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What are the most notable felony cases against former US presidents?
Executive summary
Three modern presidents came closest to criminal exposure: Richard Nixon’s Watergate network produced many convictions of aides and a grand jury named Nixon an unindicted co‑conspirator, but he was pardoned before facing charges [1]. Bill Clinton faced civil penalties and impeachment over perjury and obstruction related to Monica Lewinsky, but not criminal conviction [2]. Donald Trump is the only former U.S. president in the provided reporting to be indicted and convicted on felony charges — a 34‑count New York falsifying business records conviction tied to “hush money” payments, plus multiple other federal and state indictments across 2023–2025 [3] [4] [5] [6].
1. Nixon’s cascade: Watergate prosecutions, pardon and the unindicted co‑conspirator label
The Watergate scandal produced dozens of prosecutions and convictions of Nixon aides; a grand jury named President Richard Nixon as an unindicted co‑conspirator in the investigation but he never faced trial because President Gerald Ford pardoned him soon after Nixon’s resignation [1]. Reporting frames Nixon as the closest historical analogue to a president entangled in criminal exposure, but the pardon short‑circuited any potential prosecution [1].
2. Clinton’s near miss: impeachment, civil damages, but no felony conviction
Bill Clinton’s legal peril centered on sexual misconduct and whether he lied under oath. The Supreme Court precedent in Clinton v. Jones established that a sitting president could face civil suits for pre‑presidential acts; Clinton paid civil damages to Paula Jones and was impeached by the House but acquitted by the Senate, and did not receive criminal convictions in the matters described in these sources [2]. Time’s coverage describes Clinton as having “come close” to criminal consequences without a conviction [2].
3. Trump’s unprecedented indictments and the hush‑money conviction
Donald Trump is documented in these sources as the first former U.S. president to be criminally indicted and convicted. The Manhattan case charged 34 counts of first‑degree falsifying business records related to payments to Stormy Daniels; a jury convicted him on all 34 counts on May 30, 2024 [4] [3]. Multiple summaries and timelines note he faced indictments in four jurisdictions and dozens of additional felony counts [5] [6] [7].
4. Scope and outcomes across Trump’s cases, as reported
Reporting and timelines compiled here say Trump faced cases including the New York hush‑money prosecution, federal classified‑documents charges, and prosecutions related to the 2020 election results in federal and Georgia state venues; at one point reporting counted roughly 88–91 criminal charges across four jurisdictions [7] [8] [5]. The New York conviction led to sentencing activity in late 2024 and early 2025; some reporting notes an unconditional discharge at sentencing for that state conviction [9] [4] [10].
5. What “firsts” and historical claims the sources make
Multiple sources characterize Trump’s indictment and conviction as historically unprecedented: Time and Stanford Law commentary note no former president had been criminally indicted and convicted before Trump [2] [1]. Ballotpedia and PBS/FRONTLINE summarize his multiple indictments and emphasize the novelty of a former president facing and in one case receiving felony convictions [5] [6].
6. Areas of dispute and legal complexities highlighted in reporting
Sources point to legal disputes that complicated proceedings: claims of presidential immunity went to the Supreme Court in 2024, which ruled presidents have immunity for some official acts but not for unofficial acts — a mixed decision that affected timing and handling of trials [9] [6]. Coverage also flags strategic prosecutorial choices — e.g., venue and timing in high‑profile cases — and notes that classified‑materials prosecutions face procedural drag because of security clearances and novel legal theories [8] [6].
7. What the available sources do not say or resolve
Available sources do not mention convictions of any other former president aside from Trump; they also do not provide exhaustive appellate outcomes for every charge across all courts through November 2025 in these excerpts, and they do not settle ongoing jurisdictional questions about prosecuting a sitting president at the state level [9] [4]. If you want deep case‑by‑case appellate and sentencing detail, the current reporting summaries point to those documents but do not contain every ruling here [5] [7].
8. Takeaway for readers seeking context
Historically, presidential scandals have led to many prosecutions of subordinates (Watergate) and to impeachment or civil liability (Clinton), but the sources compiled here identify Donald Trump as the only former president to be indicted and convicted on felony charges in modern U.S. history, while also documenting a cluster of other criminal cases and legal fights over immunity and venue [1] [2] [3] [7]. For follow‑up, consult primary court dockets and the individual case pages summarized in these sources to track appeals, sentencing orders, and unresolved jurisdictional questions [4] [5].