With two impeachments under his belt and rapidly mounting investigations into every aspect of law-defying Donald Trump’s business and political life – all self-inflicted – he now becomes the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges. But, previous incumbent presidents, former presidents and presidential candidates have had brushes or confrontations with the U.S. criminal justice system, with one former president actually having been arrested while in office!
In 1872, incumbent President Ulysses Grant was caught riding his horse-drawn carriage too fast through the streets of downtown Washington, D.C., twice in two days and by the same policeman. Grant received a warning on the first day, but when caught speeding again the next day was arrested, taken to the police station and assessed a $20 fine for this misdemeanor offense.
Grant was actually good-natured about it, willingly admitted guilt and no controversy ensued at the time.
In the early 1920s, President Warren Harding was beset by scandals involving veterans’ hospitals and U.S. oil reserves. Although he was not implicated directly, perhaps his worst sin was choosing corrupt cronies for federal positions. His stature as president suffered and may have contributed to his sudden death at 57.
Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton were both impeached. The charges against Johnson were trumped up by the hard-hitting Radical Republicans just to get the Democratic president out of their way in order to impose their brand of Reconstruction on the South. The charges against Clinton were legitimate.
The Watergate imbroglio had President Richard Nixon named as an “unindicted co-conspirator,” with evidence tying him to both the break-in and the cover-up. Facing near-certain impeachment by the House and equally-certain conviction and removal from office by the Senate, Nixon resigned in disgrace. He was ultimately pardoned by President Gerald Ford in an effort to heal the country and minimize distractions.
Bush 43 faced international legal exposure over the conduct of wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, in particular for interrogating prisoners and terrorism suspects along, with allegations of torture. Some global organizations called for Bush to be charged with war crimes over the treatment of prisoners.
In one case, European-based criminal complaints were prepared against Bush on behalf of two detainees, but went nowhere. Interestingly, though, Bush did cancel a planned trip to Geneva at the time amid speculation that he wanted to avoid protests or even the possibility of being served with the complaint while in Switzerland.
Presidents Truman, Clinton and Obama all engaged in unconstitutional wars by skirting Congressional approval and seeking authority from the U.N. Security Council or from NATO allies. While such maneuvers may satisfy international law, they do not satisfy the U.S. Constitution.
Lastly, former presidential candidates Eugene Debs, Lyndon Larouche, John Edwards and Rick Perry all had legal issues surrounding them either prior, during or after their campaigns.
Of note, Debs ran his fifth and last presidential campaign as a member of the Socialist Party in 1920 from behind bars. Jailed for speaking out against American involvement in World War I and for impeding the war effort, he campaigned from the penitentiary via press releases and garnered a little over 900,000 votes which was good for 6% of the popular vote.
What you have read here are just some examples of the downsides of presidents and presidential candidates and the law. Of course there are many other examples – some known and some we may never know.
Rich Padova, M.Ed, M.A. teaches history and government at Northern Essex Community College, worked on eight presidential campaigns and wrote three books on history and politics.