 34 felony charges.
Jurors began their first day of deliberations in the case of former President Donald Trump's first criminal trial. The “hush money trial,” as it has been called, is unprecedented in the country's history.
Trump is the first former US president to be tried with a crime, facing 34 counts of fraud linked to payments made to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels. Daniels claims she had an affair with Trump in 2006—a claim he denies—and that Trump paid her money to stay silent about it leading up to the 2016 election. Prosecutors allege Trump concealed the payment and falsified business documents.
The former president has racked up 91 felony counts in four criminal cases. Federal prosecutors allege that Trump tried to overturn the 2020 election result, which he lost to Joe Biden, and that he also had a role in the deadly January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol in 2021. They also charged him in Florida with holding government documents after his presidency ended and refusing to cooperate with authorities in returning them. In Georgia, Trump is accused of leading a racketeering operation to subvert the 2020 election results in the state.
Before Trump, the only other US president facing criminal charges was Richard Nixon, over the infamous Watergate scandal. What began as a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, DC, in 1972, soon unraveled into a major political scandal involving high-level administration officials. The uncovering of the White House tapes, which recorded conversations implicating Nixon in the cover-up, proved to be a turning point. Facing almost certain impeachment and removal from office, Nixon resigned on August 8, 1974. Although Nixon faced potential criminal charges, he was never formally charged. His successor, President Gerald Ford, pardoned him, preventing any legal proceedings.
Bill Clinton, the 42nd president, was impeached in 1998 by the House of Representatives on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice related to his extramarital affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Clinton was acquitted by the Senate and completed his term without facing criminal charges, although he later settled a civil contempt of court case and agreed to a five-year suspension of his Arkansas law license.
Ulysses S. Grant, the 18th president, was arrested in 1872 while in office for speeding in his horse-drawn carriage. He paid a $20 fine, marking the only known arrest of a sitting US president.
Warren G. Harding, the 29th president, faced scandals within his administration, the most infamous being the Teapot Dome scandal. While Harding himself was not charged, several of his cabinet members were convicted of accepting bribes.
Trump’s hush money case revolves around a reimbursement Trump provided to his former personal attorney and "fixer," Michael Cohen. While hush-money payments themselves are not illegal, the Manhattan District Attorney's office alleges that Trump committed the crime by inaccurately categorizing the money used to reimburse Cohen as legal fees. They further assert that he falsified business records to cover up the payment, which constitutes a breach of state election law. In total, the former president faces 34 charges to which he pled not guilty.
If convicted, Trump could face up to four years in prison for each of the 34 charges against him—a maximum of 136 years. Even if he were convicted, he could still theoretically run for president, even from inside a jail cell. However, this scenario would introduce a multitude of unprecedented legal questions, given the unique circumstances of a convicted individual seeking the presidency. If he were to win the election after being convicted of a crime, it would raise significant legal and constitutional challenges that have not been tested before.
In addition to his three indictments, Trump is also the first president to be impeached twice—once over allegations he withheld aid to Ukraine to force the launch of a probe into Biden and once over Trump's role in the January 6, 2021, insurrection. He was acquitted by the Senate in both cases.
↪ Dig deeper: What penalties could Trump face if he is convicted? (New York Times)
🇿 More from Zivvy
➤ WNBA phenom Caitlin Clark’s rise fuels debate on “privilege”
Caitlin Clark's success in women's basketball has sparked debates about the role of societal advantages in shaping public perception and media coverage. (Zivvy)
➤ The humanitarian crisis in Sudan no one is talking about
The ongoing civil war in Sudan has resulted in an estimated 14,000 people killed, 8 million displaced and nearly 5 million on the brink of famine. Here’s what you need to know about it. (Zivvy)
🗞️ In other News
➤ Black passengers sue American Airlines, alleging they were thrown off a plane because of false body odor complaint
A lawsuit filed Wednesday on behalf of three Black men alleges “blatant and egregious race discrimination” by American Airlines when they were removed from a flight. (CNN)
➤ Pope Francis apologizes for using slur referring to gay men
“The Pope never intended to offend or express himself in homophobic terms,” Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni said, “and he apologizes to those who felt offended by the use of the term.” (NPR)
🌎 Around the world
➤ Pressure builds on Biden after Israeli strike kills dozens of civilians in Rafah
The White House said the attack did not violate Biden’s "red line." (ABC News)
Related: US-made bomb used in Israeli strike on Rafah that killed dozens, munitions experts say (CBS News)
➤ North Korea flies hundreds of balloons full of trash over South Korea
It was one of North Korea’s most bizarre provocations against its rival in years, prompting the South's military to mobilize chemical and explosive response teams to recover objects and debris in different parts of the country. (CBS News)
➤Hong Kong convicts democracy activists in landmark national security case
A Hong Kong court has convicted 14 pro-democracy activists on conspiracy to commit subversion in the territory’s largest case to date under the national security law, implemented following months of anti-government protests in 2019. The case is considered a symbol of the diminishing freedoms in Hong Kong, a former British colony that was handed back to Chinese rule in 1997. The charge carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. (New York Times)
➤ Mexico Is About to Elect Its First Female President. Her Job: Save the Nation
Presidential candidate Claudia Sheinbaum has a commanding lead in polls, buoyed by a popular incumbent and promises to bring a national crime wave under control (WSJ)
🗳️ Politics
➤ One-third of US voters say they'll weigh candidates' crypto views before voting
A Harris Poll glimpse of voters' crypto views – paid for by bitcoin ETF issuer Grayscale – shows increasing interest, and 77% think a U.S. presidential candidate should know crypto. (Coindesk)
➤ Justice Alito tells Congress he will not recuse himself from Jan. 6-related cases
Alito said 2 flags flown at his house, embraced by Jan. 6 rioters, were placed by his wife without his knowledge and don’t meet the conditions for recusal outlined in the Supreme Court’s code of conduct. “My wife is fond of flying flags,” the justice wrote in a letter to Democrats. “I am not.” (Washington Post)
➤ The untold story of the network that took down Roe v. Wade
A conservative Christian coalition’s plan to end the federal right to abortion began just days after Trump’s 2016 election. (New York Times)
💰 Money
➤ What to know about ‘quiet vacationing,’ the new work trend infuriating bosses
30-something office workers are increasingly taking time off under the guise of working remotely — a hack facilitated by the uptick in work-from-home arrangements following the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a recent poll, 37% of millennial workers said they took time off without informing their bosses. (New York Post)
⚕️Health and wellness
➤ US girls got their first periods increasingly earlier over the last 50 years, new study finds
Trend is especially pronounced among Black, Hispanic and Asian participants, and those who report lower socioeconomic status. (The Guardian)
👩💻 Technology
➤ An image calling for ‘All Eyes on Rafah’ is going viral. But it seems AI-generated
What does “All Eyes on Rafah” mean? The phrase is seen on a likely AI-generated image depicting a tent camp in Rafah, Gaza, and went viral after an Israeli strike. (Washington Post)
➤Related: Meta identifies “likely” AI-generated Gaza misinformation on its platforms (Reuters)
⭐ Youth in the Spotlight
➤ 17-year-dld genius Dorothy Jean Tillman II makes history as youngest person to earn doctorate from Arizona State University
Also known as “Dorothy Jeanius,” Tillman started college courses at age 10. (Complex)
➤ 11-year-old California girl graduates college, breaking record set by her brother just last year
Athena Elling graduated from Irvine Valley College with an associate’s degree in liberal arts seven months ahead of her 12th birthday. (People)
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