Which U.S. presidents faced criminal convictions or prosecutions tied to their administrations?

1. Donald Trump: the first presidential conviction, and its narrow reach

A federal and state reaction to conduct surrounding the 2016–2020 period produced multiple criminal cases involving Donald Trump; Stanford Law reported that on May 30, 2024, Trump was convicted on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in a case tied to payments made to silence a porn star, marking the first conviction of a former president ^[1]. Time framed that outcome as historic—“the first former U.S. president ever to be criminally indicted” and later convicted—while noting that earlier presidents only “came close” through scandals and impeachment processes ^[2].

2. Cabinet officials and administration-linked convictions: Teapot Dome and beyond

History contains several clear instances of criminal convictions tied to presidential administrations through cabinet members and appointees rather than the president personally; the seminal example is Secretary of the Interior Albert Fall, convicted in 1929 for bribery in the Teapot Dome scandal while serving under President Warren G. Harding ^[2]. Reporting on other administrations notes patterns of corruption and prosecutions among appointees—scholars draw parallels between Harding-era cronyism and later scandals, and lists of administration-linked indictments across presidencies show that the legal fallout often falls on aides and subordinates ^{[3] [4]}.

3. Impeachment versus criminal prosecution: the recurring constitutional distinction

When presidents have faced legal peril, the path has more often been impeachment than ordinary criminal prosecution: Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton were impeached by the House but not convicted by the Senate ^[5]. The constitutional and institutional debate over whether a sitting president can be criminally indicted endures—scholars and official opinions differ—but the practical reality is that criminal charges historically have been brought against former, not sitting, presidents, and the Supreme Court has rejected the idea that impeachment is a prerequisite to later criminal prosecution ^{[6] [7]}.

4. The modern legal landscape: immunity, special counsels and prosecutorial discretion

Recent legal rulings and doctrine have complicated prosecutions tied to presidential actions: the Supreme Court in Trump v. United States explained limits on immunity and held that former presidents can face prosecution for actions outside the “exclusive sphere” of constitutional authority, while recognizing some absolute protections for core presidential functions—creating a nuanced framework for what counts as prosecutable conduct by an ex‑president ^[7]. At the same time, commentators note that the Department of Justice’s internal views and prosecutorial discretion historically constrained efforts to indict sitting presidents, reinforcing why most legal accountability has happened after presidents left office ^{[8] [6]}.

5. What the record actually shows—and what it does not

The historical record, as compiled by reporting and legal commentary, shows convictions tied to administrations primarily through aides and cabinet members (Albert Fall and Teapot Dome as a clear example) and one unequivocal criminal conviction of a former president (Trump) in contemporary reporting ^{[2] [1]}. Reporting also documents many high-profile investigations, impeachments and administrative pardons or clemencies across presidencies, but those are distinct legal mechanisms from ordinary criminal conviction of a president; several sources emphasize that indicting a sitting president remains legally fraught and has rarely been attempted ^{[9] [6] [7]}. Where coverage is thin—such as definitive lists tying each presidential administration to every related indictment—this analysis relies on representative examples and constitutional summaries in the provided sources rather than exhaustive tallies ^{[4] [3]}.