Trump’s historic conviction: precedent for future

A Manhattan jury on May 30, 2024 convicted former President Donald Trump on charges he falsified business records related to the cover-up of his relationship with a porn star. While this trial is now over, Trump still faces three other prosecutions: the state case against Trump and 18 others on charges they attempted to subvert the 2020 election in Georgia; the federal prosecution that charges Trump with conspiring to overturn the 2020 election; and a second federal prosecution on charges Trump illegally kept classified documents at Mar-a-Lago after his presidency ended and obstructed efforts to retrieve those documents. While charging a former president with criminal offenses was a first in the United States with Trump, in other countries ex-leaders are routinely investigated, prosecuted and even jailed. In March 2021, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was sentenced to a year in prison for corruption and influence peddling. Later that year, a trial commenced of Israel’s longtime Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu related to breaches of trust, bribery and fraud; it is ongoing. And Jacob Zuma, the former president of South Africa who was charged with money laundering and racketeering, likely faces trial in 2025 after years of delay. At first glance, prosecuting...